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My Goals…Why do I set them? Why do I share them here?
- Setting goals helps me remain focused.
- Sharing my goals helps to hold me accountable.
- I hope that it may inspire you to set goals for yourself? Give it a try! Start small if it seems overwhelming or like too much work. Or maybe it seems pointless to you? Give it a shot and see what you think.
Are you new to goal setting? Here are a few posts that may help or inspire you:
- How to Set Goals using Short Challenges and Mini Goals
- How Short Challenges and Mini Goals Work for Me
- One Simple Task to Help You Follow Through On Your Goals
Wake-up & bedtimes
September: My goal was to be in bed for 7 hours most (5-6) nights of the week. I am better at making sleep a priority and I completed this goal. Because my girls are starting to get up earlier, I wanted to move my nights to 11:00 – 6:00. I failed here, because I am having trouble getting to bed by 11. Because I am forcing myself to adjust my alarm clock depending on my bedtime and my girls are waking earlier, I am starting to lose out on my morning alone time. (Not good!)
If you have trouble making sleep a priority, check out these helpful resources:
October: My goal is to be in bed for 7 hours most nights of the week. I was shooting for 11:00 – 6:00 in September, but it ended up closer to 11:30 (or 12) – 6:30 many nights. My girls are starting to get up earlier, so I would like to try to move my nights to 11:00 – 6:00.
Books
September: Read 1 book.
Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm
October: Read 1 book.
Exercise
September: My goal was to run at least 3 times per week, preferably 4. I wanted to continue with my training plan until my 10K on September 27. I signed up for the race even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to run a time quick enough for my standards. I learned my lesson last year that there are more important lessons to learn than focusing only on my final race time.
I ran my 10K. It was a beautiful route and a warm day! Thankfully I don’t mind the heat when running.
October: Work out 4 times per week. Because it is still warm out, I would like to make sure I get outside to run twice per week.
Weekly “date” night with hubby
September: One movie, game or date night in September. ~ I don’t think this happened??
October: We are planning our first weekend trip away from our girls!
Garden
September: Our garden is basically done, so my goal was to not waste the CSA vegetables. I have wasted the beets every single week. There was also a lone turnip that was wasted. Most of the recipes called for more than one turnip and it didn’t make sense to buy even more of a veggie I wasn’t excited about.
October: The CSA is almost done. No goal.
Other September Goals
- Continue planning for the fall session of my church’s mom group. ~ No more planning. We started meeting mid-September.
- We decided not to send our 4-year old to preschool and send her to one day of ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) instead. I wanted to plan for a little preschool at home and start mid-September. ~ I have the first few weeks planned. We started last week and so far she loves it! This goal will continue throughout the year.
- Enjoy the outdoors before it starts to get even chillier. ~ Done! We had a hot late-September. It felt like summer and we loved it!
New October Goals
Organize, Declutter, Simplify
My schedule doesn’t allow for hours of deep cleaning or decluttering, so I often give myself a pass. In September, I scheduled in a few cleaning or decluttering tasks that took only 20-30 minutes and it felt good to get them done! Starting the week of October 12, I would like to do 4 small projects each week.
Preschool
Homeschool preschool for my girl. I would like to make sure I have the week’s plan in place every Sunday night.
Get Outside!!
September Blog Goals
- Focus on managing blog/work time. When I started blogging, I soon found out that there are so many ways to be busy with blog work. As I thought of my blog/work goals it became apparent that I need to make sure my time on the computer is focused and in line with my goals. I started making changes in July and August and wanted to continue to do so in Septmember. ~ Work in progress. Continue in October.
- I was considering joining #write31Days. It is an online challenge where bloggers pick a topic and write a post every day in October. ~ Nope. This is not a time commitment I should make right now. I cannot make my days resolve around getting a post out every day. It intrigues me though and I would consider trying it out at some point.
October Blog Goals
- Make a simple blogging/editorial schedule.
- I am going to get moving on a project I have been considering. I do not often put date deadlines on my blogging goals. I know that it would be helpful, but I often take a more relaxed approach on blog goals so my blog time doesn’t consume the time with my girls. I do want to get going on this project, so I am going to actually set deadlines for myself. My goal is to set weekly goals (and complete them!) on this new project.
Do you make monthly goals? Feel free to link to your October goals in a comment. I enjoy reading goal lists. I find encouragement hearing what others are desiring to focus on.
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Trisha @ Home Sweet Homemade says
I love it! Good for you! You are one busy mom! I also find it helpful (and necessary!) to stay focused while doing blogging work. I always say it’s like going down the rabbit hole… there’s this cool thing and that cool thing, pretty soon you forgot what you trying to do in the first place!
Found you on Wine’d Down Wednesdays blog hop!
Emily says
Hmmm…that has never happened to me. ;)
Helene says
I ran a 10k this month. It was the culmination of 9 months of work! Thanks for being honest about how hard it is to be disciplined and how easy it is to give up when things are what you hoped for!!!
Emily says
Congrats on your 10K! Yes, it takes discipline. :) Do you have plans to do it again?
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family says
I keep setting a goal for myself to get into bed earlier, but I just can’t seem to do it! I enjoy my quiet nights to get things accomplished. And normally my accomplishments are on my blog. You nailed it when you said that there is so much to do with a blog that you really have to focus yourself on getting what you need finished and moving away from it.
Here are my weekly goals: http://www.mediumsizedfamily.com/work-the-plan-goals-for-the-week-928/
Emily says
I have been talking about going to bed earlier for years…so I get it. It’s not easy for some of us. :)
Yes, it takes more focus than I realized it would! Thanks for sharing your goals. I’ll check them out.
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says
Oh, you’ll love your weekend away! Those are so important and so good.
– visiting from Women with Intention
Ashley Brooks says
Is ECFE still going well? I considered signing Hadley up for the toddler program this fall, but the times always seem to cut into when she normally naps. :/ Maybe it would be worth it for me to adjust her routine and sign up anyway.
I love your approach to decluttering/simplifying! I try to stay on top of that stuff, but more often than not I realize it’s been six weeks and all our stuff is a disorganized mess. I should work on that. :)
Emily says
Hi Ashley! Yes, ECFE is going well. We have only met a few weeks so far this fall, but it seems like a great group. My 4 year-old has been going since she was 6 months old and I have been happy with ECFE. She also enjoys going. Let me know if you have any questions about it! Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you would like. :)
Lisa Sharp says
Great goals and progress. I’m going to start trying monthly goals. Yearly ones just don’t seem to work as well for me.
Gail Akeman says
I need to do more goals than what I am doing.
Tiffany @ Arrows & Awe says
Loving these goals :) I think I am going to try setting myself a goal or 7 hours of sleep nightly and also trying to declutter and simplify things at home. Have a great weekend!
Echo says
Setting goals is such a great plan! I should really commit more of my goals to my blog, maybe then I would hold myself more accountable! Thanks for sharing your goals with us at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Holly says
I don’t like beets but I roast them and then puree them with a little lemon juice to freeze for use as red/pink food dye. We don’t eat things with artificial dyes in them so it’s perfect.
Congrats on running your 10k! I was in the Twin Cities for a wedding a few weeks ago and had one of my best runs ever up there. I love that there are trails everywhere and where there aren’t the roads have wide shoulders to run on. We don’t have that here in Southern Indiana.
Emily says
I am happy you enjoyed your run here in the Twin Cities! It’s a great location for running.
Heather @ Simply Save says
Thank you for sharing your goals with us at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup! I love putting my goals in writing because it helps me remain focused on them and sharing them adds accountability! Good luck with this month’s goals!
Elizabeth @ Guilty Chocoholic Mama says
Love this! Your mention of not sending your 4-year-old to preschool took me back to when I made the same decision for my daughter. I agonized, trying to find the “right” place, until I finally decided she and I would just “hang out” for that year. Now that she’s 12, I bless that decision over and over and cherish the sweet memories of those days together. Stopping by from Mommy Moments!
Emily says
It’s great to hear that you cherished the time! I am happy to have my girl home another year also. :)
Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth!
HEIDI says
You know I always feel better when I set goals. Well, at least as long as I complete them or make some progress on them.
Suzie says
Goals are so good to have I love your post! Maybe I should try this at my blog and share goals?
Sarah Cowan says
I love goal setting! My husband & I started a goal setting journal. Every Sunday we set goals for our week and encourage/help each other everyday. Writing them down is the key to success!
Emily says
A Sunday goals meeting…I love that! Yes, I agree that writing them down is key.
Pat says
Emily,
Thank you so much for sharing this on Coffee & Conversation last week! You truly inspired me :-)
We’ll be featuring you this week – stop by again on Wednesday and grab a button!!!
Emily says
Thank you for the feature!
Ruthie Gray says
Emily, enjoy that weekend get-away with the hubs!
And YES. The blogging calendar. I am working on that now. Along with EBA.
And #write31days.
I must be nuts.
We all have to take a step back and evaluate our goals and whether it’s worth it or not. You’ve got a lot going here and as I see it, you’re doing quite well!
You always motivate me. Keep up the great work!
Emily says
Thanks Ruthie!!
EBA & #write31days at the same time?? Yikes. Good luck with that. :)
Rebekah harris says
Great goals! I agree that writing goals keeps me accountable and motivated to get them done. I love making lists. I write down things that I need to do as they come to my mind. I find that as I write them down it frees my mind up.
Emily says
I agree! By writing it down, it frees you up from thinking about it and trying to remember! I write some of the lamest reminders some days. :)