2018 Resolutions and How to Keep Them

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.

     I know that sometimes it seems cliche to make resolutions at the New Year.  I mean, you can set goals anytime of the year and keep them.  But, I think the reason I actually use the New Year to make my resolutions is because after the holidays and I have put away all of those trappings and the house is cleaned up and fresh again, it seems like an appropriate time to make a fresh start with many things.  Not only that, it feels good to look ahead to an entire year that is full of promise and already divided into times and seasons to use as incremental deadlines to keep myself on track. It is easy to remember that I began something in January.  If I begin a new goal in May, I may not recall when I started it.  That is just me.  Finally, It is nice to reach the holiday season and look back over the year and feel peace about what was accomplished during the past year.  That adds to my feelings of thankfulness.
      Last week, on this post, I told you about the great calendar/planner that Maddy gave me for Christmas and how I was going to use it to help me keep my goals for 2018.  (That link is to the customizeable planners at Minted.  There are other choices listed on that other post.)  I also promised to share my goals with you when I had them all decided upon.  Soooo.....
​

Happy New Year! 

Here are my 2018 goals and how I plan to actually keep them this year! If you haven't made any resolutions for yourself this year, maybe my ideas will jog your brain to come up with some of your own. :)  I hope that by recording them here, it will make me more accountable for them as well.

     As I mentioned in my original post, I took the time to reflect and ponder on the things that I wanted to improve on in the coming year.  I divided my goals into 5 categories: 

• Personal
• Spiritual
• Preparedness
• Home Improvement
• Blogging

I came up with a total of 12 goals for the year.  That sounds like a lot, but some of them will be on going goals that become habits and don't require a lot of effort.  Other goals are ones that I don't really need to start immediately, but I can schedule them into my planner to do as the year progresses.  I will explain that better as I tell you about the goals.

Personal Goals:

1.     Journaling-This is one of the things I mentioned that I was pretty sure I would do when I wrote my planning post. I have decided to journal at least once per month and I have set the day to be the fourth Sunday of every month.  I chose to journal because I want to use it as a way to be able to record my successes and improvements as I work on my goals.
2.      Eat healthier by adding more plant based foods and less meat to my meals.  I plan to make sure my plate is 3/4 plant based.  Also, I am revamping some recipes to be meatless.
3.      Start reading again! I love to read but since I have been working so hard on my blog, I find that I have less and less time to read.  I have already made a start by picking up a book by Alice Hoffman called, The Rules of Magic, which is already sucking me in.  I'll be sure to review it when I am finished.  I have considered using Audible and listening to books.  I might try the 30 day free trial and see how I like it.
   

Spiritual Goals:
​     I only set one goal in this category because I feel like many of my other goals will ultimately help me spiritually as well. (Such as journaling and healthy eating.) 
     1.  Scripture Study-I used to always read my scriptures in the morning.  Now, that just isn't working for me.  Since my children are all going different directions and my husbands work hours are changed, I am finding many things changing in my life and I have to change old habits to fit these changes.  I need to carve out 30 minutes a day for scripture study and I am going to try for the early evening.  If that doesn't work well, I will try something else until I find what works.  ​
     Another part of making my scripture study more successful is remembering to pray before and after I read. This goal is very important to me.  I will be sure to journal about my progress and insights as I work on this goal.

sprouted wheat

I'm embarrassed to show you my messy pantry.

Preparedness Goals:

     It is very important to my husband and I to try to be self sufficient.  In the event of a job loss or some other emergency, we want to be prepared.  This can lead to needing financial goals and preparedness skills.  Financial goals are something we have together and work on all of the time.  This year I have included some skills goals that I need to work on.

1. ​Put in a garden.  We haven't done one for a couple of years.  I really love fresh veggies from the garden, and here in Arizona, you have to plan ahead because of our hot summers.  I need to start preparing my garden spot in January and have the tomatoes in by the end of February.
2. Continue sprouting wheat for flour and come up with new recipes.  I love this healthy way of baking.  (This is a goal I can't really do in the summer because of the heat!)
3. Can more vegetables! Hopefully from my garden! (This is an example of a goal I won't be able to work on immediately, but will schedule in when the vegetables start coming in.)
4. Re-organize my pantry and food storage areas.  I have to wait to start this until my oldest son and his family are gone. They are staying with us for awhile as he finds his first law job, so I probably won't begin this process for a couple of months. (Please don't judge my mess above! I may have to turn to Clearissa's Command Center for advice when I begin this project!)

Home Improvement Goals:

    This is one of those areas where I have continued to make the same goals year after year and I always get side tracked and never get as much done as I hope to.  This is also an area that will have to wait until my son and his family are gone in order to accomplish them.  Although, we did get somewhat of a start in organizing rooms in order to make room for my grandchildren to sleep! There is always a silver lining!  

1. Go through all of the books in my house and keep what I love and donate the rest! I promised to do this last year and never got to it.  I have purchased two new bookcases though, so I am on the right track! This should help me with my reading goal above because I am sure to come across books that I will want to read again! 
2. Redecorate my bedroom.  I won a gift card from Minted over a year ago and I chose to purchase curtains for my bedroom with it.  They are still stored away waiting to be used.  I am determined to get it done this year.  Of course, once again it will have to wait, but that is okay because when it is too hot to work outside, I will work inside and get things done then.

Blogging Goals:

     There are so many goals that I could make for my blog, and I know that there are things that the girls and I will do over the year on the blog that I am not even listing.  But, here are two goals that I really want to be sure to do! 

1. Research and address topics that will be of benefit to our readers.  Watch for a poll and questions asking for your input! 
2. I want to make a pitch kit to companies whose products I love to see if I can write sponsored posts for them and promote them on my blog. This could be beneficial to them, to us and to our readers.

    Those are my 2018 goals! Surprisingly, I do not feel overwhelmed, but I feel excited.  I just discovered yesterday that my new planner came with stickers that I can use as I plan and journal in it.  One of the stickers that I just put on my goal page says, "Don't Call it a Dream, call it a Plan!" That is how I feel about it! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or if you want to share any of your resolutions for this year!  Here is wishing everyone great success in the coming year! 

Helen