I haven’t been doing monthly goals for a few months now and I think it’s time to get back to them. I love setting monthly goals and working out the steps to achieving them. I was listening to an interview last week where the woman being interviewed talked about how she doesn’t simply look at the goals as something to do over the course of the month, but also as something to do over the course of the four weeks that comprise the month. While I won’t be doing weekly recaps of my goals, I do want to sit down each weekend and evaluate how I am doing with them: what is going well and what I need to work on.
Sometimes, I have a tendency to throw these intentions up there at the beginning of the month and then forget to check in with myself and evaluate how I am doing. They’re in the back of my mind, but I’m not actively evaluating my progress on a weekly basis.
So that’s my new plan for this year. Don’t just make these intentions and hope for the best. Put these intentions out there and then consider how to get them done.
In January, I want to…
Work out five days a week, incorporating Best Body Bootcamp workouts and Couch to 5K training. I signed up to participate in this round of Tina Reale’s Best Body Bootcamp because I have heard some amazing things about the workouts and the results people have seen from it. I also want to continue working through the Couch to 5K program. I’ve been lax on working out lately (managing only 1 or 2 days on a good week) so I want to get back to exercising more regularly.
Spend no money on Kindle books and get my credit card balance to $0. I discovered I spend a lot of money on Kindle books. Like, a lot a lot. Around $30 a month, if I’m being totally honest with myself. This is ridiculous and I know it is ridiculous and I’m making a concentrated effort to be less ridiculous about spending money on books. I also need to work on getting my last credit card paid off, which I think is doable in January.
Plan my next novel. It feels kind of badass to say that. Ha. I loved, loved, loved the process of writing my first novel and I want this next one to be a book I could see myself revising and editing and trying to get published. I want to spend this upcoming month in the planning phase of novel writing.
Figure out what I need to do to start freelancing. One of my 2013 resolutions is to get 3 freelance articles published. It’s small potatoes, I know. Baby steps. For January, I want to focus on the how. Where do I start? What do I need to do to get the ball rolling? I have questions and January is about getting answers.
Get 8-9 hours of sleep a night. I spent all of last year working on getting to bed at a decent hour. My days start early and I know I need a solid 8-9 hours of sleep to feel refreshed and well-rested. This means turning off the TV, powering down the laptop, and adjusting my schedule so I start winding down earlier and earlier until I can make at 9pm cut-off.
Good luck with your monthly goals! Have you tried checking out books from the library on your kindle? That might help make it easier to buy less books in 2013 as the library was definitely a godsend for me achieving my goal of not buying books in 2012. It’s pretty easy to do so maybe check that out if you haven’t?
I don’t have monthly intentions, but I should set monthly goals towards achieving my big goals for 2013! I do sort of when it comes to the CFA as I have a certain number of hours i try to study each week/month.
I do use the library for Kindle books, off and on. The selection isn’t the best and the waiting lists are LONG for popular books but it is an option I will be looking into more this year. I just know I don’t have the budget to spend $30/month on books. And I get an email for free/cheap Kindle books daily so that will help, too!
I like making monthly goals that coincide with my resolutions. It helps to break those big yearly goals into small monthly goals, which makes them more achievable!
I love your goals! I’m also a big kindle spender and I’m going to try reading more classics and uploading books I find online from my computer to my kindle instead of always going to the store- if I can find that cable that came with it lol But I’ve heard it’s a great way to keep costs in check.
Have fun starting novel #2! That IS amazing and something to be giddy about. Well done!
I’m glad I’m not the only one! That “1-click” button on Amazon is dangerous! I have a bunch of classics loaded on my Kindle and get a daily email for free/cheap books. I mean, I guess it’s not a BAD problem to have, spending money on books. Heh. Just need to curb my spending!
Have you heard of or used mint.com? It’s awesome for helping budget and see exactly where your money goes. I have found a few things I dislike, but it’s helped me tremendously.
Good luck with all of these! It’s a good balance of things that need to be done ($$) and things you want to do because you enjoy them (your novel)!
I have tried mint.com before. I don’t feel as in control when I use it, for some reason. I like plain, old spreadsheets, I guess. I haven’t been on it in a year or two so maybe it has changed, but it hasn’t really worked for me in the way I need it to before. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
I second Mint.com, it’s a great way to help budgeting.
And I love the freelance idea, I’m looking into that myself. Like you said, baby steps.
Good luck with your goals lady!
I’m not a huge fan of mint.com, for some reason. I like old-fashioned spreadsheets, for some reason! It helps me feel more in control. 🙂
Yay, freelancing. Hopefully we both have some good luck with that this year.
love the header photo! So dreamy.
The library is awesome for my book budget. I spend about 10 dollars every other month on Kindle books.
I used to use the library on a weekly basis, then I got a Kindle and it all went to crap. Ha. But $30/month is way too much for my budget so gotta get cracking! I can download Kindle books from the library, using Amazon is usually quicker though! Bah! That “1-click” button gets me every time.
Excellent goals Steph!! January is the month to kick start things RIGHT and you’ve got some great, ambitious goals to keep you motivated. I’ve been finding it hard to have monthly goals with school, but I really liked having SEASONAL goals… My Fall and Winter goals went over really well. Maybe I’ll do that again? I’m kind of tired of writing about goals for now so I may just focus on my 2013 ones for a bit and see how I feel in another month or so. We’ll see!
I know this is random but I also really like the picture you chose at the top ha 🙂
I am all goal-ed out, too! Man. I think three of my five posts were goal-oriented. LOL. I liked having seasonal goals, too, and that may be a better option with how busy you get at school! I really want to tailor my monthly goals to my resolutions so I can do even better this year!
I want to start freelancing, too, but don’t know where to begin. I came up with an idea that would probably be good for a small section in a magazine or post on a blog such as The Every Girl, but I haven’t been able to come up with anything else. :-/ Otherwise, these are some great goals! I’ve been thinking about doing a January Goals post next week, but I need to sit down and figure out exactly what I want out of this month. Good luck! 🙂
It’s the ideas that are hard! It’s difficult to pitch an article idea when you have no idea what to write about. But, like I said to you before, I hope that as I do more (non-blog) writing, the ideas will start churning more easily. All we can do is try!
I think it’s a good idea to make monthly goals. It’s kind of like taking baby steps toward our bigger goals. It also helps break the bigger goals up so they seem less daunting. Good luck in Jan, Stephany!
Yes, exactly! I want to tailor the majority of my monthly goals to my resolutions to keep them in mind and focused on my priorities.
Great goals! I would LOVE to start getting 8-9 hours of sleep. I am constantly depriving myself of healthy sleep during the week and then overcompensating on the weekends. Terrible habit, but really hard to break.
I also want to start freelancing more, too. I’ve spent so much time focused on my blog that I’ve let that fall by the wayside, but it’s so important to keep your portfolio fresh once you start. I’m gonna get back on the horse.
Getting more sleep should be one of those EASY goals, but it can be really hard! It’s tough to remember to shut down the computer, turn off the TV, etc., etc. at a decent hour so we’re relaxed and ready to sleep at the right time. But I know how much better I feel when I get a solid 8 hours so have to figure out a way to make this more of a priority.
I think monthly goals is a great way to make your yearly goals more manageable. I succeeded in not spending any money on books in 2012 by going to the library A LOT! I also borrowed books from friends or swapped with people in order to get more recent titles. I also read quite a few older books last year as well and found some gems that I had passed by before!