APARTMENT (3/5 complete)
1) Move to a two-bedroom apartment – Not complete. I ended up staying in my one-bedroom apartment for at least another year because my rent didn’t increase this year.
2) Hire movers for my move – N/A
3) Change up my entryway – Complete!
4) Buy a new mattress and bedframe – Complete!
5) Create a favorite books bookshelf. Complete!
HEALTH (1/5 complete)
1) Go for a walk every day – Not complete. My percentage was pretty pitiful.
2) Complete 100 Peloton workouts – I only managed around 60ish Peloton workouts this year. Another pitiful attempt.
3) Drink at least one bottle (16 oz) of water every day – Not complete. Your girl was struggling in this category.
4) Get a sleep study done – Not complete. I never made an appointment with my PCP to get a referral.
5) Research my options for LASIK. Complete! And I went ahead with the surgery, too! I have new eyeballs!
6) Establish a better morning and nighttime routine. Not complete. This is definitely something I want to focus on in 2024. (Of course, I said this in 2023, so…)
MONEY (0/4 complete)
1) Have $3,000 saved in my CapitalOne emergency fund and $500 in my bank emergency fund by the end of the year. Not complete.
2) Switch to a rewards credit card. Not complete.
3) Start doing monthly budget recaps again. Not complete.
4) Donate $50 to the following three charities every quarter: Friends of Strays, the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund, and CASA. Not complete.
HOBBIES (5/7 complete)
1) Read 100 books. (116/100) Crushed this goal.
2) Complete the A-Z reading challenge. (26/26) Complete! Huge thank you to Engie for helping me find books for some of the harder letters like V and Z.
3) Publish podcast seasons regularly throughout the year. Complete! We released season 3 in January/February, season 4 in March/April, season 5 in June/July, season 6 in September/October, and season 7 in November/December.
4) Post to our podcast Instagram three times per week while we’re in season and twice per week when we’re not. Not complete. A big podcast goal for me in 2024!
5) Complete my blog categorization project. Complete! I am finished with this massive project. It took me two years!
6) Host a silent reading night. Complete. I did not host a silent reading night, but I did start attending Silent Book Club.
7) Watch 6 movies and 6 standup specials. (9/12) Not complete. I watched six movies but fell short with just three stand-up specials. (Bri and I were supposed to see Taylor Tomlinson in November but the show got postponed to April since she fell ill.)
MOVIES
- Glass Onion ★★★☆☆
- Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret ★★★★★
- The Little Mermaid ★★★★★
- Clue ★★★★☆
- Barbie ★★★★★
- Red, White, and Royal Blue ★★★★☆
STAND-UPS
- Jim Gaffigan (live) ★★★★☆
- Michelle Wolf: Joke Show ★★★★☆
- John Mulaney: Baby J ★★★★★
FUN STUFF (7/8 complete)
1) Go tubing at Rainbow Springs. Complete! I went in August with my mom and stepdad and had the best time.
2) Take a knife skills class. Complete! It was so much fun!
3) Learn how to French braid. Complete.
4) Visit one new state. Complete. I visited South Carolina in early July and Tennessee in December.
5) Get a tattoo. Complete. I got this done at the end of September – yay!
6) See a Dolphins game in person. Not complete.
7) Complete Project 365. Complete!
8) Go on at least 5 first dates. Complete! I went on three first dates and one of those first dates morphed into a five-month relationship, so I’m counting this as complete.
Alright, so what did we learn from my 2023 goals? I love completing home, hobbies, and fun goals. I do not love completing health and money goals! Or maybe it’s easier for me to complete the more exciting goals and I need a new strategy for completing the goals that require a little more from me. I’ve been thinking about moving from monthly goals to quarterly goals in 2024, and that might be a good place to put these health/money goals so I can break them into something more manageable for me—and I can reassess at the end of each quarter how the goal has worked for me and what may need to be changed.
In any event, in 2023, I completed 16 of 29 goals, or 55%. That’s an F average in school but let’s take the optimist’s lens with this percentage—I completed more than half of the goals I set for myself this year! I never set my yearly goals with the intention that I’ll complete all of them, so I’m happy with what I accomplished this year. Lots of fun goals achieved and I’m excited to set more fun goals in 2024.
How did you do with your 2023 goals, if you set them?
I love your attitude! And using this as an opportunity to examine how you set and complete goals makes sense! I think I need to do that too. I am afraid to even look back at the goals I set for myself this year because I feel like I failed on ALL of them. Blargh.
Let’s call it a “re-aligning of priorities” rather than failing. You did a LOT of things this year, including a huge, big move so I think you got a lot done regardless!
I think you did really well and I am sure you accomplished more than you might have if you hadn’t set these goals!
For 2023 goals, I achieved my work goal (and then some – I had a HUGE year at work), reading goal, and travel goal. I didn’t run any 10ks, I did not go any dates with Phil, and I did not go outside for 23 minutes every day. We did try to go on some dates in the spring but the babysitter we were going to try to use rescheduled a couple of times due to things she had going on (she’s in HS and is the daughter of my former coworker). We kind of gave up after that and then didn’t get around to booking/finding a different babysitter. There is a girl on our block that wants to babysit and she has babysat a lot for a family with similar-aged kids but I am so nervous about how bedtime would go for Taco… he is so difficult to put down. So I think we need to book the babysitter we used to use pre-Covid. I think we started using her before Paul was 1 so he kind of got a bit used to having a sitter from a young age. Taco has never had a babysitter… But we need to just rip the bandaid off and book a sitter.
In 2024, I have decided to shift to quarterly goals. I used to always set annual goals but life can change so much in a year. Like I never could have foreseen how hard my year at work would be and that zapped so much of my energy for other goals.
Is it possible to do afternoon dates with Phil? Like maybe you guys take a day off work while the kids are in daycare/school, and then you can have a day date without worrying about a babysitter? I always get so sad when I hear about people going so long without dates with their partners! I know that tends to be a reality of life with young kids, though. 🙁
I’m excited to see what you set for your quarterly goals! And that you’re in a space where you feel comfortable setting goals again!
We have done that a couple of times but work can kind of creep into the day all too easily. It’s something we need to work on in 2024. We do have our car commutes and the time after the boys go to bed to get some couple time but we need more. I have booked a babysitter for the first weekend in Feb for an early bday dinner so I am excited about that!!
I did pretty good on my goals, but I do like my reading and working out goals far more than money and house goals! LOL. Maybe next year will be different.
I also have really taken to heart some advice that Jenny gave me that if you get 100% on your goals, you’re not reaching enough. It’s good that you didn’t get them all, right?!
I love that advice! It’s similar to the way we’re supposed to structure our goals at work: The goal is to aim for 70% completion and if you’re getting 100% on every goal, that means the goals aren’t big enough!
2023 was an epic year for you! Lots of boxes checked which means lot of things are coming off the list. I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings for you!
Thank you, friend! I’m hoping 2024 ends up being a wonderful year for both of us. <3
Thanks for this update, Stephany!
Family goals: I did great
Exercise: laughable.
Travel and adventure: did great.
Work: gave 100%
Books: didn’t keep a quota but read continuously.
I actually just reflected on 2023 yesterday where i lay it all out if you want to check it out.
Exercise is so hard to achieve regularly – especially when you have small children and a busy job! Doing well on family, travel, work, and book goals is amazing!
I didn’t set any goals last year, so I can’t report. I would say you did great on yours though!
I love my points credit cards. There are a lot of really good ones now, and plenty of them have no annual fee either. Of course you can’t carry a balance or they don’t make sense. 2% in rewards is nothing compared to 25% interest.
Okay, I’m going to say good job! Over 50% is great. I fell short of several of my goals- to read 50 books for the year (sigh,) fix my foot (nope- still have plantar fasciitis) and get more sleep. They will all become goals for 2024!
That’s the fun thing about goals: We can just roll them over into the next year and try again!
I’d just like to point out that 1) you prioritized those things that were important to you; 2) no rent increase + no move = saving money in the long run; and 3) you can’t say you didn’t complete a goal if the reason was not at all your fault (e.g., the stand up comic who got sick). That should have been removed from your metrics. 😉 And, yes, you totally met the dating goal because hi, 5-month relationship. Just sayin’, my friend…
Eh, I’m not going to give myself a pass on the “watch 6 stand-ups” goal because even if I took out the live performance that was missed due to illness, I still fell 2 stand-up specials short. I could have tried harder with that goal, but it wasn’t a huge priority!
I didn’t have an official goal list but I am contemplating one for this year. I love seeing those recaps and you did so well with your goals… well, at least some of them 😉 And the good thing is, by tracking this so closely, you really know where your “problem” areas are that require a little bit more effort. Of course, money and health goals are “harder” to accomplish than fun goals. Nobody’s surprised… but I think you still gave it a good effort!
I am looking forward to seeing what you do in 2024!
While I was reading I thought you did an amazing job crushing your goals. Now seeing 55% or an F is really a gut punch. So Not liking that. I also believe that when you only managed to achieve one goal it is a step in the right direction and the trend line is up. So I’d so setting goals and getting one step closer is a win.
I agree. The money and adulting goals are so so hard to check off. I have more than enough of those goals to tackle.
I was also wondering if a quarterly attempt would suit me better but I somehow feel like I will be slacking off. So I am sticking with the monthly I think but I would like to hear your experience. I can see why bigger ones are easier to tackle on a quarterly basis.