Goals – Page 31

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals: January Recap and February Intentions

I can’t believe we’re already at the end of January. Then again, this month felt intensely long, with it being five weeks long and everything. January was a really good month in my life and I really cannot wait to see what February holds in store for me. I don’t have anything exciting coming up to look forward to (like the past two years, when I had a fabulous cruise on the horizon…) but good things are happening and I’m finding myself more and more in love with this life I’m building.

January Recap

Work out five days a week, incorporating Best Body Bootcamp workouts and Couch to 5K training. I completed this goal all but one week, which was the first week of January. I’m getting into a routine of working out again, thanks largely in part to Best Body Bootcamp. Since those who work out five days a week get their name in the pot for the weekly cash drawings, it definitely makes me more apt to work out!

Spend no money on Kindle books and get my credit card balance to $0. Major goal accomplished! My two credit cards have no balances on them at all, which is a feat I haven’t managed to do in years. Now comes the tough part of not using it, unless absolutely necessary. I also did well on my Kindle buying freeze for January and I’m thinking of extending it into February.

Plan my next novel. I didn’t get anywhere with this. I haven’t felt very inspired with fiction writing lately. I have ideas, but then I have another idea. Then another idea. Then another idea. And it’s hard to focus my mind on one idea to write about. I write down all my ideas so I have a growing list but I’m shelving this for right now.

Figure out what I need to do to start freelancing. Check! I reached out on my blog and Twitter to guest post on a variety of blogs (50 is my goal!) to build my writing samples and my reputation. There are some big-name blogs I plan on pitching to in the future, but I think I took a good step in the right direction for this in January.

Get 8-9 hours of sleep a night. I definitely felt myself developing a better routine at night, where I shut off the TV and shut down the laptop by 8:30 so I can take care of bedtime routines before going to sleep. I averaged 8 hours of sleep most nights, with a few nights being 7 hours. I’m very happy about this goal!

Four out of five goals completed. Not too shabby!

February Intentions

Meal plan every week and no eating out on weekdays. The past two weeks, my mom and I got completely off track with meal planning, which means most of our meals are eaten out. Meal planning is annoying and I hate coming up with meals and making sure I have all my bases covered (lunches especially!). But it’s also necessary if I want to lose weight, because I know I’ve gotten completely off track with healthy eating over the past two weeks. I think by making it a goal to eat every dinner in on weekdays, it’ll help with my weight loss goals as well.

Save more money than I spend. Now that my credit cards are paid off and I’ve eliminated unnecessary bills and expenditures, I want to really work on saving more and spending less. That’s my goal for the year, because I know I tend to spend money if I see it sitting in my bank account. Aside from paying my mom for rent, food, utilities, etc., I only have my phone bill to contend with. I think I can save a good chunk of money, as I’m trying to prepare in the event my tax return is sucky (which is what I’m using to hopefully buy a car).

Ride my bike once a week. In December, my mom’s coworker brought us an old bike for us to use. I’ve always wanted to become a biker but I haven’t ridden it once. The area I live in isn’t very biker-friendly but I still want to try to take the bike out once a week to shake up my exercise a little bit.

Stop eating after 8pm. I’m not a mindless eater, nor a big nighttime snacker but I can be a late-night eater. My mom and I used to eat dinner at 8pm or later most nights, but we’ve gotten better at eating dinner at a normal time, usually 6:30 or 7:00. But then I want dessert! And sometimes, not even because I’m hungry but because my body is so ingrained in the routine of dessert after dinner. After soda, sugar is my biggest vice (well, they do work in tandem as soda also contains lots of sugar so it was the first step in beating my sugar addiction) and I want to start working on all those little snacks I have throughout the day. (Obviously, if I am actually hungry, I will have something but I want it to be a healthy something!)

Set up a payment plan to take care of my ER bill from 2010. Ugh. I’m not looking forward to this goal one bit. Once I finish paying off my orthopedic, I want to start the process of dealing with this bill. It’s just one of those things that needs to be dealt with, and I keep pretending it doesn’t exist.

What are your goals for February?

Categories: Goals

January Goals

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.

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Categories: Goals

2013 Resolutions: The Beginning

Well, well, well. Here we are.

January 1, 2013.

An entirely new year. Blemish-free. The cleanest slate there is. There’s just something about this day that brings so much hope, as we embark on a new year and a new journey. My New Year’s Eve was low-key and not too terribly exciting. No midnight kisses for this girl! (Unless dachshund kisses count?) Ah, maybe next year.

Now it’s time to get to work! My theme for the year, as I wrote about yesterday, is “Do The Work.” This year is going to be about big, fantastic, incredible changes but I have to put in the crazy difficult work to achieve them. It’s not going to be an exciting year, but it is going to set the groundwork for exciting years to come.

And, as in years past, I have made a bunch of resolutions. I ended up achieving over half of the goals I set last year and I’m hoping to do even better this year!

Health and Fitness
> Lose 50 lbs.
> Train for a 5K, and set a new personal record.
> Get my wisdom teeth removed.
> Eat less meat.
> Quit soda cold turkey.
> Complete the Spartan 1,000. (100 jump squats, 200 push-ups, 300 sit-ups, and 400 burpees. Gulp.)

Money
> Put myself on a strict budget and evaluate how I am doing on a monthly basis.
> Save at least $83 per month to have $1,000 saved by the end of the year.
> Pay off my last credit card.
> Set up a payment plan with the collection agency holding my ER visit bill.
> Spend less than $100 on Kindle books. (I spent over $350 in 2012. THREE. HUNDRED. AND. FIFTY. DOLLARS. I, um, have a problem.)

Writing
> Write and edit a novel.
> Participate in NaNoWriMo 2013.
> Get at least 3 freelance articles published.

Independence/Social
> Buy a car.
> Go to 3 social events per month.
> Travel by myself to visit a blog friend. (Tentative plans to visit NYC with Melissa. Iwantthistohappensobadlyomg.)

Other
> Get a tattoo.
> Complete Project 333.
> Send one piece of snail mail a month.
> Read 100 books.
> Memorize 24 Bible verses by participating in the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

Whew! I am so excited about these goals and I can’t wait to share my journey throughout this year. First recap will be in April!

Have a great first day of 2013, everyone!

Categories: Best Of, Goals

2012 Resolutions: A Review

I honestly cannot believe it is time to recap my 2012 Resolutions! Didn’t I just make these goals? How are we three days away from the end of this year? I gave myself lots of goals for 2012. Let’s see how I did!

Health and Fitness

1. Get to my happy weight (ideally 115 lbs). Nope. Ugh.

2. Run an entire 5K in under 35 minutes. The only 5K I ran was in April and I definitely didn’t make this goal. And then I took a break from running because I was hating it so much. And then I broke my ankle and was sidelined for 3 months. And then I started running but now I’m sidelined again until I can have a proper sports massage because my muscles are cramping, they are so tight. And then. And then. And then.

3. Exercise 4-5 times a week. About 70% accomplished. I was so much better at exercising when I belonged to a gym but cannot afford a gym bill anymore, so I just need to have the motivation within me. Excuses, excuses.

4. End my addiction to soda. Not completely, but I’m getting better. I want 2013 to be the year I stop drinking soda altogether!

5. Get up-to-date on all doctor’s visits. A goal accomplished, finally!

6. Give blood at least three times. Yes! I started taking daily iron pills after I went twice to give blood at the beginning of the year but my iron count was just below the cutoff. Now that I take them regularly, I never have an issue and give blood as often as I can!

7. Run the Turkey Trot 10K in November. Nope, thanks to that stupid broken ankle.

Money

1. Pay off all credit card debt. About 2/3 completed. I paid off my largest credit card bill earlier this year and just paid off my Target credit card. My last credit card is halfway to the balance, which I am hoping to get paid off sometime in January. I haven’t done well with this goal, but I want 2013 to be a much smarter year for me financially, so I’m working on it!

2. Try as best I can never to keep a balance from month-to-month on my two credit cards. FAIL.

3. Pay off my ER visit bill. I didn’t even get started on this! I want to focus on getting this paid off (or the majority of it) in 2013.

4. Set aside 5% of every paycheck into my savings account. FAIL.

Blog/Social Media

1. Switch Stephany Writes to self-hosted WordPress, with a brand-new design. I checked this one off in early March and I worked with Doniree on the switch. She took care of everything and made the process so easy and stress-free. I am so happy with the switch and completely recommend using Doniree if you want to make the switch. (I also use her hosting service, Whiskey Cloud, which I never, ever have issues with. Wholly recommend!)

2. Take one break from social media a month. I think the only month I missed doing this was September, but as I was coming back from a month-long social media hiatus, I think it’s okay. I really love stepping away and I want to continue stepping away regularly in the new year. (I’m thinking about one weekend a month.)

3. Have a weekend away with special blogging friends. This didn’t happen. Sob.

Writing/Reading

1. Write and edit a novel. When I did my resolutions recap post in October, I was 100% positive I was not going to make this goal. And then I went and wrote a novel in November. See what happens when we stop making excuses and just start doing? Pay attention, Steph. I haven’t gotten around to editing my novel, but I am super proud of writing it! Yay, me!

2. Read one nonfiction book a month. Completed! I really like reading nonfiction but I generally do not read a lot of it so I made this a goal so it could become more natural for me. This year, I’ve read: Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling, Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff, MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche, What Women Fear: Walking in a Faith That Transforms by Angie Smith, Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone, Twenty-Something, Twenty-Everything by Christine Hassler, The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman, The Joy of Less by Francine Jay, and Quiet by Susan Cain. Whew!

3. Read 75 books. I’ve read 89. BOOM.

Other

1. Fly on an airplane. Yup! Accomplished this goal back in September when my mom and I flew to Atlanta to visit family. It was a short ride (less than an hour) but I was still silly excited about it. I am totally an eight-year-old at heart.

2. Fully immerse myself in the online dating world. I feel like I did accomplish this. I’m not sure what I was aiming to get out of this goal, but I think I just wanted to put more effort into dating and finding that special someone. I connected with a few guys, went on some dates, and tried to open my heart more to love. I’m hopeful for what 2013 will bring me.

3. Find my faith again. I don’t think I ever lost my faith but I do think I was searching for something when I started this year. I was struggling with my faith and I was stuck on this idea of perfection when it came to being a Christian. While I still feel like the crappiest Christian there ever is, I’m starting to realize God cares more about my intentions, less about my perfections. I know I can do better and I want to do better, but at the end of the day, it’s about loving Jesus and trusting in Him.

4. Join a book club, Bible study, or some type of social group. Yes! I started attending a woman’s Bible study at my church in the earlier part of 2012 but wasn’t able to make it to their Fall or Winter sessions, due to scheduling difficulties. But I also joined a local book club that I’m totally loving. Yay!

***

In total, I accomplished 12 of the 21 goals I set, or about 57% total. I failed miserably at the health & fitness and money goals and surprise, surprise – they are a major focus for me in 2013. But there were a lot of goals on here – like writing a novel and joining a social group – that I really hoped I could accomplish but didn’t have a lot of faith that I could. So it’s pretty neat to be able to cross them off as complete!

I really love making New Year’s Resolutions. I love sitting down at the end of the year and evaluating what goals I want to make a priority in the new year. It’s no secret that I love, love, love goal setting and creating New Year’s Resolutions gives me a focus for the upcoming year. I know I’m not going to achieve every single goal I set, but I was able to achieve 12 major goals this year. I am thrilled about that!

Stayed tuned – next week, I am bringing you lots of 2013 goodness. I will reveal my theme for the year (including the vision board I worked on this past week!), as well as my intentions for 2013. I have some lofty goals for this upcoming year, but I know I have all the power within me to achieve them.

What are some goals you set this year that you accomplished?

Categories: Goals

10 Goals: Halfway Update

Well, we are currently seven weeks away from the end of 2012. How did that happen? I can’t believe we’ll have to start writing “2013” on things soon. Back in early October, I sat down and came up with a list of 10 goals I wanted to try to accomplish by the end of the year – some of them fun experiences, some of them more “to-do’s” than anything else. I thought it would be wise to see how I’ve done over the past six weeks and what goals are still left to accomplish!

1. Visit the dentist and schedule a consultation for my wisdom teeth. Oy. This is one of those goals that I have put off because I sincerely hate the dentist and continuously put off my cleanings. But I made an appointment yesterday for a cleaning so one part of this goal will be completed. For my wisdom teeth consultation, well, I’m putting that off until next year. Mainly because of time off issues and the fact that I don’t get many days off so I have to ration and save up. I’m hoping I can get my wisdom teeth removed next summer, as long as they don’t bug me too much in the meantime. (They hurt off and on, but only for about a week and Advil helps to take away the pain. And then there’s no pain at all for months. Just comes and goes as it pleases, I guess!)

2. Lose 15 lbs. Oh, dear. I am 2 lbs toward this goal. Um. So. Prooooobably not going to complete this one as the next 7 weeks include Thanksgiving, an Orlando mini-vacation, my birthday, and Christmas. While it’s entirely possible to lose 15 lbs in the next 7 weeks if I buckled down, eliminated sugar and soda from my diet, and generally had The Worst Holiday Season Ever Ever Ever… I’m not going to do that. I am going to remain on plan, treat myself every once in a while, and try to bump up my exercise intensity to at least get halfway to this goal but I’m also not going to beat myself up if I end up enjoying the holiday season too much.

3. Carve a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds. Check! I completed this goal in mid-October and my pumpkin turned out really cute! Unfortunately, he also brought with him gnats and had to be removed before he even celebrate his one-week birthday. Yuck.

4. Finish “Twenty Something, Twenty Everything”. Check! I finally finished this book in mid-October. Once I made it past the tough journaling segment I was stuck on for two months, the rest of the book breezed by. I am thinking this is a book I’d like to read through again, more slowly (yes, even more slowly than my first time!), and blog about what I’m discovering because I seriously got so much out of this book and it’s worth a reread. (And I don’t say that about a lot of books!)

5. Spend a long weekend in Orlando. Soon-to-be check! My mom booked the hotel (her birthday gift to me!) and now I’m trying to decide what I want to do: a few days at Universal/Islands or Adventure or a few days at some Disney parks. I am really, really excited about this as I just love long weekends in Orlando. It’s the best way to mini-vacation here in Florida!

6. Start writing again. Um… BIG HUGE CHECK. As of today, I have written 17,134 words in my novel. I am having a really fun time writing and it’s becoming such a big part of my life that I know it’s something I want to keep doing (adhering to a daily word count) when the NaNoWriMo challenge is over. I am excited about writing again and believing in myself that someday, I will see my name on the spine of a book.

7. Join a book club. Check! I attended my first book club meeting last month and I’m attending my second one next week. This has been a goal of mine – to find a local book club – for a while and I’m so glad I shoved down all my social anxiety and nervousness to go and see what this group was all about. They do a lot of other meet-ups aside from the monthly book clubs so I’m excited about more opportunities to be social and get out of my bubble.

8. Participate in The Color Run. Ehh… this is one goal I’m not sure I’ll accomplish. Basically, registration is $55 which is outrageous for a 5K, even one that will be as fun as this one. It comes in the midst of the holiday season when I’m already strapped for cash. I need to see how my ankle holds up during the Turkey Trot 5K I’m walking on Thanksgiving, too. I completed a 2.5-mile walk on the treadmill last week and my ankle gave me some trouble (nothing major, just could tell it still needs time to heal) so I’m just not sure about this goal anymore.

9. Drink more water than soda. I am doing okay with this goal. I still drink too much soda and I know how bad it is for me, yet quitting has been so hard. I’m thinking a “cold turkey” situation needs to happen. I don’t want to become a diet soda drinker because it’s really not any better for me so I’m trying to formulate a plan for how I’m going to quit soda for good. For now, good but not great.

10. Host an end-of-year holiday giveaway. Oh, you guys! I am so excited about this goal. I have come up with the items I want to give away in my little holiday package and now I’m on a mission to find these things. I haven’t done a giveaway in a long time and this blog is well overdue for one. Yay!

Four goals completed and two are well on their way to being completed – I’d say I am doing very well! Luckily, I gave myself lots of easily achievable goals but there are a few that will challenge me to get them completed. I’ll be back with my final update towards the end of the year (as well as a recap of my 2012 resolutions!).

Have a happy weekend, friends! I’m debating taking Dutch to a “Running of the Wieners” event in Dunedin tomorrow. He would race against other dachshunds and first place gets a $75 PetSmart gift card! I seriously think he could win (plus, since he’s 10, he’d be in the Senior Sausage category and that is just the best thing I’ve ever heard) because he’s a little speedster. Other than that, no big weekend plans. Just relaxing, writing, and watching football! Sounds absolutely perfect.

What is one goal you want to achieve by the end of 2012?