OK, I’m weirdly nervous about writing today’s post. As I dug into my Powersheets prep work before setting these goals for the year there was a mix of things I knew were going to be important to work on and then things that snuck up and surprised me. In the end, I came up with seven goals that I’m planning to work on during 2018. And as I begin what feels like this huge undertaking, I am constantly reminding myself of the phrases “Progress not Perfection” and “little by little adds up…” So here we go, here are my 2018 goals:

1. Get Stronger
I want to end 2018 stronger both physically and mentally/emotionally. I know that my physical health is linked to my mental state and I want to improve both. I’m looking forward to continuing my yoga practice (this includes pushing myself into more advanced classes that scare me!) and to incorporating other strength building into my routines this year. I’m hoping this leads to

more energy and less hesitation when it comes to doing things myself or engaging in various physical activities with the kids.
2. Live Liturgically
Doubling down on my love for Catholicism, I want to practice incorporating the liturgical seasons and celebrations more this year and see how that effects my prayer and faith life, as well as my family life as we will hopefully discover some new or old traditions. In this goal I’m also including the hope of starting some Bible journaling as well as connecting more with my faith community. I also plan to continue using my Write the Word journals and reading the Blessed is She devotionals.
3. Cultivate a Peaceful Home
My house is often a lot of chaos and I’m ready for that to change. I want to incorporate more useful routines, use our tools and resources wisely, and continue to experience beauty in our home via meaningful decorations and time outside in our yard and garden. I want people who come into our home to feel warm and welcome. I want to declutter and simplify. I want to spend less time looking for things and more time enjoying the people under my roof.

4. Enjoy Everyday Miracles
This basically ties in with one of the focuses I have for the blog this year. You can read more about my love for the “everyday” HERE
5. Spark Creativity
I’m not sure how this will manifest the most, but I need more creativity and creative outlets this year. I have so many thoughts around this, from writing in new genres to making things with my hands to acting and directing again to simply seeing and reading plays. I just need to nurture this side of me more this year.
6. Raise Your Hopeful Voice
There are a lot of things I just kept my moth shut about in the last few years, and while sometimes that was wise, other times it started losing my voice and hurting my mental health. It’s also super tempting to only speak in outrage and hate and cynicism and I don’t want that. I want to speak with love and hope and conviction. I’m not exactly sure how this goal will end up, but I know when I was doing my PowerSheets prep work the themes of hope and speaking up came through again and again so here it is on my list.
7. Financial Stability
This is going to be a long term goal that will need to stretch over many years, but after getting back on our feet last year, I’m ready to start really focusing on tweaking our budget and paying down debt this year so we have the freedom to stop worrying so much and to start giving more generously in years to come.

SO, now that you know my 2018 goals, time to share with you my January tending list- the plans I have to take baby steps this month to get me closer toward some or all of my goals. (If you’re interested in working on your goals in a similar way, the one year PowerSheets are sold out, but there are still six months sets you can get HERE. they are undated so easy to jump in a few weeks or a month or two into the year!):
Monthly Goals:
*Fit Test/Baseline Measurements: When I was writing out the action plan on my goal of getting stronger, one of the questions asked “How will I know I accomplished or made progress on this goal” and I realized I’d need some sort of objective measurement here so I’m looking into a few different fit tests as a baseline- I have a sneaking suspicion that situps and crunches or weight reps will come into play here… just need to figure out details…
*Create Workout Playlists: I’m definitely motivated by music and if I’m going to put in some work on my getting stronger goal at home in addition to at my yoga studio then I need some jams to fire me up- anyone have a favorite workout song they want to share? Please let me know!
*Celebrate my daughter’s 1st birthday: I can’t believe a year has gone by so fast. We are in the midst of figuring out how to celebrate and which traditions we want to start with her to celebrate each year.
*Look up Bulk Trash Dates: In an effort to make a more peaceful home, I know we need to get rid of things that are broken or cluttering our living space. We live in a relatively small house and we don’t have room for junk so knowing bulk pick up dates throughout the year will help us plan our cleaning endeavors!
*Create Garden Plan for Spring: I know this might sound crazy to some people because winter basically just began, but here in Phoenix I only have about a month of truly cold frosts before I can start some seeds indoors and even before I can direct sow some heartier varieties outside. I want to be ready to go and to prep my soil so next month I can start our garden and get the most out of it before the warm weather sneaks in. I’ll definitely be writing a post about this because I’ve become a garden geek in the past year! (Who’d have thought?!)
*Research Liturgical Living Ideas/Create tentative calendar for first half of the year: I’ve pinned some resources on this subject but haven’t taken the time to read through and really research different ways people incorporate liturgical living in their homes. I do know that I will need to plan ahead. This not only means paying special attention to when seasons change (I’m looking at you Lent and Easter) but also to which Saints Days we may want to plan special meals or events for so they don’t sneak up on us.
*Celebrate Epiphany: I DO know that one of the first opportunities I have on that liturgical calendar will be celebrating Epiphany which commemorates when the wise men found Jesus. That means not taking our decorations down New Year’s Day but instead keeping them up the whole 12 Days of Christmas and letting my son finally place the three kings in our nativity scene!

Weekly Goals:
*Budget/Meal Plan/Family Meeting: This is something I’ve been working on the past few months and it makes all the difference in communication for the week ahead. It’s so crucial to be on the same page with my husband, especially about basics like food, schedule, and money.
*Read a Play: This ties to my goal of sparking creativity. I don’t have the means to be in or direct a play at the moment, but I can get back to fueling my mind with excellent scripts. I’ll take suggestions if you have them!
*Self Care & Sabbath: Part of my goal of living liturgically is embracing the downtime called for as part of the sabbath. Catholics are called to observe the sabbath day by going to mass but also to observe a different rhythm from the work week. Unlike some faiths, Catholics don’t believe you need to stay home and abstain from cultural events or social gathering. I think this quote from the catechism sums it up, “The institution of the Lord’s Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.”
*Write!: Time to get back into the swing of blogging in real time- and maybe even try to get ahead a bit again. Plus I’m trying to motivate myself to finish up a ten minute play… something I’m weirdly intimidated to put out there.

Daily Goals:
*Yoga/Walk: Another hold over from previous months and one of the most positive choices I can make day by day. I love that this is slowly becoming a habit and hopefully at some point this year I can drop it from my tending list and keep the habit!
*Coffee & Jesus: In my continued attempt to refine my morning routine, I know this one thing needs to remain- there’s a longer explanation of this goal HERE in case you are a new reader!
*15 min speed clean: I tried this one month last year and it wasn’t great, but I think my mistake was using the 15 minutes to pick up toys/re-set things for the kids that they just undid right after their naps as opposed to actually picking a task that was about cleaning, not tidying.
*Gratitude Log: I’m not sure what form my gratitude log will take long term, but for now I want to jot down something I’m grateful for each day in my planner.
*Hydrate: Keep on chuggin that water…. I sometimes forget during the cold seasons and I know in many ways hydration is key to fighting off sickness and feeling more energized.

I’d love to hear about your goals or action steps for the start of the new year! As always, feel free to leave me a comment or question and thanks for reading. I know this post was a LONG one! If you want some great goal setting tips to get your started, check out the series on Lara Casey’s Blog!!!

 

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