I know that today is just any other day. The clocks moved, the calendars flipped and nothing extraordinary happened. Yet it always feels bigger somehow. I love the first of the year. It feels fresh and new. A book with 365 blank pages waiting to be filled up. I get to start my new planner, we always do a big purge/clean in our house and it’s amazing to think that there are so many adventures, big and small, awaiting us this year that we can’t even imagine. I love it.
I also love thinking about what I want to do better this year, what I need to work on, improve or start. What’s funny though is that I never succeed. I’m terrible at sticking to things. January is a slow month for us. The kids are all in sports but not ALL the sports like in the fall/spring. Chris isn’t coaching every single day right now and my work isn’t busy. It gives me time to reflect, which is where my goals and resolutions usually come from because most of the year I barely have time to think about dinner much less bettering myself! So while I’m going to talk about my goals for this year I am also giving myself the room to fail. I have to keep reminding myself that I am enough. Even if I can’t change a thing this year I am enough for the people that love me. So I am giving myself lots of grace this year but also am going to work hard this slow month to set myself up, the best I can, for success in some areas in preparation for when life gets a lot busier. We’ll see how I do! HA!
Anyway, here are my goals for 2016….
MORE ORGANIZATION:
This has many layers but the three main ones are….
- Fresh Art – I finally settled on a studio software before Christmas and I need to get it set up. I think it will help Katie and I stay on task, stay organized and communicate better.
- Meals – Chris and I have vowed to start working harder at cooking for the family together so we stop getting take-out so often. I will never be a full-time cooking mom but together I think we can be better than we have been.
- My Desk – It’s always a mess of Fresh Art stuff, personal finances, school stuff and all the other random crap no one in the house knows what to do with. I am setting up our new 2016 personal finance binder today and I need a spot dedicated to that. I want to figure out a better way to deal with all the paper the kids bring home. I just want less chaos when I sit down to work every day!
LESS SPENDING:
Pretty self-explanatory I guess! Less take-out is a HUGE one for us. We spend most of our money on food and sports so figuring out ways to cut those two back will be good.
MORE MOVING:
I’m going to try to walk/jog a mile every day but I know I will fall short of this. I am terrible about getting out and walking. It always feels like a waste of time or that I don’t have enough time or it’s too cold or too hot, etc. I have a million excuses but I think I would feel better if I got out more often. It’s part of why I love hiking – if only we lived at the base of a mountain! HA!
LESS GUILT:
This is for all of the above and below because I will fail at all of these things and I can’t beat myself up. I’m super organized until I’m not. I’m great at our budget until I’m not. I have ups and downs all the time with my productivity and this year I am going to be nicer to myself when I fail. I also want to stop saying yes to things out of guilt. I do that a lot and end up feeling resentment. “Learn to say no” should probably be on this list!
MORE DATES:
I want to see my friends more this year so if anyone wants to grab breakfast I’m your girl! I suck at lunch dates b/c by then I’m in the midst of work and hate to leave. I can rarely do dinner but breakfast right after I drop the kids off is great! I want to have more intentional dates with Chris this year too and not just dinner. I want to get creative! I want to have at least one date with each of my kids, I want to meet my sister for a random mid-week date and I want to have double dates too. So if anyone wants to hang out with me and C let me know! Oh and family dates – we hike a lot but I’d love to get out even more together!
LESS COMPARING:
I struggle with comparing myself to other moms, other business owners, other women, other photographers, other friends, etc. Facebook is a HUGE culprit of this for me. So really this should also say “less FB” but ultimately I just need to know that I am enough and stop comparing myself to others. I believe the saying; “comparison is the thief of joy” and I’ve fallen into a bad rut lately so I’m going to break free! HA!
Lastly, and this isn’t officially on the list, but I want to start shooting with my big camera at home more often. I love having my iPhone but looking back over 2015 in real photos I realized that I use my real camera for birthdays, holidays, hiking and family adventures. That’s about it. I use my iPhone for everything else. I’d love to start shooting around here like I did when the kids were younger. The problem is that capturing them watching Netflix on their Kindles, doing homework, etc. isn’t as cute as the things they did when they were little but I need to still capture it because it’s what they’re into now. I want to seek out the beauty in our everyday again.
This list is exhausting but it’s also invigorating! I love a challenge!
I also saw this online last night and Chris and I have been laughing about it ever since –
Because there will be a lot of days like that too! HA!
Here’s to a new year! I’m excited for the changes that are coming, for the adventures that lie ahead and will do my best to be kind to myself along the way!
Happy 2016 friends!