I’m glad so glad March is over, and I’m ready for spring! No one has been sick for a week or so, we celebrated my daughter’s birthday, I got back into my exercise and Bible reading schedule, and I just feel energized for a new month!
Instead of sharing weekly goals, I thought I would just start recapping my annual goals once a month and reporting my progress on those goals. Sharing weekly has been difficult for me simply because I’m trying to spend less time blogging and more time focused on my family, so that’s the main reason why I’m planning to share just once per month. I will still be writing weekly goals in my home management binder, because I still think setting goals is important.
My main hope in sharing my goals is to inspire you to set some of your own. I think it’s easy to just sort of muddle through life when you don’t have a purpose or plan and goals give you something to aim for. Do I do this perfectly? No. I can’t even say I do it well — but I’m trying and making some progress!! Hey…if I even inspire you because I’m such a failure and you know you’re making more progress than me, I’m okay with that!! 😉
Here’s where I’m at:
Spiritual:
Read through the Bible in a year with the The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order (NIV).
**Horrible job with this at the beginning of March, so I’m skipping the pages I missed (!!) and catching up to where I should be.
Grow in hospitality (by inviting others into our home regularly).
**Again, not my best month for this because of all the illnesses and travel we did. I plan to have at least two families over this month and two playdates.
Explore adoption (this is also a personal goal, as well — they all kind of go together).
**I listened to this sermon by Voddie Baucham on adoption. I also started reading Successful Adoption: A Guide for Christian Families.
Financial:
Pay off our home mortgage as quickly as possible.
**Making strides toward this. We’re getting an income tax refund (I wasn’t expecting that) so that will go directly to the house. We have about 25% paid off.
Save towards replacing John’s 30-year-old truck.
**We made a decision to put more money towards the house and continue driving this truck longer. I’m planning to share more about this decision during April.
Try a 1-month cash-only challenge.
**Not yet.
Fitness
Complete another 1/2 marathon.
**I have four more weeks of training until I finish this goal!
*Insanity is done. P90X2 will wait until after the 1/2 marathon.
Work-out 4-5 per week throughout the year.
*Last month was more like 3-4 times, but that will be upped during April.
Marriage
At least two date nights per month + 2 at-home date nights per month to save on babysitting costs.
**Done!!
Two overnight getaways together during the next year.
**I need to plan one for this month or next month.
Mothering
Hold and cuddle each child daily. (I don’t come from a touchy-feely family, so I don’t gravitate to this naturally. And now that they are getting older, and we spend so much time doing school and other activities, I just don’t think about it!)
**Doing pretty well with this as long as we have a good reading time in the morning or afternoon. It’s easy to do when we read books and snuggle!
Apply principles from Wise Words for Moms and the book Don’t Make Me Count to Three.
**Still working on it! Endless…
Take each girl on a mommy date (one per month).
**Took my middle daughter to open houses, shopping, and Sonic. She thought it was great fun!!
Personal:
Read 12 non-fiction books + 5 fiction titles.
**Plugging away.
Write a workshop and present it at three churches.
**I’m failing at this one. I can’t hardly start because I’m so worried about it being good enough, so I’ve just played the procrastination game. I will have an outline done by the end of April.Any perfectionist procrastinators out there?!!
Make home management, homeschool, and blogging binders. (Get ready! This is an upcoming 30-Day Challenge. I have a special treat for you, too. I’m so excited!!)
**Still working on this. I had four more ideas for pages, so I’m waiting on my sister to get them made for me! She’s so sweet!!
Continue to simplify my life.
Ongoing…but I did clean out the girls’ closets and got rid of clothing. I’m going to work on the school room this month.
Blogging:
Become better at planning ahead. Make a yearly, monthly, and weekly plan.
**I did terrible at this last month. I do have a plan for this month though!!
Put tighter limits around blogging and non-blogging time to prevent burn-out and give enough of myself to my little ones.
**Still working on this. I haven’t quite found the perfect solution, but a timer is helping me.
Redesign and combine Motherhood on a Dime and The Amazing Mess. (Don’t worry! I’ve been working on a plan to *hopefully* make the transition super-easy!)
**Done! Although I’m still going back through posts and fixing them from the move. That will be ongoing!
What about you? Do you have any goals for the year or month? If not, it’s a brand-new month, so why not try setting a few?!!
Rachel says
Your goals are so inspiring! Thanks for sharing your progress and your thoughts. I know that is very personal. I, too, am a perfectionist procrastinator so I understand. Your presentation will be a blessing to those who hear as your blog posts are to me.
Stacie says
Thanks so much, Rachel!! I really appreciate your encouragement…I just can’t seem to get past the mental block!
Cheryl says
Thank you for writing out your goals. I need to do this. Thank you for writing your progress as well. I am a fan of progress over perfection.
SandiP says
You really are an inspiration, and not in the backhanded “because you’re a such a failure” way, either… have a little grace towards yourself, wouldja? 🙂
I’m leaving my job at the end of May to be a SAHM, and am starting to prepare my own home binder, complete with goals. I’ve been reading your blog, as well as some others, to economize, organize (and thus save even more money), and just get ready mentally for what is going to be a huge paradigm shift for me.
Thank you for your example and your humility, and for sharing what you know. 🙂 Grateful for you!
Donnalynn says
Hi Stacie,
I was wondering are you planning on updating your home management binder? Also, will/do you have pages dealing with budgeting Thanks