(images from the goal planner that I use)
Happy New Year, friends! I am writing this post on December 31 (and scheduling it to go up tomorrow, January 1) from New Orleans, Louisiana. Grace and I have absolutely loved spending our last week of 2018 here, and it’s been a fitting celebration to end an amazing year.
When I think about 2019, I think of a breath of fresh air. A chance to refocus and rest. 2018 brought SO MUCH CHANGE. And it was so good—we got married. It was our first full year with both of our dogs. I changed jobs, and Grace had a career shift too. We took some amazing trips, most notably our honeymoon. It was a year filled with the “next big thing” constantly right around the corner.
In 2019, I’m looking forward to chilling out. There won’t be a wedding to plan, and even though I can always improve and learn, there isn’t anything major in my life that I want to look different at the end of 2019. I just want to e n j o y t h e r i d e.
My “word” for 2019 is RETURN. Return to myself, return to “normal,” return to rest, and see returns on all the things I’ve invested in emotionally and spiritually. When I feel anxious or straying from what matters, I want to remember to return to the core important things in my life. I think the answers will always be there when I bear that in mind.
I set 7 overarching goals that I want to guide 2019 for me. They are, in no particular order:
Be present and enjoy the ride.
Love Grace well and get to know her more deeply.
Save money.
Take better care of my body.
Cultivate faith.
Seek humility.
Don’t cut corners.
Some of these might seem vague, but all have many dreams, ideas, and action items behind them. I’ve spent some time this month mapping out what it would look like for me to stay true to these goals throughout this year. For me, the biggest motivation in accomplishing a goal is imagining how I’ll feel when I can say I’ve done it. If I focus on these 7 things in the new year, I know 2019 will be one of the most beautiful years yet.
I also set monthly goals for January. But first, here’s how I did on my December goals:
Send our first ever Christmas cards—yes! Check them out here.
Enjoy items on my winter bucket list (try to do at least one a week)—yes! I’ve had so much fun working on it.
Get our first ever Christmas tree—yes, it’s still up! I love it so much.
Decorate our house for Christmas—yes! You can see my Christmas decorations house tour here.
Reverently and joyfully observe Advent—I could have been better about minimizing distractions during this season, but yes.
Update my 60 before 30 list with progress so far—yep! Check out my update post here.
Take an exciting trip just Grace and me—on it right now! (New Orleans)
Set goals for 2019—yes :)
Host my mom in our house!—yep! It was a really fun week.
Wrap all Christmas gifts and mail the ones that are going to out of town people—done.
Replace my phone screen protector—done. Such a random chore, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t do it unless I made it a monthly goal.
And here are my January goals:
First month of my spending challenge (no purchases other than food and essentials for January-March—part of my overall savings goals for the year)
Enjoy more items on our winter bucket list
Write thank-yous for my Christmas gifts
Finish up a few small things for my name change (my legal name change is done but I need to update certain accounts and things)
Set up our printer
If you set goals for 2019, I’d love to hear about them! Wishing you a sweet, healthy, and peace-filled new year.