Monday, January 5, 2015

2015 Goals

Monday seems like the perfect day to post about goals, right?  I just love the start of a fresh year - the slate is wiped clean and you get to start all over.  Before I lay out my goals for 2015, I thought I'd check in on how I did with my 2014 goals!

1.  Get out of Charlotte.  Done!  Woo hoo!  Last year I said that if I accomplished no other goal besides this, I would be happy and that is totally the case.  Getting out of Charlotte was the best thing that happened to me last year because it led to SO MUCH happiness in other areas of my life.

2.  Pay down 2/3 of the balance of my grad school student loans.  Done!  I actually blew this goal out of the water as I paid off my grad school loans in full in July.  That meant using some money from savings but it was all worth it to have the satisfaction of having no student loan debt.  Plus I was able to replenish the money I took from savings by the end of the year, which felt great.

3.  Read 52 books.  Done!  I knew I'd accomplish this goal since I read so much.

4.  Return to running.  Done!  I started my return to running at the end of January with a lot of run/walk combos and slowly built up the amount of time I was able to run.  By March, I was back to running without walk breaks and I ran my first race that month.  Being a runner is a huge part of my identity so I am very thankful I was able to return to the sport in 2014 with no injuries or issues!  Take that, RA!!

So now for my 2015 goals.  I have to admit that I had a bit of a harder time developing goals for this year as there wasn't anything HUGE that I am looking to achieve, like passing the CFA or finding a new job.  Here is what I came up with!

1.  Work on resolving my sleep issues.  Sleep has not come easily for me this year.  I've never been good at it, but this year has been especially bad. I've been on Ambien for well over a year and I really need to get off of that, so my hope is to get off of Ambien, try to do a sleep study if insurance will cover it, and find some cognitive behavior therapy techniques to help me deal with my sleep issues.

2.  Tackle a list of purging/organizational projects.  I've purged quite a bit over the last 2 years between my two moves, but there is more that can be done.  I have a list of different areas of my home that I want to tackle, such as the recipe box area of my kitchen where I have piles of folded up printed out recipes (I crossed this project off the list on Saturday so have already gotten a start on the list).  Right now there are 6 projects on the list (and it seems to continue to grow!) and I am hoping to tackle them in the early part of the year when the weather is crappy outside as I know I won't want to be working on projects like that come summer and fall when it's gorgeous outside!

3.  Complete the Book Riot Read Harder ChallengeI usually set a goal for the number of books I will read each year, but this year I want to do something different, so I am going to work on the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.  I love this challenge because it is going to push me to read books that I would not have sought out otherwise, like poetry, short stories, and romance.  I like that it's a 24-book challenge because that means I will have time to read other books.  I'll be posting about my progress toward this goal quarterly so I can hold myself accountable to completing it!

4.  Read 12 books that I own.  I own a lot of books that I have not read.  A LOT.  Like several bookshelves.  I want to start to whittle down the number of unread books I own because it's obnoxious so my goal is to read a book per month that I already own.  Some of these books will count toward the Read Harder Challenge so I can work towards killing two goals with one read!

5.  Employ a "Buy One Give One Away" approach to all book, clothing, and kitchen gadget purchases.  This ties in with goal #2 as it will hopefully help control the clutter and amassing of possessions that I am trying to avoid.  I live in a small space and there is a limit to the number of books I can own, the amount of clothes that can fit in my closet and the number of kitchen gadgets that will fit in my cupboards!  The older I get, the less stuff I want piling up around me so hopefully this approach will help.

6.  Complete a sprint tri.  I've thought about doing a triathlon for several years now as I've watched others around me complete them, but I always had the excuse of not owning a bike.  This is no longer the case so 2015 is the year I'd like to try a tri!  I'm planning to do this women's triathlon in August with my friend Courtney!

I can't wait to get going on these shiny new goals!  The one that intimidates me the most is the first one plus it is going to be the hardest to objectively measure, but it's definitely one of the most essential goals for me to accomplish... 

Have you made any goals or resolutions for 2015?

23 comments:

Lisa-Marie said...

Lisa, do you use your ebook reader before bed? There's a new study that says backlit ereaders affect your sleep.

My main goals are - finding a new job, actually organising renovations to the flat, eating better, reading more fiction, and learning to drive and a language.

Good luck with yours! They seem very doable.

Jeanie said...

No resolutions as such, but pondering my "word" and goals. These are excellent ones (and congrats on your achievements in 2014!).

One certainly is the purging. I have a basement full of things that need to go to goodwill or to trash. That will be a big one. And, I think, traveling a bit more.

Emilie said...

You did AWESOME on your 2014 goals! I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to struggle with sleep. I have never really had any trouble sleeping unless I am sick or under a lot of stress. I hope you are able to get off Ambien and find something that works for you. Good luck with your sprint tri! I am a terrible biker (other people freak me out and I lose my balance) and I can't swim so I think I'll stick to road races only :) I am amazed by people who can compete in all three sports at the same time!

Amber said...

I think those are really great goals that will really improve your quality of life. I need to think a little harder about what I want my 2015 goals to be but I know I want to save a lot more money and just be generally careful with money and not buy things I don't really need. I also LOVE the buy one thing get rid of one or two things philosophy.

Can't wait to hear how working on your sleep goes. I hope you can find a solution!!

Leigh said...

You have some great goals for 2015! I definitely think you can complete a sprint tri and will kick butt at it! I haven't set any goals for 2015 only because life is about to change and I'm waiting to see how it unfolds for me :)

CML said...

Great goals Lisa!
Re: the sleep goal, I think the sleep study is a great step to rule out any physiological problems that are contributing to sleep concerns. I also have some CBT sleep books I could recommend if you're interested.

Vanessa Meads said...

Wow, you really killed it in 2014! Nicely done.

I love the "Buy One Give One Away" practice for keeping clutter to a minimum. I am constantly reevaluating my stuff and giving things away, so that method really appeals to me. Clean, organized spaces make me so happy!

Carolina John said...

I know how much you love the big city, but did you sleep better when you lived in the condo in the suburbs? I know whenever I'm staying in a downtown area the energy from the city keeps me up at night. Some people feed off of it, to me it creates unneeded pressure that disturbs me emotionally after a while.

Great goals! You're going to get hooked on triathlons - fair warning. and I also own way too many books that I haven't read. Something like 70 books just on the kindle!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on achieving your 2014 goals and even overachieving them and good luck for this year's!

It's very good that you want to get to the bottom of your sleep issues. But then, you only moved half a year ago. You might just need more time to adjust to your new place? I needed a year to get used to our city appartment with all the street and airplane noise. Whatever it is I hope you find something that helps soon! What helps for me is Tai Chi and lavender right by my bed.

The book challenge sounds very good! But "A book published before 1850"??? Seems tough ;-) For short stories: I LOVE Alice Munro's books and "Knockemstiff" by Donald Ray Pollock.

Linda said...

You did great this year and it was so fun to witness it from the sidelines.

I'm considering making all of my student loans a goal for 2015 but that scares me. Such a commitment and such a big number compared to my 2014's loan goal.

Nora said...

I'm working on some intentions, no real goals or resolutions...and while it may be the same thing, just using the word intention makes me feel better and more energized!

Love seeing how awesome you did in 2014 on your goals and look forward to the year ahead.

I love books and since several of my dear friends, yourself included, are talking about this book challenge, I'm off to join the group and figure out what I want to read from the list (well, will do that after work, not right now.)

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Great job on your 2014 goals! I cannot believe you read 52 books in a year - amazing!

I haven't made any resolutions or goals yet, but I might.

Gracie said...

Nice job on those goals! My main life (non-work) goals this year are to get healthy, run a fast 10k, and do a little more art. I neglect it.

Shoshanah said...

My to-read list on goodreads is actually a list of books I own but haven't read, while my wish-list are books I want to read but don't yet have. Which means I know how many books I own and haven't read, which is a crazy high number like 200 or so. So, so ridiculous. For the same reason, I definitely need to make a point to read more of what I own this year as well.

And would also agree on the organization. We're looking into moving into a bigger how this year, and figuring out what we want to keep and making or house look more organized (or moving things to storage) will definitely be needed!

Stephany said...

You kicked butt on your 2014 goals! Way to go!!

I really hope you can figure out what's going on with your sleep issues. That's a terrible problem to have and it's so weird to me that you have them, since you take such good care of yourself! Usually, it's due to too much caffeine, fatty foods, not exercising, etc.

My biggest goal for 2014 is to move to my own place. It's a scary but exciting goal for me!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I need to read books that I own too, it's a bit ridiculous. I am taking it day by day and month by month ons ome of my goals. Like first Saturday of the month I will take care of a major purge of something. The January one was clothes. The goal was get a bag to sell and get a bag to donate. I did that. February will be a bag of books for the library donation bin and the other for garage sale. And other small projects.

Elizabeth said...

Sound like great goals and wonderful job on the hitting the ones from last year out of the park :) Especially amazing about the student loan debt--that has to feel so incredibly freeing and wonderful :)

Becky said...

You blew 2014 goals out of the water - here's to the same for 2015! I love that these are all bigger but still attainable - so smart!

I haven't set any goals per say but I've decided my word for 2015 is "build." Build my Arbonne business, build my family, build our savings, build my confidence that I can do this whole mothering thing. I can't wait to see how it plays out!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Man, you really kicked butt in 2014! I think your goals last year were all really hinged on the first one, which was a doozy, right!? Without that, the others just would not be as satisfying. Your 2015 goals sounds very doable. The sleep one will be the hardest, but you cannot fix the problem by doing nothing, so you are on the right track!

I like the word Goals better than Resolutions, which people tend to just make and then break. I usually set one or two small goals for myself each year but this year I have not quite figured them out. Also, sometimes you realize you want something in the middle of the year (a new job for instance), so I always keep my list updated! I may post about a couple of them at some point though...

Abby said...

This is a great set of goals for the new year! I love it!

You always inspire me with your passion for reading! Amazing!!

I'm also amazing how you ALWAYS meet all your goals from the previous year! Inspiration!!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

If this post doesn't show how accomplished you are, then I'm at a loss for what will. You owned 2014 and you're setting up 2015 to also be a killer year. I'm totally impressed, Lisa!

Marlys said...

Great goals! I admire that you make goals as I just drift through each year without making any! I know that is not a good plan but that is the way I am! I hate not accomplishing my goals so that is maybe why I don't make them?
I sure hope you can get some help with your sleep deprivation! It is so important that one just can't ignore it!

suki said...

Great job on your goals for 2014!

I haven't read many books in the past few years even when I set myself up for the challenge on Goodreads, but I finally started doing that this year. For this year, I'm focused on just reading anything at all. Maybe next year I'll join the read harder challenge - by then I'll hope to have developed a better reading habit. :)