Thursday, December 28, 2017

Year in Review: My 2017 Goals

It's time for another "year in review" post. Today I am taking an account of how well I did on my 2017 goals. In 2017, I set fewer goals since I knew that wedding planning was going to really take up a lot of time in the first half of the year. It turned out setting fewer goals was a really good plan since we found out we were pregnant in July which rocked our world in the best way possible.

Here's how I did with my 2017 goals!

1. Plan a wedding and try not to lose ourselves in the process.  SUCCESS!  I think we I did a really good job at planning our wedding. It was a lot of work but it was so worth it in the end. I wouldn't change a thing about the day. And in general, I kept my cool for the most part - until the RSVP deadline rolled around. Then Lisa Dotzenrage made an appearance. Seriously, some people's inability to return a self-address, stamped envelope just amazes me. But aside from frustrations over that aspect of wedding planning, I think I stayed pretty calm and was referred to as "bridechilla" on our wedding day. I will say that I am glad that I will NEVER plan another wedding again because it is so expensive and so much work. I do not miss it one bit and enjoy being married 1,000 x's more than planning a wedding.

2. Read 52 books, including 6 physical books I already own.  SUCCESS! As of today, I've read 83 books, and I will probably finish one more before the end of the year. I'm really happy with the number of books I read this year. Not doing a read harder challenge was the best thing because it let me read what I "wanted" to read versus what I felt like I "should" be reading. In the past I've challenged myself to read 12 books I own but this year I took it down to 6. I'm glad I did that as I've started to donate more and more of my unread books. There were some books on my shelves that interested me years ago but don't any longer so I've decided to let go of those books and sell them at Half Priced Books or donate them to the library.

3. One shouldless day/month.  10/12 = partial success. I came pretty close to having a shouldless day each month. I missed the months of May and October. But I took vacations both of those months, including a super relaxing 9 day trip to Maui, so I could cheat and consider those vacations as shouldless days. If I didn't set this goal, though, I would have had far fewer relaxing days in 2017 as it's so easy to fill up my calendar. I know that shouldless days will become a thing of the past once Baby S. arrives but I'm glad I've spent the last 2 years focusing on relaxing one day each month! 

Monthly Goals:  The Happiness Project - FAIL

So I meant to set a monthly intention based on the book The Happiness Project  - but I fell off the wagon back in May and never got back on.  Whoopsies. This taught me that monthly goals/intentions just don't work for me. Lesson learned! 

***

Goal setting in 2018 is going to look a whole lot different. Meaning, it's not going to happen. I just feel that having a baby and figuring out how to balance being a mom + working full time + everything else is going to be challenging enough. I'll set a reading goal on Goodreads but I am not going to put pressure on myself to read the 52+ books that I typically read in a year. 

It's kind of weird to go into a new year with no goals but I think this is the year to give myself grace and to allow life to unfold as it will. Maybe I will run a 10 mile race or a half marathon in the fall or read 50+ books. But I just don't want to add any unnecessary pressure because, as a perfectionist, I already put far too much pressure on myself! 

Did you set goals in 2017? If so, how did you do? Will you be setting goals for 2018? If you typically set goals, have you ever taken a year off from setting them?

9 comments:

  1. I think May and October vacations definitely count for Shouldless days! However, I get what you're saying! Way to go on such a successful year! Your wedding truly was amazing!!! It's certainly been a full and memorable year! I think you are wise to give yourself the grace to enter 2018 without goals, you will certainly be in a huge learning curve with adjusting to balancing everything! I'm so excited for what 2018 holds! Hugs!!!

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  2. People are TERRIBLE with responding to weddings; it is baffling really. They are so many wedding related etiquette things that really grind my gears - haha! I am a stickler for etiquette for most things, and I find that weddings are where people really fall off.

    I don't know if I had any goals in writing last year, but I know that I wanted to pay my car off and read more, and I did both of those (not even close to 83 books though - more like 10).

    I might have some goals for this coming year, but I haven't sat down and wrote them out yet.

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  3. I don't have specific goals. I would like to be healthier and happier. And I'm trying to figure out what that will mean for me in 2018. I think its a great idea to leave goals alone in 2018 with all the changes coming. You've mentioned you are already reading baby books, but I know one blogger I followed was specifically reading books one development/age step ahead of where she child was to get a head start on ideas to implement.

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  4. I think not making goals in 2018 is a good plan because your life is about to change dramatically and I think giving yourself grace to get settled into new motherhood is a goal enough in itself!

    I set some goals for 2017 and didn't accomplish most of them, ha, but I'm setting some more in 2018. My main 2018 goals are to finish my novel, lose 30 lbs, and take a break from dating.

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  5. You already have a built in goal -- being the best parent you can be and adjusting to a new life in your orbit. Doesn't get bigger than that!

    Three cheers on a most successful year! Especially with the wedding and reading. I'm impressed!

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  6. I think your goals for 2018 are great! Being a parent will also teach you that you have to be flexible, and breaking goals shouldn't be one of them! I like to make a goal for myself each morning and try to stick with it as best I can and it seems to work for me.

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  7. I didn't set any goals in 2017 and I'm glad I didn't because I think they would have been a total wash since I spent most of the year pregnant! I am also not setting any goals for 2018 since we are in such a new phase of life right now. I do plan to start working out again next week and start whole 30 at some point this month, but that's about as far ahead as I'm looking for goals right now!

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  8. Your non-goal for 2018 is great. I think you're right of going into this new year with no expectations and all the grace for the changes that are coming!

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  9. I think it's smart not to put too much pressure on yourself for the upcoming year. It will already be full of so many new experiences and a great balancing act.

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