2023 in Review: Goals + New Goal Approach for 2024

When I think back on 2023, I would give myself an A in terms of how I did keeping all the plates spinning. But if I graded myself based on the goals I set at the start of the year, I'd give myself a D because I only accomplished half of my goals. This is why I have a tricky relationship with goals. I want to push myself but I hate not accomplishing what I set out to achieve. So it's time to change my goal process. 

But first up, here's how I did. 

1. Work: My goal was to travel about once/month and I mentioned in my goals post that I was unlikely to travel 12 times so felt that 9 times was an appropriate goal. Ha. January 2023 Lisa had no idea how her work life would blow up... I traveled 14 times and, more importantly, did about 4.5 times as many client meetings as I did in 2022. Complete.

2. Reading: I read "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens with The Bookshelf Patreon group and I pretty much hated it. I gave it 2 stars. I think huge classics where the author is a white male that is basically paid by word are not for me. Complete.

3. Relationships: I wanted to go on a quarterly date with my husband. We went on 0 dates. But we did try! We had scheduled a couple of dates in late winter/early spring but the babysitter (the daughter of a friend) had to cancel. We decided she's too busy to use as a babysitter (she's in high school after all) but did not get around to finding another babysitter. Phil and I do get quality time nearly every night before the boys go to bed and we also carpool together 3 days/week and have surprisingly good conversations on the drive home before picking up the kids. But I need to work on this in 2024. Incomplete.

4. Travel: I wanted to go to Tucson with Paul in April and Banff with my friend Amber in August. Both trips happened and both trips were amazing!! Complete. 

5. Fitness: I wanted to run a couple of 10ks. I ran 0. I was supposed to run one on Thanksgiving but had to drop down to the 5k since I was too sick to run for much of the month leading up to Thanksgiving. Incomplete.

6. Outdoors: I set a goal to go outside for 23 minutes every day, inspired by the Happier Podcast. I did well at the start of the year - I would usually go for my walks mid-day during work days and would run or go for walks on the weekend. The wheels totally fell off in March when the spring banking crisis happened. I barely had time to eat lunch in between client calls so going outside for 23 minutes was out of the question. So I kind of gave up and never got back on track. I was outside a lot in 2023, but not 23 minutes every day. Incomplete.

Ok. So that was not an uplifting recap of goals. 50% is pretty awful. I don't want to have to write another "whelp, that didn't happen" kind of post when recapping 2024, so this year I am shifting to quarterly goals. This will allow me to flex to what is happening in life and take a more seasonal approach. Here are my Q1 goals. 

1. Do most of the January Cure. Apartment Therapy hosts this every year - it started yesterday so it’s not too late to join. I ignored the emails last year because I was not in the right place of mind to focus on household organization. This year, I feel differently. Plus I will be working from home for a good chunk of January while my office condenses down from 3 floors to 2. Some of the things Apartment Therapy asks you to do are not happening. Like day one's task was to create a vision board. NOT HAPPENING. Home decor is so not my thing and I don't have any grand dreams for our house besides not stepping on tiny toys and legos and generally having less plastic toys around. Additionally, if they ask me to do a deep cleaning of my floors or scrub my dust boards, I won't. But anything related to organization or decluttering is something I will do. 

2. Go on one date with Phil. My birthday is in February so that seemed like a good time to plan a date. I have already booked the babysitter (who works at a daycare so is a total pro) we used pre-pandemic for the weekend before my birthday in February. There's also a young girl on our block that wants to babysit. Another family with similar-aged kids has used her and raves about her. But I fear that Taco will not let her do bedtime. So we are going to go with the pro for the first 1-2 times to ease him into having a babysitter. 

Did you set goals for 2023? Were you successful? Have you set goals for 2024? 

2023 Goals: Mid-way Check-in

The year is half over so it's time to check in on goals! After not setting goals for several years, I set a some this year. Here is how they are going so far!

1. Work: I set an (arbitrary) goal to travel about once/month but said I'd consider 9 trips a success. Well, I had 6 work trips in the first half of the year (Chicago twice, LA area, Denver, NYC) and I have 3 trips books for July (San Francisco), September (New Jersey), and October (southern Kentucky for a client visit). So I guess I am going to meet this goal. I'll likely go to Chicago 2 more times, if not more (I seem to be there every other month). 

2. Reading: I'm reading "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens through the "From The Front Porch" patreon group. Honestly, reading this book is a chore but I get a lot of out of the monthly discussions so it's worth it to continue. 

3. Relationships: I set a goal to go on a date with my husband once/quarter. We scheduled two dates and both got cancelled due to a conflict with the babysitter. But at least we tried? I'd like to do 2 date nights in the 2nd half of the year. It might be best to take time off and do a "day date" versus hiring a babysitter, though. Will is very, um, sensitive and while I am sure he would eventually calm down when we leave for a date, I think it might kill the date vibes to leave a screaming toddler behind. I really liked The Mom Hour's recent podcast episode about taking a break and how fraught it can be to take a break and how unhelpful it is when people say "just hire a babysitter" or "just" do xyz... It's not always that easy. 

4. Travel: I've took Paul with me to Arizona to visit my sister and everything is booked for my rendezvous with a friend in the Banff region of Canada! So I'm on track with this goal!

5. Fitness: I set a goal to run a couple of 10ks this year, but I have yet to register for one. I think I will likely just run one in the fall. I'm struggling to find the right race that doesn't involve complicated parking for example. But I'm sure I'll eventually find a race!

6. Outdoors: I'm doing the 23 minutes outside in 2023 challenge and would give myself a B-/C+. January and June were my best months and yet the weather could not have been more different - I only missed 1 day each of those months. I'm kind of giving myself a pass for the months of March and April because work was absolutely insane and it was impossible to take a 30 minute break those days because of the volume of meetings on my calendar. I don't know what happened in February when I only achieved the goal 17/28 days - cold weather? May was better with 24/31. Overall, I've spent more time outside than I would have otherwise so I guess I can consider this pursuit successful? 

So in summary, I'm doing great with 3 goals (work, reading, travel), doing so so with 1 goal (outdoors), outside factors impacted 1 goal (relationships), and I've made no progress on 1 goal (fitness). Time to go look for a fun 10k! 

Did you set goals for 2023? If so, how are they going? 

2022 Goal Recap + 2023 Goals

 'Tis the season for goal setting! I know January first is completely arbitrary but I do love the fresh start feeling a new year gives us! That said, I've had a complicated relationship with goals, especially since becoming a parent. As a hard-core enneagram 1 and upholder, I have a hard time setting goals that I might not accomplish. For some, setting hard-to-achieve goals is motivating and exciting. For someone like me who is prone to perfectionism and being hard on myself, they aren't as fun in a way. Plus a lot of my life is out of my control now that I have kids, like how much sleep I'm getting and whether I'm healthy. So it's been healthiest for me to give myself a break in terms of setting goals. 

I did set 2 goals for 2022. First, I wanted to go through all of the videos on google photos that I've taken over the years - most of which were taken since becoming a parent. Each month, I would go through the videos I took during that month in prior years. This was a super fun project as I got to relive a lot of the early years of parenting! There is one video in particular that Paul has watched at least 20 times - I embedded it below. It's 11 seconds that totally encapsulates the moods of a toddler (he gets frustrated because he can't fit all the animals into a little pick-up truck). 

My second goal was to read "The Count of Monte Cristo" with the Conquer a Classic patreon community of From the Front Porch. I did not love the novel but I loved reading along with a group and my experience was really enhanced by listening to the monthly podcast discussion of the book!

All that said, I'm feeling like I'm starting to come out of the fog of the early parenting years. I'm still challenged by parenting but sleep is in a much better place and we have a much better rhythm to our days compared to the last couple of years. So I feel ready to declare some goals!

2023 Goals!

1. Work:  My goal is to travel about once/month. Prior to last year, I hadn't been willing to travel as it felt too overwhelming on top of parenting young kids. But I felt ready to put my hat back in the ring and have been letting people know about this goal to travel about once/month. The about part is key, though. I am unlikely to book 12 trips for 2023, especially since my January trip to LA got cancelled as the sales person I was supposed to travel with left the company! I'll consider this goal a success if I book 9 trips during the year. 

2. Reading: This year I will be joining the Conquer a Classic group again and we will read "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. I am hoping to enjoy it more than the Count, though! 

3. Relationships: I want to finally get back to going on dates with my husband. We used to get a babysitter and go out about quarterly. Then the pandemic happened, and then bedtime was really challenging for one or both kids. But it's time to get back to doing this! I imagine quarterly dates sounds really paltry to some reading this, but we are home bodies and didn't go out for dinner all that often even before having kids. So once/quarter feels like the right goal for us. 

4. Travel: We have decided not to take a spring break trip this year (we envision Will being tough on a plane ride so will take 2023 off from big family travel). But I still want to travel!! First, I want to take a trip to Tucson, AZ with Paul in the spring to visit my sister and her daughter. Second, I want to meet my friend Amber (who I met through blogging 14+ years ago!) for a hiking trip. We are thinking about meeting in Calgary and going up to the Banff area, probably this summer! Nicole, that means I may track you down if I can pull this trip off so I can share a tea or coffee with you! 

5. Fitness: I would like to run a couple of 10ks this year. I feel like 10ks are my sweet spot. They don't require "long" training runs. Maybe  in a couple of years, I'll feel ready to train for another 10 mile but for now I'm accepting that 10k is the right distance for me. I'd also like to get closer to working out 3 times/week. To achieve this goal, I think I need to start using the gym at work once/week- I'm thinking I could stop working around 3 one day/week so I could workout before we head home. 

6. Outdoors: I am going to attempt the "go outside for 23 minutes in '23" challenge set by the Happier podcast. There's a good chance I will not check the box for 365, but I'm aiming for progress over perfection. This will be most challenging in the winter months when I'm in the office as we are gone from 6:45-5ish. So it can be dark when we leave and return. And I don't like being outside when it's dark. But I'm thinking about trying to take one kid out with me after dinner for a walk if it's not too cold out. We'll see how this goes!

Have you set any goals for 2023? Is there anyone who has a complicated relationship with goals like me? 

Half-Way (Goal-free year) Check In

We are about a week past the half-way point of 2022. <Insert cliche comment about how fast the first half of the year went.> As the saying goes, the days are long but the years are short. That statement feels especially true in the young-kid years of life. It's been several years since I've made goals for myself - at least 3! But as an upholder and enneagram 1, I HATE setting goals and then not achieving them. For some, setting aspirational goals they might not achieve is motivating. For me, it's so defeating when I don't achieve something I set out to do that it's best for my mental health to give myself a break. Maybe by 2023 I will feel ready to set some goals. I will be setting some goals for the 2nd of 2022 in this post, but they aren't really "stretch" goals - they are things I know I can and will achieve, barring getting covid again or something like that. 

However, just because I didn't define a list of goals at the start of the year doesn't mean I haven't achieved anything. I've just given myself flexibility to work on what makes sense! I did choose a word for 2022 - connection - so that is something I have really focused on each month.  

I recently participated in a half-way point review through the patreon community of Best of Both Worlds so I thought I'd share some of the reflections from that!

What went well/what have I achieved?

- I was a guest on the Best of Both Worlds podcast!

- Will got tubes in early January which made a huge difference in his health. He's only had one ear infection since getting tubes, and it was right after surgery. He had a raging ear infection when they did the surgery so we weren't surprised he still had an infection after getting tubes. 

- I was promoted in March to managing director at my company!

- Our family traveled to AZ in February to see my sister and her family. 

- I've been off social media since early December 2021 and this continues to be the right decision for me. It's hard to imagine going back on social media. It's a net negative contributor to my happiness. 

- We've been out and about so much which feels so good after 2 years of doing very little. We've gone to a museum, new-to-us parks, the library, and the zoo to name a few. 

- I've seen a lot of friends and family! My focus on connection has been great. Each month I make a list of people to connect with, either virtually or in person. 

- I finished the Morning Meltdown on Beach Body which was a 100 workout program. It took me 6 months since I didn't do it straight through and combined it with lots of running but it was an excellent program!

What didn't work well/was challenging?

- Sleep. Ugh. Despite Will not getting ear infections, he's been through a few sleep regressions and Paul went through a long, difficult stage of fighting bedtime. 

- We were sick SO MUCH, including 3 of us getting covid. It felt like there was rarely a week in the first 4 months of year when someone wasn't sick. Paul had 2 stomach viruses and we all had countless colds. This is out of my control since my kids are in daycare but oof does it suck. 

- I wasn't able to run a 10 mile race in May like I had planned to. It was hard to fit enough runs in after returning to the office in March, I was sick all the time, and then I got Covid the week before the race. 

- There have been positive aspects to returning to the office, but it was challenging. 3 days a week feels like a little too much for me so I am shifting down to 2. The hardest part is getting home at 5-5:15 and being able to eat dinner at 5:30 (our kids are hungry and can barely make it to 5:30). 

What needs to change/what do I want to accomplish in 2nd half of 2022:

- I'm going to drop down to being in the office 2 days/week. This will make it easier to get meals on the table and it will be easier to fit more workouts in. 

- I will be focused on a sales campaign at work related to the asset class I specialize in. So I expect to be more busy and I want to do more client meetings/engage more with our sales force. 

- I will run a 10k race during Twin Cities Marathon weekend. I have no time goals - I just want to finish and be happy. The 10k distance is so doable and not a stretch goal; I could run one tomorrow if I wanted to. But that is what I need out of running right now since I am stretched in other areas of life!

- I need to find a new Beach Body strength training program. I tried the MBF program but didn't care for how repetitive the workouts were so I'm still looking for the right next program. 

- Now that bedtime is going better for Paul, I'd like Phil and I to go on one date/quarter. I'm setting a low bar there. I know some do monthly or even weekly dates, but once a quarter is a good starting place for us. 

- I want to go on a Caribbean getaway with Phil in December. We need to figure out dates and book something soon. My parents have graciously agreed to watch the boys at their lake home while we are gone. Phil and I have not spent a night away from the boys together since Paul was born so we really need some quality time away together in a warm climate! 

- I also want to book a spring trip to the Gulf coast of Florida in the spring. This is the last year that we won't be beholden to a school schedule which is crazy to think about!! 

- I want to continue to focus on connecting with others by making a list of who I want to connect with each month. 

How was the first half of 2022 for you? 

A(nother) Mostly Goal-Free Year

Happy New Year! I know the start of the year is completely arbitrary and nothing really changes, but I do appreciate the clean slate that comes with a new year. It's full of promise and possibility and you can metaphorically close the door on the past year. 

I was not the least bit sad to say goodbye to 2020 and I'm not exactly sad that 2021 is over either. It was better than 2020 since I wasn't pregnant, I had far fewer RA flares, and I got 3 Covid vaccines, but the first year of a child's life is extremely taxing - especially for mom and extra especially when you are pumping and/or breastfeeding! Add in all the illness that comes with having 2 kids in daycare and it just makes for a challenging season of life. But - it was also really good. I soaked up lots of snuggles with Will, especially during my maternity leave when he would only nap while being held! I enjoyed watching his personality emerge. And I love watching his admiration for his big brother develop. 

But now we have the fresh start of 2022 which is a time when many will be sharing their goals for the year to come. I used to LOVE sketching out my goals and sharing them here. Before digging through my archives, I had guessed that I haven't set goals since becoming a parent, but it turns out I did a 19 for 19 challenge in 2019 and I set 2 goals for myself in 2020. I knew I didn't set any goals for myself in 2021 since I had a fresh newborn at the start of 2021! 

I achieved a lot in 2021 between balancing work and parenting, running a 10 mile race and reading over 120 books (!!!). So I've come to realize that I don't necessarily need to establish goals at the start of a new year to accomplish things. In a couple of years, I might feel different about creating a list of goals, but right now, I'm leaning into my feeling of exhaustion and will be cutting myself some slack in the year to come. 

One monthly task I set for myself last year was to cull my google photos. Each month, I would review all the photos taken that month of previous years - so in December, I went through photos taken in all previous Decembers, so 2013-2020 photos. When you have young kids, you end up taking a bajillion photos to get one good one, so there were hundreds to delete each month once we had Paul! I would also go through the previous month's photos and delete duplicates/blurry photos/etc. So going forward, I will only have to go through the previous month's photos. But something I'm adding in for 2022 is to go through all the videos I've taken over the years, which again is A LOT since having kids. I would often try to catch something specific on video but it might take 4 attempts or more to get that specific thing so there is a lot of footage that can be deleted! It was really fun to go through previous years' photos so I think the video culling challenge will be equally fun. I guess you could consider this a goal, but it doesn't really feel like one for me. 

The only other big project I'm striving to take on is reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" using the serial reader ap. Stephany raved about this book and also read it using the serial ap. We have similar tastes and both tend to not like classics, but if she liked this classic book, chances are that I will, too! 

And that's it, folks! A video project and conquering a classic. Seems pretty doable to me! I'm looking forward to using the gantt chart (basically a habit tracker) in my Wonderland 222 planner to stay on top of these challenges. 

Do you have any goals/projects for 2022? 

2020 Goals

It's the penultimate day of the year! Whew, 2019 went fast. The phrase "the days are long but the years are short" has never felt more true! As I wrote up the recap of the past decade, it was pretty mind-boggling to see how much activity and travel I used to pack into a calendar year. That is no longer the case as I have really, really simplified our life since having a child. But we still packed in plenty of memories and laughter - plus some tears - into the past year. It was a good year.

This past year I worked on a 19 in 2019 list, which was fun. For next year, I've decided to simplify things and have just 2 goals:

1. Complete the Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge - I haven't done a reading challenge in several years, but the MMD one only has 10 categories, so it feels very doable for a person who reads 80+ books a year (this year I read over 100!). I have a page in my bullet journal to track my progress towards this goal! It's been fun to plan out the books I will potentially read for each category - I still have some blank categories but will figure them out soon so I have a plan!

2. Workout 3 times/week - Since becoming a mom, I have struggled to make time to workout. I'm gone 10 hours/day between working and commuting and am busy with Paul until he goes to bed around 7-7:30. So it feels impossible to fit in a workout. But then I read this post by the time management guru, Laura Vanderkam, and it really resonated with me. Here is an excerpt:

"Three times a week is a habit. Honestly, this mantra can be life-changing. Aiming to do something daily — as in 7 days a week, or even 5 — can make people give up. But for most things, daily isn’t necessary. Things do not have to happen daily — nor do they have to happen at the same time every day — in order to count in our lives. Anything you do three times a week has a regular place in your life. And often aiming for three times a week is quite doable."

It made me realize I was getting hung up on my pre-Paul definition of working out - which was working out 5-6 times/week. That is no longer a reality for me, at least not for the foreseeable future. My goal is to workout on Saturday and Sunday and one additional weeknight after Paul goes to bed. That seems doable! Phil is around on the weekends to help with Paul and now that we have a finished basement with some of Paul's toys, Paul can play with those toys while I fit in a workout if he needs to be close to mama (which seems to always be the case these days).

I made this workout tracker in my bullet journal. I'll cross out the days I worked out. I got a head start on this goal and worked out this past Saturday and Sunday. Both days Paul was content to hang out with dad so that was nice!

And that is it for goals! I'll be tracking both of my goals in my bullet journal. Here's hoping I'm successful!

Have you set any goals for 2020?

Maternity Leave Goals

At the start of 2018, I decided not to set any goals for 2018 since I wasn't sure what life with an infant would like for us. Now that we've been parents for almost 6 weeks, I feel ready to set a few goals for my maternity leave. I know it might not be wise to set goals for my maternity leave as I know I should be enjoying it and soaking up time with Paul. But I'm the kind of person that does best when I have goals I am striving for. Plus caring for an infant kind of feels like Ground Hog's Day so I am thinking that having some goals will give me some purpose and push me to be more productive (occasionally).

Here are some things I'm hoping to accomplish before I return to work on July 10th!

1. Swap out maternity clothes for pre-pregnancy clothes.  I've been hesitant to pack up my maternity clothes as I figure there are some tops I might want to wear since I don't quite fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes. That said, it's been 6 weeks and I have yet to wear any maternity tops so I think I should swap them out soon and get my pre-pregnancy clothes back in the closet.

2. Lose my maternity weight. This might be an unrealistic goal, but I'd love to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by the time I return to work in July. I didn't put on all that much weight during the pregnancy so this seems pretty doable. I know my body will probably never look like it did pre-pregnancy but I'd like to be able to fit into some or most of my pre-pregnancy work clothes as I hate the thought of buying a whole new wardrobe! I think if I pay a little closer attention to what I am eating and find ways to move my body every day, I can get back or close to my pre-pregnancy weight. If I'm struggling to lose the weight, I will probably join Weight Watchers in June as I've always had success with that program.

3. Clean out the rest of our kitchen cupboards.  In January, I started to clean out the cupboards in our kitchen. Then the pain of my blood clot set in and derailed that project. I only have our bottom cupboards left so this is a pretty manageable task!

So there you have - 3 things I'd like to accomplish in the next 3 months. 2 seem achievable, one (losing my maternity weight) is a bit of a stretch goal. If I don't accomplish all 3 then so be it, but at least this will give me some things to work towards!

Are there any goals that you are working towards right now?

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?

2017 Goals + The Happiness Project

Happy New Year, everyone!  I'm excited to usher in a new year, but I have to say that 2016 was a great year for me, all in all.  Sure there were some challenges, like my hip surgery/recovery, but I ended the year engaged to a wonderful man that I'm excited to marry so I really can't complain about the year.

I love this time of year as there's something so pleasing about a fresh calendar full of possibilities. In the past I've created a somewhat lengthy list of detailed goals. However, this year I have decided to change my approach to goals and cut back a bit.  I know that the first 5 months of year will be busy with wedding planning and such so I am giving myself a bit of a break.  So here is the short list of goals I'm looking to achieve this year, none of which will really be "stretch" goals. Well, except the wedding plan one, possibly.

2017 Goals:

1. Plan a wedding and try not to lose ourselves in the process.  I know planning a wedding can be time-consuming and expensive. There's bound to be periods of stress and frustration along the way but I want to try to keep a sense of perspective through the process. The most important thing is that we'll be married on May 19th. Yes, I want a memorable, beautiful day, but I am going to try to not get too caught up/stressed out by all the details.

2. Read 52 books, including 6 physical books I already own.  A goal list isn't complete without a reading goal! I'm taking a different approach to my reading goal this year, though, and want to give myself the freedom to read whatever I want to read (i.e. no reading challenges). I included reading physical books I already own, but dropped it down to 6 books this year instead of 12 like I've done the last 2 years. I think it will be nice to have less structure to my reading.

3. One shouldless day/month.  I am keeping the goal of having a shoudless day each month as this is so good for my mental health!

Monthly Goals:  The Happiness Project

Additionally, I am going to spend the year reading the Happiness Project which has a focus for each month of the year that is meant to bring you more happiness. I have read this book before, but I didn't actually put the book into practice. This time I am going to read about the project for each month in the final week leading into that month (so last week I read about the January project).  Then each month, I'll share the focus for the month and tell you what I did to bring the focus for the month to fruition.

I'm excited that one of my goals will be a monthly focus as I feel like I'll get more out of temporary goals/areas of focus than I do out of broad goals that I work on throughout the year.


Do you have any goals for 2017?

Year in Review: 2016 Goals

We are on the cusp of a new year and while my mind is totally focused on 2017 and all the exciting things it will hold (like marrying Phil!!), I want to take a little time to assess how I did on my 2016 goals.

1.  Health and Fitness

> PR at the YWCA women's triathlon.  Did not complete.  I'm not counting this against me since I couldn't have done this due to my hip surgery.

> Run a sub-4 hour marathon at Grandma's marathon.  Did not complete.  I'm not counting this against me since I couldn't have done this due to my hip surgery.

2.  Personal growth

> Identify an organization to volunteer with and volunteer on a consistent basis.  Completed! I started to volunteer in an ESL classroom for immigrants through the Minnesota Literacy Council. This has been so rewarding and I feel that I've learned more from my students that they have learned from me. I had to take a break from volunteering starting in November as I got overwhelmed by my schedule but I would like to volunteer on a monthly basis in 2017.

3.  Reading

> Finish all of the books on my nook. Sort of complete. I read 3 of 4 books.  I could have read the 4th book but it didn't really interest me and I would have been reading it just for the sake of completing this goal. Life is too short to read books that you aren't really interested in. 

> Read 12 physical books that I already own. Completed! 

> Complete the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. Completed!  This is the last Read Harder Challenge I will do, at least for the foreseeable future. While I loved doing this challenge for the last 2 years, I've recognized that I need to read what I feel like reading instead of what I think I "should" be reading. Lord knows I have enough to-do lists in other areas of my life!

4.  Mental health

> Have one "shouldless" day a month and blog about it. Sort of complete. I managed to have 10 shouldless days this year, which is pretty good.  This is a goal I'll be keeping for 2017 as obligation-free days are so good for my soul.

All in all, not my best year in terms of completing all my goals, but I am not going to beat myself up over it.  I accomplished more than I would have if I hadn't made this list of goals.  

I'm definitely taking a different approach to my goals for 2017, which I'll be sharing next week!

Did you set any goals this year?  Did you achieve them?

2016 Goals

Happy New Year, everyone!!    I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years celebration.  We had a quiet celebration with friends.  I thoroughly enjoyed having a 3 day weekend!  If only those happened more often!

Monday feels like the right kind of day of the week to share my goals for the year.  Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish in 2016!   This year I split them up into categories.

1.  Health and Fitness

> PR at the YWCA women's triathlon.  I did my first triathlon last year and didn't have a challenging goal going into it since I didn't know what to expect. Now that I have one under my belt, I am ready to try even harder and see how much I can improve my time.

> Run a sub-4 hour marathon at Grandma's marathon.  Yes, this means I am doing another marathon. Going into the Twin Cities marathon, I really thought it would be my last, but my disappointment over not making my goal led me to register for Grandma's marathon, which is in June.  If I don't run a sub-4 there, I think I will just have to accept that it's not in the cards for me and move on, but I want one more shot!

2.  Personal growth

> Identify an organization to volunteer with and volunteer on a consistent basis.  I've done a good job of making financial contributions to charitable organizations, but this year I want to focus on also giving them my time. I think I have identified an organization to volunteer with as I am going to the Minnesota Literacy Council's volunteer information session later this month.  Through this organization, I could volunteer to work one-on-one with an adult or I could co-teach a class.  I clearly feel very passionate about reading and know how powerful the ability to read is, so hopefully this will be a good fit.

3.  Reading

> Finish all of the books on my nook.
Last year I treated myself to a new Kindle Paper White. I still had some books left on my Nook but I thought I'd get to them eventually.  Then I fell so in love with my Kindle that I didn't want to read things on my Nook.  But I don't want to waste the money I spent on those books so I am going to make a point to read them this year.  There are only 4 and I've already started to read the longest of the 4 (The Goldfinch).

> Read 12 physical books that I already own.
This was one of my goals last year and I am making it a goal again for this year as I still have many many many many unread books on my shelves!

> Complete the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.
I had so much fun doing this challenge last year so I decided to do it again. I really like the categories they chose this year.  Many of the books I will read for this challenge are books that I already own or books I've been wanting to read for awhile.  I can't wait to get started!

4.  Mental health

> Have one "shouldless" day a month and blog about it.
Last month I talked about my desire to have more "shouldless" days so I decided to incorporate it into my goals for the year. My goal is to have one per month, usually on a Sunday, and then in order to hold myself accountable, I'll share what I did on my shouldless day on my blog.

So there you have it!  I love the excitement of having a new set of goals to work towards and am ready to attack this list with gusto!

Do you make goals or resolutions?  What would you like to achieve in 2016?

Year in Review: 2015 Goals

The anticipation of the crisp, fresh start of a new year has a goal-oriented gal like me practically salivating. As a lover of lists, I love setting goals (not resolutions - I'm not a resolutions person) for the new year. But I can't set my sights on what I want to accomplish in 2016 without reviewing my 2015 goals!  Here is how the year shaped up for me.

1.  Work on resolving my sleep issues.  DONE! Out of the goals I set for 2015, this was the most intimidating goal and I didn't make any progress toward it until July when I went off Ambien. I had taken Ambien every day for nearly 2 years so it was extremely difficult to adjust to a drug-free solution to my sleep issues. Luckily the cognitive behavioral therapy techniques that the sleep doctors recommended worked and I am now sleeping much better. I still have further progress to make but I'm proud of the fact that I am now off of Ambien.

2.  Tackle a list of purging/organizational projects. DONE! I focused on this goal during the cold, yucky winter months and completed projects such as purging my book shelves, organizing recipes, cleaning out my financial documents filing box, and cleaning and organizing my closet. I also moved in May which forced me to do yet another purge of my belongings. It felt great to lighten my load!

3.  Complete the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. DONE! I had so much fun doing this challenge. It pushed me to read books I wouldn't have read if not for this challenge. Did I love every book I read for this challenge?  No (I'm looking at you, Sense and Sensibility). But I'm still glad I did it and look forward to participating in the 2016 challenge. 

4.  Read 12 books that I own. DONE! I still have MANY more unread books to read, but it was nice to read 12 books that I owned. As I finished each book, I either mailed it to someone that I thought might enjoy it or I donated it, thus continuing the book purge that I started at the beginning of the year when tackling my organizational projects.

5.  Employ a "Buy One Give One Away" approach to all book, clothing, and kitchen gadget purchases. DONE.  For the most part, I didn't exactly do this in tandem (i.e., I donated a bunch of books/clothes early in the year and gradually added back pieces throughout the year). I did achieve the goal in tandem when it came to my kitchen, though.

6.  Complete a sprint tri. DONE. I completed my first spring tri in August and had a great time doing it!  I look forward to doing more in the future! 

This post feels a little braggy since I achieved all of my goals, but many of them required a lot of work and dedication on my part. Also, for me, the trick to achieving my goals is setting the right number. I've learned that I can only really focus on 5-6 BIG goals. For some people, it works to set 5-6 goals/month, or possibly more, but that approach just doesn't work for me as I'd be setting myself up for failure or would feel overwhelmed/stressed out, especially since I am an "upholder" so when i set a goal, I'll do all I can to finish it.  I think the key to achieving your goals is knowing yourself well enough to know how to set yourself up for success - and that looks different for every person.

Next week I'll be sharing the goals I set for 2016!

Have a safe and happy new year, everyone!  Here's hoping that the year to come is a great one for one and all!

2015: Half-time Check-in

I know I will sound like a broken record when I say this, but I can not believe that 2015 is over half over!  Time is a-flying!  With the half-way point of the year behind us, I thought it would be a good time to check back on my 2015 goals and see how I am progressing.  So here goes!

1.  Work on resolving my sleep issues.  Status:  In progress.  For this goal, I wanted to get off Ambien, look into having a sleep study done, and implement some cognitive behavior therapy techniques to improve my sleep.  I've been off Ambien for a week now so have kind of achieved one of the goals, although I'm relying on Melatonin now.  But it's natural so it's a lesser evil, right?  I knew I would be changing insurance companies so I haven't looked into a sleep study yet, but I might if sleep continues to be a struggle.

2.  Tackle a list of purging/organizational projects.  Status:  Completed. I made the most of the cold weather months and got through all of the organizational projects on my list!  Knowing that I would be moving motivated me to get some of those organizational projects done.

3.  Complete the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.  Status:  In progress.  So far I've completed 21 of the 24 categories so am really close to completing the challenge!  It's been really fun!

4.  Read 12 books that I own.  Status:  In Progress.  I have read 7 books that I own so am making good progress towards this reading goal, too.

5.  Employ a "Buy One Give One Away" approach to all book, clothing, and kitchen gadget purchases.  Status:  In progress.  I've done more 'giving away' than purchasing so far this year so am on track for this goal as well.  It hasn't exactly been a 'matched' approach as I tend to get rid of a lot of clothes or books all at once and then slowly purchase new clothing.  I have barely bought any books this year - I can only think of two that I have bought and I gave away about 60!

6.  Complete a sprint tri.  Status:  In progress.  The triathlon is just a month away and I feel fairly ready to tackle it.  Since marathon training is my primary goal, I haven't strictly followed a training plan for the triathlon but I've done enough to get me ready for race day.

So there you have it:  6 goals, 1 completed, 5 in progress.  The only goal I can see myself not achieving this year is resolving my sleep issues but at a minimum I am glad that I am off of Ambien now. 

Did you set any goals for 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 Challenge.  I 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?

2014 Goals

I don't do resolutions.  Instead I like to use the word goals.  Before diving into my 2014 goals, I thought it'd be good review my 2013 goals!  So here goes:

1.  Pass Level III of the CFA.  DONE!  Woo hoo.  Best moment of 2013 was certainly finding out I passed that test.  I worked so freaking hard towards that goal.  I don't think words exist to sum up the relief that the CFA is behind me.

2.  Pay off my undergrad student loans.  DONE!  I paid them off with my bonus in March, which felt great.

3.  Run a sub-4 hour marathon.  Not done. Totally out of my control.  My body failed me this year.

4.  Read 52 books.  DONE!  With ease!  I read 79.

Accomplishing 3 out of 4 goals is pretty good!

Now for my 2014 goals!

1.  Get out of Charlotte.  This is obviously my big goal for the year; if I achieve no other goals besides this, I will consider 2014 a smashing success.  April 8th is my relocation contract release date, which means that I can resign at that time with no financial repercussions.  I will be attacking this goal like it's my job, but I will not be sharing much about my progress towards this goal because while I am sure my bosses in Charlotte won't be surprised when I resign, I don't want them privy to the timeline, etc.  I doubt they would find my blog, but you never know.

2.  Pay down 2/3 of the balance of my grad school student loans.  I am attacking my student loan balance aggressively right now.  I put more towards them every month than I put towards rent.  But I want to attack them even more aggressively in 2014 because my goal is to pay them off in 2015.  This is going to be a tough goal, but I know I can do it. 

3.  Read 52 books.  I am not adjusting this goal to a higher number because 2013 was an outlier.  I think a book a week is still a good goal!

4.  Return to running.  I don't like to put things on my list that are sort of out of my control, but I am making an exception and adding this one to my list because it's really important to me to find a way to get back to running.  My RA pain is still not 100% managed so I know this is a ways off, but I hope and pray that I can get back to running, even if it's just a 5k or 10k race.  Ideally, I'd love to run a half marathon in the fall.

What goals have you set for yourself in 2014?

2013 Goals

Happy Monday!  This will be my first full week of work in a couple of weeks!  I am actually ready to return to a normal schedule, though.  Except this week won't be completely 'normal' as I will be heading back to Charlotte for a couple of days for some meetings.  But I actually don't mind having to travel this week as I feel refreshed after having a month off from traveling!

I'm a little bit late to the goal revealing party, but Mondays seem like the right day of the week to profess your goals.  I call them goals as they are things I work towards with a end in mind, which is different than resolutions (in my opinion) as when I think of resolutions, I think of permanent behavior changes (giving up soda or eating healthy, etc.).  While there is nothing wrong with resolutions, there really aren't any that I feel the need to set this year.  So goals will once again be my focus.  Before sharing my goals for 2013, I thought I'd review my goals for 2012!

1.  Pass Level II of the CFA - DONE!  Phew.  That was my huge focus for 2012 and I was ridiculously relieved when I achieved this goal.

2.  Run a sub 4:10 marathon - I actually misremembered this goal - I thought I had set a goal to run a sub-4 marathon, but then I looked back and saw I made the goal for 4:10, and since I ran a 4:03:34, I totally achieved this goal!

3.  Save, save, save - I am going to say that I did not really achieve this goal.  Instead I had some unexpected things come up, like the expense of my sinus surgery.  I have more in savings than I did when I started the year and I increased my 401(k) contribution to 11%, but I did not set aside as much as I thought I would in my savings account.  But I definitely was way more mindful of how I spent money, and spent less, so I am still happy with the strides I made financially.

4.  Abstain from book buying - SUCCESS.  Ok, I kind of cheated by buying some books at a United Way book sale, but I donated more books than I bought and spent a total of like $6 I think?  So I still think I technically achieved this goal.  But honestly?  It wasn't that hard.  At all.  Sure I had to exercise some self control and there were books I was not able to read this year since they are not readily available at the library, but I still do not feel like I was 'deprived' by not being able to buy books.  I do look forward to buying my first book in 2013, though!

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And now for my 2013 goals!!

1.  Pass Level III of the CFA, and try not to 'lose myself' in the process - I think anyone who has read this blog can sense how much my mood and sense of happiness is impacted during CFA study season.  The last 2 years I have felt incredibly stressed, isolated, and well, almost depressed.  It's just such an overwhelming experience to prepare for this exam and I have sort of 'lost myself' in the process the last 2 years.  I don't want that to happen again this year.  I don't really have a game plan in mind for this yet, it's something I'll need to figure out as I go along, but I think having my boyfriend there preparing for the test along side of me will help.  He has already asked what he can do to help reduce my stress level, so it feels good to have his support (and the support of my friends and family who have been there for me the last 2 years).

2.  Pay off my undergrad student loans.  I did not set this as a specific intention last year, but I sort of thought I would pay down my loans more than I did.  Well this year, I am putting it out there as a goal.  I really want to be free of my undergrad debt.  I have been out of school for almost 10 years, it's time to pay off those dang loans so I can focus on paying off my grad school loans.

3.  Run a sub-4 hour marathon.  I came somewhat close to achieving this goal last year, and I know I can do it if I set my mind to it and have a healthy training season.  It also helps that I plan to run a flat marathon (Chicago in October).

4.  Read 52 books in 2013.  I just added this last goal at the last minute!  I started using the reading goal tracker on goodreads.com last year, so I might as well profess that goal on here this year.  Last year my goal was to read 50 books, and I read 57.  This year I am targeting 52, so 1 per week.  I think it's feasible.

So there you have it - 4 specific goals that I will set out to achieve this year!  I achieved 75% of my goals last year, this year I am hoping to achieve 100%!

Did you set any goals or resolutions for yourself?

Mid-Month Money Manifesto - Month 1

Greetings and Happy Monday from Chicago!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend - mine was fabulous and it's not really over with as I have today off since it's a holiday here in the states.  I'm waiting until I am home to do a recap post, so that will come with time (after my surgery most likely!).

Today I am kicking off a monthly feature:  Mid-Month Money Manifesto.  As I said in my 2012 goals post, one of my goals for 2012 is to save more.  For me, in order to achieve a goal, I need to hold myself accountable and revisit that goal on a regular basis.  So this monthly blog post is my opportunity to do that.

The definition of manifesto is:  a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.  Pretty much the perfect word to use in my alliterative post theme title (here I go again with the alliterations).  It seems like many of us have financial goals, so hopefully these posts will be helpful to you and we can all learn from each other!

When you are trying to make changes in your life, I think it's good to start off by focusing on what is currently working well for you.  Here are some of the changes I've made in the past that will help me achieve my financial goals:

1.  401k.  10% of my paycheck goes into my 401k at work.  It's a pre-tax contribution, and it's a contribution that I don't really 'feel' because I've always contributed to a 401k since I started with my employer - I just try to bump up my contribution by 1% each year.

2.  Pay yourself first.  If you read any books about financial management, the authors often stress the importance of paying yourself first.  My 401k contribution is one way of paying myself first, but I also have an automatic deposit set up so that $100 of every paycheck goes into my ING savings account.  I am a BIG fan of ING.  Their interest rates tend to be higher than brick-and-mortar banks, and it takes about 3-4 business days to transfer funds out of the savings account - which keeps you from making impulse purchases.  The $100/paycheck is a bare minimum that gets saved each month.  I keep an eye on my checking account balance and when it gets to a certain point, I transfer funds to the ING account. But lately, I have not been transferring funds over, which means I am spending more than I should, hence the saving goal.

3.  Latte Friday.  For awhile there, I was drinking a large latte almost every weekday!  That is like $5/day, which equals about $1300/year.  Yikes!  Those little, daily expenses add up so fast, so 2 years ago, I enacted Latte Friday.  Now I make coffee at home and bring it to work in a thermos and treat myself to a latte on Fridays.  I definitely appreciate that latte a whole lot more than I did when I was having them every day. 

4.   Packed Lunches.  Since I work downtown and am surrounded by restaurants and take-away places, it's so tempting to eat out.  But a lunch out averages around $7 at most places, and that adds up fast.  So this fall I have really tried to only eat out once a week.  I struggle with this from time to time because it requires planning and preparation on the weekend, and many of my co-workers eat out every. single. day.  

So that is what is currently working for me.  I know I have lots of areas of opportunity for tightening the belt on spending, but at least I've got a somewhat solid foundation to build upon.

What are some changes you've made to improve your financial situation? 

2012 Goals

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And here we are on the cusp of the end of yet another year.  As I illustrated yesterday, 2011 was a fabulous year.  I am bound and determined to make 2012 just as wonderful.  I'm not one for making resolutions, but I do have some goals/items of focus for 2012...

1.  Pass Level II of the CFA.  I started studying on Monday, so am already working towards this goal.  I'll be talking more about that next week.  Level II has the same pass rate as Level I did (around 40%) and is harder than Level I so I have my work cut out for me!

2.  Run a sub-4:10 marathon.  Yep, I am back to marathoning, even though I swore I'd never do another one after Portland.  According to a pace calculator, I could run a 4:02 marathon, but I think 4:10 is a good goal.  That would shave 12 minutes off my last marathon.  I haven't decided on a race yet, but am leaning towards the DC Marine Corp marathon in the fall.  But I am open to suggestions - so if there is a fall race (preferably late October/early November) in your neck of the woods (wherever that may be), I'm all ears!

3.  Save, save, save.  I did a whole lot of traveling last year - and I do not regret a single trip, but this year needs to be a focused on saving.  I've got a sickening amount of student loan debt from my MBA program and a mortgage on a condo that I'd like to continue to chip away at so that eventually I can sell it and not have to bring a huge check to the closing table. I have set an aggressive student loan pay down goal - it's doable, but will definitely require me to adjust some spending habits.

4.  Abstain from buying books.  This pains me, but is one way I will focus on saving instead of spending.  I have 4 shelves of unread books.  I can borrow books from the library - either the physical version or I can download them on my nook.  There really isn't a great, justifiable reason for me to buy any books this year.  If I do get any B&N gift cards for my birthday, I will make an exception.  I have never gone a year without buying a single book, so this will be a challenge for me, to say the least. 

So those are some of my goals for 2012.  I feel that, with hard work, they are achievable!

This is my last post of 2011!  I hope that everyone has a safe and happy New Year!

What are some of your goals or resolutions for 2012?  How will you spend NYE?  I'll bring in the new year with my family - 4 of us 5 kids will be together with my parents so it should be a blast!

Making Time for What You Love

On Sunday night, I met a goal that I had set for myself this year:  I finished my 48th book.  Last year I read 50, and I will likely read 2 more books this month, so will be on par with last year.  It's no secret that I read a lot of books.  You see my monthly recaps, which usually feature 3-4 books.

One of my pet peeves is when people say, "I wish I had time to read as much as you do."  Now, I do understand that my life is probably not as busy as those who have children, but despite that, I think I am pretty busy.  I pack a lot into each year - especially this past year when I spent the first 5 months of the year studying 5-6 days a week for the CFA.  Add in half marathon training, a demanding job, and business travel, and it makes for a busy life (no complaints, I like it that way!). 

When you love a hobby, like running or reading, you make time for it.  I try to be careful about not saying, "I do not have time for ____."  For instance, I read the blogs of many people who make amazing mid-week meals.  I am incredibly impressed by what they eat on a weeknight.  However, I do not say I do not have time to make those kinds of meals, I say, "I do not choose to spend my time making delicious, interesting meals."  Instead, I heat up leftovers, microwave a baked potato, or heat up a can of soup - because for me, it's not worth the effort required to make an interesting meal.

Bottom line - life is about choices.  Most nights, my tv does not get turned on - instead I opt to read.  For me, the best way to unwind from a long day is to either knit or open up book and get carried away by the author's story.  But for others, they may unwind by cooking, watching tv, or sewing.  To each their own!

So that is how I found time to read 48 books this year.  This post is best summed up with the following quote:

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”-- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

What do you make time for each day?  Every day, I make time for reading.  I also make time for knitting and playing the piano a couple of times each week as these are also stress-reducing activities.

2011 Goals

I'm a bit late on posting these, but better late than never! I don't usually do resolutions, but I do have some goals for 2011. Here's what I am hoping to accomplish!

• CFA, Level 1 - I will take the 1st CFA exam on June 4th. I almost didn't post about this for fear that I won't pass and then everyone who reads this will know... But I am not even letting myself think about the possibility of not passing. CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst; it's a rigorous course of study that will be super challenging, but it will really help me advance my career. Studying for this test will consume my life for the next 5 months... but the nerd in me is excited about it!
• Sub 2 hours - I am hoping to run a 1/2 marathon in less than 2 hours. My PR is 2:04 so I KNOW I can do it. I'll be running the Fargo 1/2 so hopefully I'll achieve this goal there where I know my parents will be cheering me on. If not, then I will just have to register for some more races in the summer and fall.
• Texting while driving - I have this nasty little habit of texting while driving. It needs to stop. Nothing I have to say is THAT important. Enough said.
• Letting go, looking forward - I'm just going to say that 2010 really, really sucked for multiple reasons. I want to focus on letting go and setting my sights ahead on the future. At this point, I do not feel I will gain anything by re-playing the events of the year past over in my mind. Maybe when the pain I've experienced isn't so fresh, I can re-visit those memories and learn something. But for now? I need to just let it go.
• Green monster - I tried having a Green monster last summer when I was training for the marathon but I just wasn't sold on it... I think I need to play around with the ingredients a bit... So I am hoping to experiment and come up with a flavor combination that I love! When/if I find one, I'll be sure to share it with you. And for all you green monster lovers out there, I'm open to suggestions! (I tried one with peanut butter this summer and I think that is the ingredient that killed it for me...)

What are your goals for 2011?