When I was little I remember my Mum and my older sisters thoroughly cleaning the house prior to the new years eve celebrations. I have a very vivid memory of my sister Jacqueline, a petite 5 ft, standing on a stool to clean the tops of the kitchen wall cupboards and straining to reach the back of them :) I think the New Year Clean is still a tradition in many households across Scotland and it's one I try to keep too, but this year I started to decorate my little office and, as hard as I tried to get it finished by new years eve, the project has continued into the new year. I am truly amazed at the volume of stuff that has come out of this tiny room and is cluttering up my hallways and rooms. I'm so glad that the final coat of paint has dried so I can put it back where it belongs (and I'm sure some of it belongs in the bin or the op shop).
When we moved in we planned to decorate the whole house, at some point, eventually, some day. The trouble with loose goals like that is that they tend to drift from one year to the next. However, I used to set myself too many goals and would feel disappointed when I couldn't achieve them all. So I'm hoping to get the balance right this time by limiting to 4 main goals and I'm putting them here so that I have to be accountable!
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Goal 1: Better activity/R&R balance.
I progressed from hermit couch potato to only being home 2 nights a week and I've learned that neither of these are good options for me. It can be hard to turn down social invitations or let fun activity opportunities slide by, especially when other people manage it all so easily! But it's not fun for anyone when I get burned out and I need to learn my own limits. In an effort to find balance I'm limiting myself to only 3 extracurricular activities a week. This doesn't include my morning runs or lunchtime yoga. It does include choir, ice skating, Lions club, concerts, Saturday morning meet ups and market days, and any other social invitation that I receive.That will free up time for indulgent baths, reading, stove top coffee, growing vegetables, colouring in, crafting and all that other good stuff.
I'll see how it goes for the next 3 months and then revise if necessary.
Goal 2: Decorating
I'm hoping to finish decorating the office this week and then my next decorating goal is the guest bedroom. It's a bigger room than the office but it should (hopefully) be easier since I'm not removing wall paper or painting doors and trim. I'm giving myself the whole year to complete this task but my sister Jacqueline is planning to visit this year and it would be nice to have painted for her visit.Goal 3: Garden Maintenance
While I was working at decorating the office, Kane was out working at trying to find the garden under all the weeds and long grass! It already looks so much better, but my goal for the year is to get the garden back to basics and maintain this for the year. If things get planted that's a bonus, but the focus needs to be on forming a maintenance habit. If I end 2016 with weed free garden beds, clear paths and mowed green grass then this will be a success.Goal 4: Run a Half Marathon
I have a 5k, 2 x 10ks, and an 8k signed up for already but the real goal here is to maintain a consistent training regime and then train and run the Auckland Half Marathon on 30th October.
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I can see that these goals rely on consistency and this is where having a narrow focus is better for me that trying to accomplish too many things. I hope that these are within my capabilities now I've put them out there, it will be very embarrassing if at the end of the year I haven't progressed!
How's your year going so far? Have you set any goals or resolutions for 2016?
I'm with you on needing to limit the number of goals I commit to since they tend to require ongoing commitment versus doing something and crossing it off the list (although I did have one of those kind of goals last year related to organizational projects). I think I should try to do something similar to what you are doing for goal #1 and limit myself to a certain # of social obligations. I definitely struggle with over-committing myself. And since Phil and I do not live together, we have to make plans to see each other so if I am planning things on top of planning to see him, I can be gone many nights of a week. I look forward to the day when I can just come home to him and don't have to plan and coordinate schedules to see him... Anyways, all that said, I am trying to be more mindful about what i say yes to. I said no to something this week even though I knew the person asking me to do something was going to be disappointed but I have to stop saying yes to avoid someone's disappointment because then I just end up feeling overwhelmed and I don't enjoy the things I have planned!
Good luck with your goals!
Those goals all seem quite doable! I always try to not set too many, because, as you said, sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming and then you don't accomplish much or enjoy what you DO accomplish! I set about 10 goals, which I actually have set up to post on Monday, but the main ones are fitness and learning focused with a few private financial and personal goals.
Those goals seem totally doable! I agree, I think not setting too many goals is key. When I started doing my goal post it was hard to reign myself in but I know that if I set too many it will be harder to achieve them all and then I'll just be disappointed in myself!
Yay, these are good (and achievable!) goals. I am looking at a halfmarathon in October too.... it should be doable. Good luck with your goals!