New Year, New Decade, Fresh Start! While there is nothing magical about January 1st, there is a certain energy about it that motivates me to make some changes or create an action plan to make things happen.
Back in January 2018, I tried (and failed) to use Lara Casey’s PowerSheets for goal planning. That year, I was in both a very similar and very different time of life from where I am now. It was similar in that I was six months pregnant with a baby boy just like I am now, but very different in that I was working full-time in an extremely busy group at my company, living in an apartment downtown, child-free, and felt as if I literally had no free time outside of work. Honestly, my mindset wasn’t very healthy in 2018 either.
With our second baby’s due date quickly approaching in April 2020, I decided to give the PowerSheets another go, but with a very different mindset. I now have a much more manageable role at work, and I only work three days a week and stay home with my toddler the other days. I dug up my 2018 undated PowerSheets, did all of the prep work in an outside notebook (because I had filled in all those pages already in 2018), and started my January 2020 Tending List in the first unused month section. The PowerSheets are all about breaking down larger goals into very manageable mini goals and tending to those goals each week and each month. So, for 2020, my plan is to have quarterly goals that I can break down into very specific action items each month and each week.
For me in 2020, the first quarter is all about my pre-baby goals. The second quarter will encompass the first three months of our baby’s life (the “fourth trimester”) so survival and keeping our two-year-old and newborn alive and engaged will probably be my only goals. The third quarter will be all about trying to find our new normal during the last half of my maternity leave. And the fourth quarter will be more about routine, getting back to work, and establishing more rhythems as a family of four.
This list looks long because it’s really specific and for a three months time period. Please don’t think I’m crazy! I won’t be too mad at myself if I don’t do all or even most of these things, but I think it’s good to have goals to motivate myself and to strive for growth.
Quarter One Goals – Pre-Baby
(1) Faith
- Use Write the Word each day. So far I’ve done this most days in January!
- Do part of a Bible study most days. Right now I’m working through Beth Moore’s Entrusted – a study of 2 Timothy.
- Find a group of young Christian moms to connect with.
(2) Relationships
- Weekly date night with Daniel – We just got back from a “babymoon”, so we haven’t done this much yet, but starting this week, we are planning to alternatine at-home date nights and date nights out with a sitter every-other week.
- Send birthday cards to close friends and close family. I’m really bad at this, but I have a pack of cards on my desk, and I spent last year collecting family and friend’s birthdays. I’m prepared this year!
- Invite more people over to our house. I’m so guilty of never feeling like my house is clean or pretty enough. I know this is dumb, so I want to stop listening to that voice and open up my home to others.
(3) Finances
- Save a certain amount for a car down payment. Time to purchase another, bigger family car!
- Build up our emergency fund further.
- Do the Contentment Challenge and course. Basically, no mindless spending on myself for the first three months of the year. I made an exception during our babymoon, but other than that, so far, so good.
(4) Health
- Do more Yoga with Adriene at home. She has the best YouTube yoga videos that I’ve found.
- Go to 3 or 4 gym classes per week as long as my body can handle them. I want to keep up working out this pregnancy as long as I can, and I’m proud of what I’ve done so far with a combination of BodyPump, Pilates, and spin classes.
- Make home-cooked family meals at least two-three times per week and sit down as a family for dinner at least four times each week. With our work schedules, this is actually pretty hard to do. Carson goes to bed around 7-7:30, which usually means one of us sits with him while he eats and one of us is cooking our adult dinner in the kitchen while he eats. Eating together requires lots of pre-planning. So far in January, we have been better about this but have not done four meals every week.
(5) Home
- Clean out the garage. Daniel has already done most of this. I still need to go through all the boxes that sat in my parents’ attic for years! We also have a few boxes left from our move a year ago.
- Run the dishwasher every night and unload it every morning. This has been really working for me when I get up on time. If I don’t do this, the dishes pile up in the sink, and I hate it!
- Make a few changes pre-baby – Install blinds in our bedroom, get out the newborn equipment from the attic, prepare the pumping supplies, pull out Carson’s hand-me-downs, and shop for the few items we do need (baby swing, crib, double stroller, diapers, fresh bottle nipples, etc.).
(6) Hobbies
- Reading – My annual goal for reading this year is 40. I am loving reading this year, and I’ve already read six books in January. I’m trying to keep up a good mix of fiction and nonfiction (parenting, faith, personal development, etc.) and a good mix of eBooks from the library, books off my shelf, and audiobooks.
- Blog once per week – I skipped our travel week in January but have posted the other weeks so far.
- Be more present on Instagram. I’ve been posting more stories but am a little clueless on when to post regular Instagrams. Tips?
(7) Parenting
- Finish Carson’s one-year baby book. I’ve been loving getting back to it, going over all my milestone note, and going through all the adorable photos and memories!
- Spend at least 30-45 minutes on the floor each day playing with Carson – reading, playing with his toys, etc. We spend a lot of time together going on outings, but I want to be more intentional about my time at home with him. His whole world is about to be rocked, and I want him to have lots of mommy time right now.
- Get back into swim lessons with Carson. We started the spring semester last week!
- Plan a final “family of three” weekend. We will probably go to San Antonio and SeaWorld in March.
- Plan a small birthday party for Carson in early April/late March. He turns 2 on April 24th, but that is one week after baby’s due date!
- Read daily devotions – we are trying to read through a baby devotion book each night before bed.
- Start potty training (maybe!). I haven’t decided if Carson is ready, but I do plan to buy Carson a potty this week. He has already started learning about it through a couple potty books he loves (this one and this one – Amazon affiliate links).
- Get rid of the paci. I’m really scared about this one. Carson loves his pacis and uses them not just as a paci but also as his “lovies” that he cuddles with each night. He’s an amazing sleeper but I am concerned that will change without the pacis. He already does not use the paci during the day (with exceptions for travel and days when he is extra sad). So far this month, I have cut the tip off one of his pacis and cut the number of pacis down to two (one “broken” and one not) at nap time and three or four at nighttime.
(8) Morning Routine –
- This goal gets its own section because it encompasses a lot of what I’ve listed in other sections. I’d say I’ve had about a 70% success rate on getting up early for a morning routine in January so far. The days I do it, I feel so much better and ready to tackle the day. I’ve been doing my Write the Word, Bible study, nonfiction reading, unloading the dishwasher with a podcast, cooking and eating a good breakfast, and sometimes doing yoga. It’s wonderful! But it requires a very early wakeup before Carson gets up around 7am.
So far in January, I am doing fairly well on my goals, but travel and feeling tired and sore (pregnancy problems) have gotten in the way a little bit. But I’m proud of the progress I’ve made.
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with motherhood and regular travel while planting roots at home in the Austin, TX area. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel and baby boy Carson or cuddling with my chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably either out on a playdate with my son or planning, packing for, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram (and InstaStories!), Pinterest, and Facebook, or subscribe to my blog!}