2018 Goal Update: Take a look at my goals for this past year and how well I accomplished them (or didn’t).
How did your 2018 go?
I thought I’d share my 2018 goal update with you. I always like to take time to review the previous year before I set my goals for the new one so I can take a look at what worked, what didn’t and what changes I need to make as I go forward.
2018 did not go as I expected or planned — and that in itself taught me an important lesson. I’ve talked about “creating a life you love” primarily because I DO want you to be intentional in how you live so you can love your life.
But the truth is that there are many, many factors that we have no control over and we just have to do our best to ride the waves while clinging to God and trusting that He is with us the entire way.
Many times we can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose our responses to them.
Some of the challenges that I faced this year were my choice, such as taking an online internship that ended up taking way more time than I expected which caused my own business to suffer. I finally realized this in August and quit the internship, but the damage had been done.
I also felt strongly that I needed to take a part-time job outside my home in September. Although I chose to take the job, the circumstances once I started it were mostly out of my control. It challenged me physically, mentally and emotionally — and really put my time management skills to the test!
If I had not been in the habit of creating a weekly plan in my Joyful Life Playbook, I would not have accomplished anything the second half of this year.
Creating my weekly plans kept me sane in the midst of the chaos and helped me to focus on what’s truly most important, which is taking care of myself and maintaining my relationships with my immediate family.
My 2018 Goal Update
Note: The way I write my goals may seem very detailed, but I’ve found that when I translate my big goals into action steps and then add those tiny action steps to my weekly plan, I actually accomplish them. (I’ve created a genius exercise in the Joyful Life Playbook to help you do this painlessly as well.)
My Spirit
Goal: Maintain a close spiritual connection with God at all times.
Actions:
- daily morning brain dump, journaling and prayer session
- tech-free mornings
- read the Bible daily
- pray throughout the day
Progress:
Morning brain dump and tech-free mornings – check.
Daily Bible reading — not so much.
For 2019 I plan on revitalizing this goal and making morning Bible reading a priority again.
My Physical Health
Goals: Lose 30 pounds by September.
Actions:
- walk vigorously at least 25 minutes daily
- do exercise videos at least three times a week
- eat protein for breakfast daily, eat gluten free and low carb
- drink 6-8 glasses of water daily
- go to bed by 10 pm
Progress:
Walking every morning and drinking lots of water — check.
Losing 30 pounds – epic fail.
When I thought about why I didn’t accomplish this goal I realized that I have two habits that are working against me:
- Eating in front of the tv while watching Netflix.
- Going to bed with my phone and watching videos instead of going to sleep on time.
I do well for a while with charging my phone outside my bedroom and then I fall back into the habit of watching You Tube videos to go to sleep, and I’ve noticed that it’s usually during times of high stress that this happens.
So these are the two habits I will be working to change first.
My Emotional/Mental Health
Goals: Live at a slower pace, engage in real life and enjoy more daily.
Actions:
- art journal daily
- laugh daily (watch funny videos or read funny blogs/books)
- schedule face-to-face friend time at least monthly
- spend time in nature at least once a week
- play with my dog daily
Progress:
Playing with dog and spending time in nature — check.
Everything else – fail.
And I don’t feel too badly about it.
I took a break from art journaling because I just didn’t want to do it. I want art to remain a fun outlet rather than turning it into another way to put pressure on myself, so I’m okay with letting it go for the past few months. I have missed seeing my friends though.
My Marriage
Goal: Enjoy a vibrant, intimate relationship with my husband.
Actions:
- kiss my husband passionately at least once a day
- speak kind words/express my gratitude daily
- buy him a special treat once a week (gifts are his love language)
- weekly date night ($10 Date Night Ideas)
- take a class together
- weekend getaway at least twice this year
Progress:
Weekly date nights and kissing passionately every day – check.
Weekend getaways – check.
Speaking kind words – still needs improvement.
Taking a class together? Probably not going to happen, but I’m okay with that.
My Children
Goal: Encourage and equip each of my children.
Actions:
- pray daily for my children
- put down my electronics when someone is speaking to me & look at them
- take each child on an individual “date” at least monthly
- daily chat time (take a walk or chat at bedtime)
- monthly family fun outing
- read a book together with each of my children at least once this year.
Progress:
Praying for kids daily — check.
Daily chat time – check.
Individual dates – only a few.
Reading a book together – sounds good, but isn’t going to happen.
Due to busy work and school schedules we basically check in with each other every day at home and occasionally have family time when all the stars align and everyone is home at the same time. It’s how life looks when your kids are older teens and young adults.
My Money
Goals: Cut expenses and save $4000 for bathroom remodel.
Actions:
- post our current specific goals on the fridge & review them daily (use this Savings Target Page)
- have a weekly money meeting to create our spending plan (free budget worksheet or Budget Binder Printables)
- buy only needs for the month of January & review overall budget monthly
Progress:
I’m excited that we were able to accomplish this goal.
We did our master bath remodel in stages, but we are mostly finished now except for some drywall repair. (You can see photos in my Instagram highlights — go to my profile HERE and select the circle that says “Stokes Cottage”.)
My Business
Goal: Simplify my focus. (My attention was scattered in too many directions last year.)
Actions:
- focus primarily on The Peaceful Mom
- eliminate parts of my business that take time but that I don’t enjoy
- research additional ways to make money
Progress:
Focus only on The Peaceful Mom site — check.
Eliminate unfruitful parts of my business — check.
I’m still working on creating more streams of income.
My Home
Goal: Create and enjoy a peaceful home where my family and others feel comfortable.
Actions:
- daily 10 Minute Declutter starting with master bedroom
- continue weekly cleaning schedule
Progress:
I’m very happy with this goal. A friend came over a few months ago and commented how peaceful and relaxing our home is, which made me feel great!
I’m still working on decluttering, which is a life-long process evidently. My current focus is my office/art space.
So there you have it — my progress on my goals this year. I failed in some areas and succeeded in others, but the process has taught me many invaluable lessons.
I’ll write more about my takeaways from 2018 and how it’s impacting my goal setting and planning for 2019 in a few days, so stay tuned.
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P.S. – Let me know how your goals went for 2018. Leave a link or a comment below. 🙂
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I was hoping you would post the BR update. I too have a 1974 Florida bathroom, actually 2. My floors were tiled in tiny postage stamp size tile. They were white so I left it. Got new white vanities like you did with new vanity tops & brushed nickel faucets. New shower door will be next. Your master BR is lovely. It looks something like mine! I’m sure you are enjoying it. I did mine on budget too.Got new faucets at Restore. One vanity from Craigslist & one from garage sale. Budget DIY rocks!
Sorry it took so long Laurel! I intended to post it on the blog, but I kept putting it off because it was going to take so long to write out the details. I hope you love the white as much as I do. It made our bathroom look so much bigger and brighter. I am so happy that you were able to find your fixtures at Restore. We kept looking, but were never able to find anything that we liked so we ended up going to Lowe’s, but we had a coupon so that helped.
I hope you enjoy your bathroom remodel! 🙂