Tomorrow is the start of a new year. Some people think of it as a clean slate. That’s a nice notion, but the practical side of me sees it as simply an easy day on the calendar for tracking goal progress. When something is overwhelming to me, I tend to process it quite clinically; a coping mechanism of mine that may not be obvious to others but that my therapist noticed during our first session.
The sole purpose of this blog/journal/journey is to set myself up for success; to reach goals that I set for myself, without any external prompting, and to acquire new habits. These marks are set for personal emotional growth, professional growth of my business, marriage/relationship enrichment, and improvements in my health and wellness. They exist in two categories: short-term (less than 60 days) and long-term (more than 60 days).
I will probably add to or subtract items from this list over the course of the next 365 days as life happens and other priorities arise, but for now these columns are my compass. Some are relative small goals in length of time, but that does not indicate the difficulty of the goal itself. For example, going to bed by 10pm and waking up at 6am is a very arduous goal for me, but I’m hoping that by setting an achievable, short length of time to maintain this it will help build my confidence to continue until it becomes habit.
SHORT-TERM GOALS
LONG-TERM GOALS
- Go to bed by 10pm and wake up at 6am for 7 straight days. If successful, continue this.
- Drink 1 gallon of water daily for 7 days. Make sure this coincides with easy access to a bathroom.
- Set 1 thing aside to donate every day for 1 month. Ask Neil and Grant to do the same.
- Compliment someone daily for 7 days.
- Do something to pay-it-forward for 7 days.
- Read for 1 hour each day for 14 days. This should be done before going to bed.
- Do 1 project a day with Grant for 7 days.
- Stay offline one day per week for 4 straight weeks. Day of week to be chosen later.
- Schedule 1 date night each week for 4 straight weeks. Secure babysitter for all 4 nights ahead of time.
Rid closet of all clothes that don’t currently fit.- Write one hand-written letter to a family member or friend each day for 7 days.
- Spend 7 days recognizing simple pleasures. List these in each daily blog post.
- Take an online education course to learn a new task each week for 4 consecutive weeks. Record best takeaways from each lesson.
- List 5 things to sell online each day for 7 days.
- Use gift cards and book 2 massages. Complete this within the first 60 days of 2019.
- Go hiking once a week in a new park for 8 consecutive weeks.
- Meet a friend for coffee/lunch/shopping/etc once a week for 4 consecutive weeks.
- Sketch daily, for 30 consecutive days. Share sketches online each day.
- Post to the blog daily for 365 days.
- Go Gluten Free for 90 days. Starting January 1, 2019.
- Grow out hair for one year. This may seem silly but this goal literally requires doing nothing and I still have not been able to accomplish it.
- Lose 40lbs in one year. Starts January 1, 2019.
- Attend at least 4 Fit4Mom BodyBack classes each week for 1 year. I started to write 3 then realized I was saying in my head “three would be easier” and changed it to 4 because this journey isn’t about “easy.”
- Complete all daily homework assignments during BodyBack transformation sessions. Session starts January 12.
- Wean myself off my anxiety medication. By June 30.
- Practice gratitude daily for 365 days. End each blog post with one thing I’m thankful for.
- Book at least two photoshoots each month.
- Define business objectives and create client management system. Complete this by March 30th.
- Participate in monthly photography club prompt. Submit at least 5 images each.
- Enter at least 3 photography contests within the year.
- Create newsletter for photography clients. Distribute this bi-monthly.
Follow me and help keep me accountable please. If it suits you, feel free to do the challenges along with me. It’s going to be a fun, productive and life-changing year!
THE ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNEY 
Wow! That is some list! I have a rather short list but somehow nothing actually gets accomplished. Wish I had your perseverance. And I have to say, I’m most excited to see your hair after a year growing it out! 😀
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Haha! Not too many people have seen my hair long! It’s a rare occurrence 😁 This may seem like a lot of goals when lumped all together like this but I don’t think it’ll be too much when spread out throughout the entire year. I have to refrain from starting them all at once even though most of them I’m itching to get going on. I’m only going to work on 1-2 short term goals at a time overlapping the long term goals. Hopefully it works out like it does in my head!
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I love the list, and know many of those items will make themselves habits and be able to be checked off rather quickly. You have a lot of “daily” activities- do you have a list of these to check off daily? Might make it easier to track. Looking forward to tracking progress with you!
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That’s a good idea, Marie! I’ll make sure to include a list on the future posts.
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