While I did fairly well with my 2014 goals, I’m changing up my format just a bit for 2015.
I didn’t list my goals by specific categories this year. A few of the goals are the same as last year; they worked well and I want to continue to build those particular habits over the next twelve months. Also, my husband and I are working through Michael Hyatt’s 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever material; Hyatt suggests having different end dates for your goals, so I applied that idea to a couple of my goals.
1. Read through the Bible in 100 days. I’ve read through the Bible several times before, but never in such a concentrated period of time. I know it will be challenging, as I want to really take in the words I’m reading – not just speed read through them. What I like about this approach is that I won’t have time to read all the daily chapters in the morning, so it will force me to find other times throughout the day to read my Bible. That’s a good thing! Here’s the Bible reading schedule I’m following.
2. Write a new, very specific prayer list for my husband and my children at the beginning of each month. While there are some prayer requests that are ongoing for my husband and daughters (health, wisdom, purity), I want to constantly be aware of what’s going on in their lives so that I can cover their needs in prayer. Sometimes I fall into the rut of saying the same things over and over, and I hope that generating a new prayer list every thirty (or so) days will keep my prayers for my family fresh and pertinent.
3. Spend one hour with each daughter each month doing an activity that she likes to do. Since we still homeschool our younger daughter, we’re together a lot. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m actually taking the time to connect with and invest in her. I want to be very purposeful about that in 2015. I’m realizing how quickly the years we have with our daughters at home are passing! An hour doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but I hope it will build some special memories with my girls.
4. Send a note or e-mail of encouragement to someone every week. This is a repeat from last year, but it was a blessing to me (and I hope to others!) and a practice I want to continue.
5. Complete my reading plan each month. More to come on this on Friday!
6. Exercise for 25 minutes a day, 4 times a week. This usually takes the form of walking; it’s another carryover from last year, but I always feel better when I can keep up with this goal.
7. Eat at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. This is a step up from last year, where I was simply trying to meet this goal 4 days a week. As with goal number 6, I feel so much better when I increase the amount of produce I eat, so I want to make this a daily goal. It certainly helps me eat less junk when I’m filling up on the good stuff!
8. Complete Copyblogger’s collection of 15 ebooks and implement 5 changes to my blog by June 30. I want to improve my writing and this blog and am looking forward to learning ways to do that.
While I won’t list them here, my husband and I also have a set of financial goals that we will be working to meet this year.
I love the beginning of a new year! Today we’ll be getting back into our routine, and I’ll officially start working on these goals. I look forward to sharing my progress – and being held accountable by you – as we move through 2015.
Hope your year gets off to a great start! If you have goals that you’ve set for the year, I’d love to hear about them!
Oh, boy! I love two of your goals: monthly prayer lists for your family and spending an hour with each of your daughters. I look forward to seeing how you plan the time; I'm not sure how I would implement it, but I'm going to think about it!
I don't know what Copyblogger is, but I also look forward to seeing what you learn; maybe I'll learn something, too!
Copyblogger seems to cover a host of topics, mostly related to blogging/writing and online marketing. I will certainly share anything helpful that I learn!
Specific prayers for each month = LOVE! I can fall into a rut, too.