Setting Reachable Goals for 2013 (My Resolutions)

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Happy New Year, readers! So how did we get to 2013 so quickly? Do you love looking at the empty spaces on a new calendar and think of all the possibilities for the new year? I'll admit that I find it both exciting and daunting. I stopped making "resolutions" a long time ago because I felt like I was setting myself up for failure. But I do like to choose a few goals for the year to work towards. I can't say I was entirely successful in 2012, but here's to hoping that 2013 will be a better year. Here are a few of my personal goals for this year (home goals to follow another day).

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Family and Home Life:

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1. Spend more time reading and working with the girls

I'll be honest. Natalie's homework gets done, and we complete it together without waiting until the last minute...but we could definitely be spending more time working with some flashcards and expanding her reading skills. I like to give her time to decompress after school and dance, but we'll need to work some extra study time in too this year. Michaela Byrd has plenty of time after preschool to play, so we'll have a chance to reinforce some of the concepts she's learning in school this year. I want her to be ready when she starts kindergarten in the Fall!

2. Improve Accountability

Too often, I let the girls trash the place with their toys until I can't stand it any more. Then I flip out and end up cleaning up a bunch of it on my own. We need a chore system with rewards and punishments in place to ensure that our play area doesn't continue to look like a FEMA trailer park after a natural disaster.

3. Regular Meal Planning and Couponing

I still don't have the hang of couponing, but I'm excited to be part of the eMeals blogger team this year. Maybe they can get me on track with my meal planning! I tend to do it in spurts and then fizzle out. I think the key to real savings and success is going to be consistency.

4. More Family Time

T works a lot, but I'd love for us to do some more activities together as a family this year. I think I need to hit my Pinterest Boards and look for some fun, inexpensive things we can do.

5. Entertain

I think I shy away from this, particularly family-style events, because we have a small home. With the lack of a basement or separate play area (with doors), more than 3 or 4 children can tear through this place like a pack of Tasmanian devils in a matter of minutes. But that doesn't mean I can't host my Book Club or invite friends over more often for coffee or desserts. (Friends reading this, please keep me accountable!)

I think hospitality is more of an attitude than the space or things you can provide for your guests. 

Personal

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1. Less caffeine.

I cut back on my vices, Coca-Cola and cafe mochas, in December. I have always been a big water drinker, but  I'm crossing my fingers that I can cut out some more caffeine without turning into a raging monster.

2. More disciplined Bible Study

I tend to sign up enthusiastically for each season's Bible study at my church, and then I let other things get in the way of devoting enough time to properly complete and focus on each lesson. And, really, what's the point of rushing through it all the night before the meeting? I want to be more disciplined with setting some morning time aside to be quiet and study without distractions all over the place.

Blogging

1. Steer clear of the "Social Media Time Suck"

I did a pretty good job in 2012 of using Hootsuite to schedule all my blog promotion for Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Any other updates that went up were usually just tossed on using my iPhone, so I didn't have a chance to sit and mess around stalking people. 

I do, however, have a Pinterest addiction. A well-meaning "I'll just add this real quick" turns into "ohmigosh how did I spend half an hour on here?". 

2. Less Stress

It is really, really hard to schedule to post consistent content here, every weekday morning, at 8:01 am on the dot. And let's not forget the weekend posts, which also go up regularly. 

The blogosphere has grown so much in the past few years, and I know readers' attention is divided so many ways. I'm tired of competing with everyone else. I'd rather focus on fun projects, updating my home, and my family (!!) than worrying about how my stats look or how many comments a post has. 

This is going to mean saying "no" to some campaigns I'd normally jump at. It might mean inviting a few more guest posters over from time to time, or maybe starting a series to Feature others. 

What about you? Have you set any goals for 2013?

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