Goals and plans for 2024

[sweetpumkinpye]

2023 was a good year for me. My word of the year was progress and I felt that I did make progress in quite a few areas of my life. There are certainly still areas that need improvement but overall a good year.
I have realised that I am happy with the life that I have here. It is simple and it works for DH and I. The things I enjoy most are organising events (I like the organising more than the event most times), getting together with my family, being comfortable in my home, doing a good job at work. Simple meals, day trips, shopping trips, watching a good movie. I don't need fancy things to make me happy.
This year will be one of great change as DH and I look at potential retirement and a move to the farm mid year. Not sure if I am quite ready but need to go with whatever happens.

Time to set some goals for 2024. I am not sure if they are all doable but will not know if I don't try.

*Read 10 books
*Lose some weight before turning 60
*Maximise my time with family and friends
*One adventure a month
*Finish the bedroom at the farm, make it a haven for DH and I
*Learn some "farm" skills
*Major declutter before moving
*Meal plan/budget well
*Before I buy something ask the questions. Do we need it, will we use it, can we "afford" it, is there a substitute?
*Remove 100 unwanted items from the home
*Enjoy doing a few more crafts
*Schedule some more baking days/freezer prep days
*Try to find some joy out of every day

 

[Lori K]

2024, here I come! I'm going to continue my goals in each of the areas I've targeted in the past, to continue growth in each area. I know there will be some changes ahead this year, and I want to be prepared.

Health --I really need to focus on this one . . . a) reduce weight by 25+, b) get cholesterol in check with new meds, c) get BP better under control and hopefully reduce one BP med.
Walking -- Increase walking distance and intensity, with a goal of 2-3 miles daily (7,000+ steps daily, the closer to 10,000 the better). Add in other exercise programs as available.
Nutrition -- Continue working on water intake and reducing "drive-thru" nutrition. Focus on healthy menu planning and eating from my pantry. Reduce sodium intake, and experiment with one new "healthy" recipe weekly.
Financial -- Set and keep monthly financial spend, track where money is going, and reduce (or at least keep spend in check) whenever possible. Will also need to reevaluate mid-year, when (I believe) one pension will drop off and I'll need to make a change to Social Security plan, as well.
Travel -- Take a monthly "excursion" of some sort, even if it's a day-trip into the country to explore new territory in my home state. Be intentional with these trips, to find new places, make new discoveries, share new stories.
Household -- Stay on task with cleaning plans; clear out unwanted / unused items. Strive to work from the office, rather than kitchen table.
Education -- Self-education is critical to growth. I need to learn new skills to help with my areas of focus that are outlined above. Educate myself on how to --

• improve my health through better exercise and nutrition
• implement low-sodium and other more healthful recipes
• utilize a fitness tracking plan, even if it's manual, I need to track and monitor this area
• utilize my pantry to keep financial plan in check
• identify local sites to visit throughout the year, what each offers and when, and plan my route accordingly.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

My 2024 word of the year is "complete." There are areas in my life that are unfinished. I have unfinished craft projects and crafts where the supplies have been bought but never used. I have saved recipes in my recipe binder but I have never tried those recipes. I have bits and pieces of notes taken whenever I spoke to my grandmother that I’ve been meaning to gather together in one location. I have research in my family tree that has been started but not finished. There are house projects like decluttering rooms and drawers and regular household maintenance that haven’t been done. There are legit reasons for some of the unfinished work but most of the work can be completed and should have been completed.

Family History

• I want to finish researching the answer to “Who is the father of my 4th great-grandmother?” and “Who is the mother of that same 4th great-grandmother?” I’ll send in the documents to the genealogical society so that all of my work will be available to future generations looking for information on our shared ancestors. This would be 15 minutes of daily research followed immediately by 15 minutes of writing up what I found. Ideally, the paper work will be sent in by June 1st. However, the submission date is subject to change based on available documents.
• In addition, I’d also like to answer the question, “Who is the father of my 4th great-grandfather?” and “Who is the mother of my 4th great-grandfather?” I’d like to submit the information to the genealogical society as well. Ideally, research would be finished and documentation submitted on Dec. 15th. However, the submission date is subject to change based on available documents.
• I would like to answer one autobiographical question a week, spending no more than 15 minutes writing weekly.
• Gather all the fragments of conversations with my grandmother into one location. As I declutter, I will put all the genealogical information into a folder or box to be written up at another time.

Household

• Declutter basement, living room, family room, office, kitchen, dining room, mudroom, front hall, bathroom and bedroom. I will add decluttering of these rooms to my weekly rotation with the idea of spending 15 minutes a week decluttering the room. The basement is a whole different beast. That will be 15 minutes weekly.
• Declutter drawers in each of the above rooms after getting through a general visual declutter.
• Either try recipes in recipe binder or toss them.
• Make a Spruce Up list for each room as well as outdoors and work on it weekly until September when the holiday cleaning plan kicks in.

Creativity

• I want to complete the unfinished craft projects.
• I want to complete the projects that I have bought supplies for but never started.
• I want to make do with the supplies I have unless the item will serve several purposes.

Reading

• I want to complete reading the books on my shelf. I think reading 10 books, 1 book every 5 weeks, would be realistic.

 

[MrsSoup]

I didn't accomplish much of what I had written for 2023. I was in survival mode for the majority of this year. I don't want 2024 to be this way. I need some major changes and only I can implement them.

Health and Nutrition- I am starting a 30 day yoga challenge tomorrow with DD. My goal is to actually stick with it this year and then continue on with it if I do that. It's called Yoga with Adriene if anyone else is interested. You can find her on YouTube. Along with this, I have the Headspace app (free for teachers) and want to implement some of the tools it has daily for mindfulness- such as deep breating for 1 minute, 3 minute meditation, etc. I sent DD a 30 day free pass so I think she is doing it along with me as well.
I also need to drink more water and work on my nutrition. This part never changes, but now I need to get serious.
I have gained weight and i'm not sure why. It could be a med that i'm on, stress, or it could just be aging. Either way, I don't like it and I don't feel good because of it. I want to work on cutting out sugar. I also want to work on being more mindful of what i'm putting in my body.

Self-Care- I used to get my nails done every two weeks, I don't do that anymore, it was destroying my nails. I do still get my hair done. I stopped participating in the JROTC stuff so heavily. It was too stressful and was too much drama. I go to meets when I want to or can, but it doesn't run my life anymore. I still do my nightly baths (on days when I don't need to wash my hair), but it still feels routine as I reported last year. I need to find a way to make it special again and feel luxurious, not like a basic function. I have been in survival mode all year and it is high time to LIVE my life, not just survive. I would like to get a massage every quarter (at least). I was on a coffee schedule each week- Wednesday a free coffee from the gas station and Friday's Starbucks. However, I was also getting junk for breakfast when I did that and the coffee wasn't so great for me either, loaded with sugar. I will do an every other week treat for now.

Household- We need to stop eating out so much and I need to help with the cooking. Chad cooks when we do eat at home. He also does the food shopping. I need to get back to participating in my life- again out of survival mode. I need to come up with a cleaning schedule.

Finance- We need to start putting money into savings again. We did start investing this past year so there is that. I am actively looking for a house with land. I would love to have a mortgage that is less than what we have now, but I don't think that will happen right now. It may be we bide our time and wait for a few more years. I'm just really feeling the call to have land.

Miscellaneous- I did meet my goal with reading, but didn't surpass it. I didn't make time for anything that I enjoy doing. I did stop bringing work home, so that's something.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Travel -- Take a monthly "excursion" of some sort, even if it's a day-trip into the country to explore new territory in my home state. Be intentional with these trips, to find new places, make new discoveries, share new stories.

Lori, Mum and I did several day trips last year. Most destinations were within an hours drive from our home. We enjoyed discovering these little towns and of course love the car trip. We have 4 more destinations that we would like to try this year. I have listed 1 adventure a month on my goals. There are so many wonderful museums and attractions in our city that I would like to visit this year.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Mary, I wish you well with your goals for 2024. I am amazed as always how busy you are and how you manage to fit it all in. You are an inspiration.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Jess, I hope that you manage to reset and reach the goals that you have set. Look forward to following along with your journey. You've got this.

 

[Lolwlias]

My main goals are:
Family Dinner Day monthly again.
Scrap a page a week.
Try a new recipe a month.
Super simple, right? Not so much.

I'm changing my work of the year to POP.
Progress Over Perfection

My extra goals are:
Read 12 books (I surpassed that goal in 2023).
Lose 25lbs. (Oh, this one will be hard.)
Meal plan & FOLLOW the meal plan.
Order out less!
Save more.
Move every day. No sitting in that reclining chair after work.
Follow either the HGP over the year or maybe HHP.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Laura, these are all fabulous goals. I wish you the best as you head into a great new year!!

 

[AnnieClaus]

See 2023 thread!
Hahahahhahahaa

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

See 2023 thread!
Hahahahhahahaa

Just copy and paste hey?

 

[luludou]

Haha Annie, I have a book where I list my goals every year and that is exactly what I wrote... 'same as 2023'

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Lose 25lbs. (Oh, this one will be hard.)

Half a pound a week would be ok.

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Follow either the HGP over the year or maybe HHP.

I would like to sit down when it is quiet (over the next few weeks) and decide which plan may work for me best this year. Maybe a combination of the 2 plans. What I am doing now is just not quite right and needs a little tweaking.

 

[AnnieClaus]

Lolwilas- There is an FB group that does the HGP all the year through.
The cleaning portions, minus the holiday prep until the last go around..
Once they are done with the 16 weeks, they start all over again with week 1.
Doing it this way, all areas of the house are "hit" several times a year.

Annie

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

I do a modified HGP here beginning March (Autumn). I follow the cleaning plan and I enjoy having a clean and tidy home just before I put it to bed before Winter.

 

[AnnieClaus]

I still have not gone through my online goals course. But I did spend A LOT of time the last 4 days goal planning and thinking about the next year ahead. Met up with the 1 friend I have local that gets into goals as well.
I have year-round goals- like read 10 books this year. And some home projects-like re-paint my living room.
We broke our year into Quarters with Quarter 1 being Jan-March.
I will post here at the start of each Quarter to list what I will be working on for those 3 months.

Here is for Quarter 1, 2024:
Health and fitness:
* Jan-Feb- Gentle exercise, YouTube yoga, tai-chi, walks at work
arm exercises and squats- 2x a week- M,Th
* March- College Walking challenge
* Eat 100 grams of protein per day
* Drink 3 of my water bottles of water

Family:
* Host a chili night
* Host a hot cocoa night
* Family hockey game- My Christmas present- Feb 17th

Finances:
* $50.00 per paycheck to Christmas envelope
* $40.00 per paycheck- Tithe
* $1,000.00 to Emergency fund
* Taxes
* Track all spending
* Say Finance affirmation statements 3 x per day

Other:
* Pray with intention- with prayer journal
* Newspaper reading schedule- all newspapers from previous week read and disposed of before current week's begin to arrive

I created a micro-goal to go through Feb:
* Kitchen picked up at all times-
My counters tend to get cluttered and it REALLY drives me crazy!

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

Annie, I love all of your goals for this quarter. I too find it easier to break things down into smaller chunks.
Wishing you great success with your goals.