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My Goals…Why do I set them? Why do I share them here?
- Setting goals helps me remain focused.
- Sharing my goals helps to hold me accountable.
- I hope that it may inspire you to set goals for yourself? Give it a try! Start small if it seems overwhelming or like too much work. Or maybe it seems pointless to you? Give it a shot and see what you think.
Are you new to goal setting? Here are a few posts that may help or inspire you:
- How to Set Goals using Short Challenges and Mini Goals
- How Short Challenges and Mini Goals Work for Me
- One Simple Task to Help You Follow Through On Your Goals
Wake-up & bedtimes
October: My goal was to be in bed for 7 hours most nights of the week. My girls are starting to get up earlier, so I wanted to move my nights to 11:00 – 6:00. I slowly moved my bedtime and wake up time earlier and met this goal by the end of the month. It’s much easier to wake up at 6 when I am working on a project that I’m excited about.
If you have trouble making sleep a priority, check out these helpful resources:
November: Be in bed from 11:00 – 6:00.
Books
October: Read 2 books.
Money-Making Mom
November: Read 1 book.
Exercise
October: My goal was to workout 4 times per week with at least 2 runs per week. Done.
November: Work out 4 times per week.
Weekly “date” night with hubby
October: We enjoyed our first weekend trip away from our girls. We went to Chicago early October and loved it. We strolled around the city, enjoyed great restaurants, and also took the architecture boat tour. I highly recommend the boat tour!
November: One movie, game or date night per week in November.
Organize, Declutter, Simplify
October: My schedule doesn’t allow for hours of deep cleaning or decluttering, so I often give myself a pass. My goal was to do 4 small non-maintenance cleaning or decluttering tasks per week. Completed every week, but the last week of October I fell behind.
November: Continue
Preschool
October: Homeschool preschool for my girl. I wanted to have the week’s plan in place every Sunday night. I use the term “week’s plan” loosely here, as I have a relaxed agenda. During the one week that I did not think ahead, we did very little. Taking a few minutes on Sunday seemed to help.
November: Continue.
Get Outside!!
October: We have enjoyed the most beautiful October! I never appreciate fall as I should because I view fall as the season before winter and cold. This year I chose to focus on the beauty of fall and enjoyed the season instead of just focusing on the dread of cold weather. The warm fall has helped my attitude. :)
November: Try and spend time outside each week as winter is coming…for now I will enjoy this:
October Blog Goals
- Focus on managing blog/work time. When I started blogging, I soon found out that there are so many ways to be busy with blog work. As I thought of my blog/work goals it became apparent that I need to make sure my time on the computer is focused and in line with my goals. I started making changes in July and have continued to tweak along the way. ~ Because I added a new project in October, I was more focused when on the computer.
- Make a simple blogging/editorial schedule. ~ Nope.
- Set weekly goals on new project. ~ I started a new project that I am excited about! I signed up for a 30-day trial to Adobe InDesign. I have been intrigued by the program, so I am using the trial period to see if it’s the right program for me. I am sharing more of the process with my e-mail newsletter, feel free to sign up if you want to follow along! I wanted to set goals every week in October, but it’s hard to set specific goals around a program that is brand new to me. I had no idea how quick (or how slow) I would pick up on it!
I have been posting updates on instagram: here, here and here.
November Blog Goals
- I would like to set weekly goals on my new project.
- Send weekly updates to newsletter subscribers. I decided to not blog about my new project as I am unsure how it will all play out. I will be sending my subscribers weekly updates on the project.
- Include weekly printables from my InDesign experimentation in the weekly update. Sign up to follow along and get the weekly printable.
- Plan out a loose blogging/editorial calendar for November and December.
Track your goals in a planner. Do you need a planner for 2021? Check out my Planner Comparison and Review HERE!
Do you make monthly goals? Feel free to link to your November goals in a comment. I enjoy reading goal lists. I find encouragement hearing what others are desiring to focus on.
You will receive free updates, morning motivation, printables, blog post highlights, and occasional deals sent your way. Frequency?? Just a few times per month.
Michele Morin says
This was so helpful to me . . . I’m also running the balancing act of schooling, housework, and blogging, and it’s nice to see how someone else manages.
Your link at Faith and Fellowship comes up with Error 404. I was able to get to your post by clicking on Home — but you might want to check your link up.
Emily says
So odd. Thanks for letting me know, Michele!
Candice says
Wow your goals are so detailed! Inspiring too! This post gave me ideas for next month. Today I also shared mine. I hope this is the right place to link them back :)
http://mommawonderings.com/2015/10/30/fired-up-on-the-blog/
Emily says
Thanks for sharing your goals!
Alyssa J Howard says
Wow! I love how detailed your goals are! I must say that I agree when it comes to sharing your goals with others – it definitely brings a certain level of accountability. :)
Alyssa (visiting from Faith and Fellowship)
Emily says
Accountability is a funny thing. Some of my goals would be completed regardless, but I know that some are completely solely because I know I report back on my goals each month. Even if no one else may care about or be impacted by the goal, just knowing that I share them here helps me out! Thanks for stopping by, Alyssa!
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family says
I’m totally with you on the fall attitude! I hate to see summer come to an end. But this year I’ve enjoyed the nice weather and tried to soak up all of the outside time I can before it gets icky and cold.
Emily says
I am with you. I always hate to see summer end!
Enjoy the rest of your fall! We have 70s in our forecast this week. :)
Linda at Mixed Kreations says
Very nice post! I love reading about others goals. I just starting making and posting my blog goals in September, and your right it does help me stay focused and holds me accountable so I manage to get more done. I to struggle with balancing act but not with small children, mine are grown. I am balancing my full time job, housework, gardening, remodeling, my blogging, and trying to add some excersise in there as well. It gets pretty overwhelming at times. My list of goals is small but I believe that it does help to keep me on track. (-;
Emily says
That is great that your list of goals keeps you on track. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on a smaller list. Keep it up. :)
Kheushla says
Great post! I love how much detail you add in each goal. I really need to work on my blog goals for November.
Heather @ Simply Save says
I too write down and share goals to stay accountable and focused! I’ve been focusing on a sleep goal lately too, going to bed at a reasonable time, but also getting up earlier so I have more free time in the morning. Good luck on your goals and thanks for sharing at #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Angela @ Setting My Intention says
Hi Emily! I started writing weekly, then changed to monthly goals on my blog in October. It has really helped me. Here’s mine if you’d like to take a look! http://settingmyintention.com/setting-monthly-goals-november/
Emily says
Thanks for sharing your goals here! I enjoyed reading through them. :)
Keri Snyder says
Your goals are always laid out so nicely! I need to plan out December editorial plan too. Love all your printables!!
Emily says
Thanks Keri! They are fun to create. :)
Tammy says
Love your goals. Hubby and I love date night and yes on going outside more. Its finally cooling off her in Florida and I enjoy going outside to work.
Gail Akeman says
I also hope to reading the new book Money Making mom as well.
Jessi Fearon @ The Budget Mama says
I’m so happy to hear that your Chicago trip went well!! :) I have yet to visit Chicago (despite having family that lives there), but that boat tour sounds amazing! And your printable is so freaking cute! You’re so talented with printables. :)
Emily says
Thanks, Jessi. :)
I hope you can get to Chicago someday. It’s a great city to visit!
Lauren English says
I hear you on the struggles with managing all the different blogging tasks. It’s hard to set a schedule and stick to it while still giving yourself time and space to just be with family and rest! I’m glad you and hubby were able to get some fun time in the city and hope you’re able to get more fun date nights in November!
Emily says
So much task juggling in blogging! Thank you for stopping by, Lauren!
Romany says
I love reading other people goals, I find them so inspiring and sharing them definitely helps me stay accountable. Your goals are a lot more detailed than mine. You can check mine out here http://www.puddingandboo.com/2015/11/monthly-goals-november/
Good luck with this month’s goals :)
Beth McIntire says
Thanks for sharing your goals! I always find it helpful to write down my goals. The act of writing them down seems to help with accomplishing them.
Tiffani says
I really appreciate you sharing your goals with your readers. This was inspiring to read & motivating…I like how you gave yourself small goals so you can walk away with accomplishments. Sometimes starting small is the way to go. Great post & thank you for signing up with our Small Victories Sunday Linkup!
Emily says
Yes, big lofty goals can be unattainable and can result in frustration!
Maria says
What i love about this is how honest you are about attaining them. Goal setting is an art within itself and the fact that you put this out there for you and your readers to follow is a great way to stick to them. Your bed time goal as well as your blogging goal for an editorial calendar is something I aspire to. Good luck with this month’s goal. Can’t wait to read how you’ve progressed.
It was lovely of you to share this with us on #SHINEbloghop, Emily! Hope you’re enjoying your weekend :)
Emily says
The editorial calendar is not easy at this point! Thanks for reading, Maria. :)