January 01, 2018

Goals for 2018

I am a goal setter. I always have been, and probably always will be.

I am a list maker. I have books full of lists that I've written, most of them "to do" lists or "goals" lists.

I love thinking about things I would like to change, improve, or accomplish and then making a plan on how to go about doing it. One of the most helpful and motivating things I did during my weight loss was to track my accomplishments in lists. Losing 125 pounds was one of the most challenging things I've ever done (if not the most challenging) and taking it one small goal at a time helped a lot.

Anyway, the most exciting goal setting day of the year (for me, anyway) is January 1st. There is something about the clean slate of a new year that gives me the urge to make a goal list--whether it's just three big goals or a hundred mini goals.


First, a look back at the goals I set on January 1, 2017:

1) Read more books.

I failed at this one. I just don't enjoy reading, unless the book REALLY sucks me in from the beginning. I believe I only completed reading two books this year. I started several more, but didn't finish them for various reasons.

I read two memoirs, both by the same author: "Manic" and "The Dark Side of Innocence: Growing Up Bipolar". Both of them were (obviously) about bipolar disorder, and were fantastic reads. I love memoirs!

I also got about halfway through "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown. The book was fantastic, but very overwhelming for me--I felt like I wanted to highlight every single sentence, and I had to read each sentence about six times to let it fully sink in. It was this book, though, that gave me the courage to "come out" about my bipolar diagnosis on my blog. Someday, I'd like to read a little more of it.

2) Spend more quality time with the kids.

I definitely did good with this one. I was much more aware of my time with them, and I made it a point to spend extra time with them wherever I could.


After my bipolar diagnosis, I wanted to say yes to everything. I kind of felt like I was trying to make up for years of my mood shifts, and I wanted to give the kids good memories of me.


3) Record one second of video every day, with the 1 Second Everyday app.

Yes! I did this one, and I am SO glad that I did. I will post the final video here. I will warn you, it's long--one second every day (actually, mine are 1.5 seconds each) is 547.5 seconds, which equates to over 9 minutes. (Yet somehow, the video ended up being 10 minutes long... go figure).

So, here is 10 minutes of my 2017, with just 1.5 seconds of video each and every day:



Anyway, I love love love this app, and I'm going to continue to do this daily, with one modification: I'd like to get more video of people, and less of things/pets. I tend to use my pets when I'm stuck for a video that day.

(After several people asked about the app, I recorded a tutorial recently. There was an app update, so I don't know how helpful it will be now, but here is a link to it.)



Those were the three main goals that I had for 2017, and over all, I'm pretty happy with them.

Now, on to 2018 goals...

1. Read more books.

(Ha! I will try harder this year.) In order to reach this goal, I'm going to set a mini goal of reading for 10 minutes every day. I don't think 10 minutes is asking too much, and that will add up quickly. Maybe I'll finish five or six books instead of two. I have a Goodreads account, but I'm terrible about keeping up with it--so I'm going to make sure to keep track of my reading on Goodreads.

2. Get back to running regularly. 

This is something I really want to do, but I'm having trouble making myself do it. It's been SO cold in Michigan the last few weeks, and I just can't bring myself to run when it's 5 degrees outside. I really regret that we ever moved our treadmill to the garage, and then getting rid of it (it was old and rickety, and when it was in the garage, it was just collecting dust).


After debating about it for what feels like forever, and at Jerry's encouragement, we finally bought a new treadmill. It will be delivered on January 9th. I read treadmill reviews for days, and it was so frustrating trying to choose one! I had been looking on Craigslist for a long time, but nothing felt right. Finally, I suggested that we just buy a super cheap, used one and make do with it for a while, but Jerry said we should just get a good one because I will actually use it a lot.

So, we ended up getting the ProForm Pro 2000. Let's hope that it's a good choice! It was more than I wanted to spend on a treadmill, but Jerry is right--I will get a lot of use out of it, and it will make me much more motivated to run. Which brings me to my next goal...

3. Run a half-marathon.

This is a piggyback goal of the "running regularly" goal. I thought about this a lot, and I feel ready to train again. I do much better when I have a training schedule rather than just winging it; and when I first started running, the half-marathon was a huge goal for me. I didn't care much about my pace--my goal was to run the race that I had walked three times prior (the Indy Mini). I'd like to feel that sense of accomplishment again.

My sister is registered for the Martian Half in Dearborn. I've done this race before (it was actually the half where I set my PR of 1:52:07 in 2013). I've also run the 5K at this race with Brian and Nathan. And I've run the 10K two times. So, I've participated in this race four times. She asked if I would do it with her this year, and after giving it some thought, I decided it was a good idea.

Nathan, me, and Brian

The race is on April 14, which isn't exactly ideal because we will be on vacation a couple of weeks before that--during my longest training run. But I never used to let things like that get in the way of my goals, so I just need to make sure that determination gets me through. Maybe I can get a hotel with a fitness room, and do my run there. Or, I can map out a route near the hotel.

Jerry wants to do this race as well, so we'll both be training at the same time. This will be fun, because we can do some of our long runs together. I have no time goal, so I'm not worried about my pace. I would like to use this race as a gateway to regular running again, so I'm just going to make my training as enjoyable as possible.

I'm going to follow my First Timer's Half Marathon Training Plan that I just posted recently. I was actually writing that plan for myself when I decided to make it more generic and share it. I wanted it to be as simple as possible, but still enough training to get to the finish line and have a good race. Training starts on January 15, which is perfect--I can get started right away, and the treadmill will have arrived on the 9th.

I'm actually pretty excited to start training!

4. Pay off our debt.

We've been doing SO good on our zero sum budget. It's been seven months, and we are still going strong. Even after buying the treadmill, we had enough money to pay extra onto the credit card in December. I don't plan on making any changes to the budget, because what we're doing is working very well. I expect that we will get the credit card paid off in late spring. We aren't paying any interest, so we're not in a time crunch.



Those are the main things I want to work on this year. I still want to focus on mental health a lot, but I feel like I'm doing good with that right now. Always working on my weight--which I need to focus a little more on right now, because it's been steadily increasing for weeks.

Most of all, I think I just want to feel more in control--when I'm not running and I'm snacking too much, I feel out of control and lazy. Before we started our budget, I felt like our finances were out of control, and I had a ton of anxiety about it. I want to feel good! So, by cutting out the snacking and by following a training plan, (as well as continuing our budget), I am hoping to feel my best this spring!

Anyone else making goals for the new year? :)


28 comments:

  1. Have you guys bought an oven yet to replace the one that broke?

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    1. I was kind of wondering that too. A treadmill would be awesome, but I can't imagine living without an oven--I use it for so many meals around here!

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    2. Well, it wasn't like we had to choose one or the other... but we have a countertop oven that we've been using for several months, and I love it! I can make anything in it that I could make in my full size oven (the only food I had a problem accommodating was a turkey, haha). It preheats SO fast, too! When our gas stove dies, we'll get another stove/oven. But for now, we like the countertop oven :)

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    3. Do you mean a toaster oven?

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    4. Here is the link to it: http://amzn.to/2Ex4CX5

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  2. I loved every second of that video, Katie! For some reason it is very relatable. I thought of my own life, of my own kids and pets, and running, and the scenery. Some were absolute gems, like those cat eyes around December 22, and the one where everyone is putting/pouring (?) something on your head. There were special moments, yes, but there was also a lot of everyday life which makes up the majority of our life and happiness. I wish I had read this yesterday so I could begin using the app on January 1, but nevertheless. And your goals really resonate with me as well. I love, love, love this post.

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    1. Hahaha, I let the cross country kids on my team pour ice water on my head--one cup for each extra lap they did. I didn't expect that to be such a popular incentive!

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  3. I think you did pretty good on your 2017 goals and I’m sure you will rock 2018!!

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    1. Thanks! I am mostly happy that I spent more time with the kids. They are growing so fast!

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  4. Omg that's so funny, on New Years Eve I said to myself, I think its time to start running again and signed up for a half marathon on a total whim! I'm committed now lol but it feels good! I think you did awesome on your 2017 goals and your 2018 goals sound fantastic!! Happy New Years!

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    1. I haven't even signed up yet, hahaha. I will. I'm actually looking forward to running on the new treadmill, though! Tomorrow, school will be canceled because of the cold. Single digits all week, with "real feel" temps in the negative 20's! I chose a good time to get the treadmill, that's for sure.

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    2. I'm in Wisconsin so I know the feeling :( It's sooooo cold here! I've been stuck inside for weeks, I can't wait to run outside again

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  5. I loved every second of that ten minutes, very sweet!

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  6. i love reading but find it hard to get it in on a regular basis because it’s so sedentary. (I work really hard to be as active as possible.). So I’ve started listening to books on audible. It’s great. I listen as I’m driving, walking, cleaning house, etc. I know many people who also following along reading an actual book as they are listening to a book being read aloud on audible. I am going to try that this year. I enjoyed Brene Brown’s Rising Strong on audible and plan on listening to some of her other books this year. I also just finished Joe Biden’s book, Promise Me, Dad, on audible and LOVED it! It was read by Joe Biden’s himself and I can’t say enough good things about it. I highly recommend it! Happy New Year!

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  7. So excited to follow your return to running. Admittedly, I was a little sad when you decided to take a break. You know, the sad you feel when a total stranger who you’ve never met, but feel like you creepily know because you stalk their blog, decides to change things up? I recently started running. Because of you, actually! I’ve only worked up to a mile and a half, but for that mile and a half, I feel like such a badass. Afterwards, not so much. You are an inspiration. And for that, I will always be grateful. Keep it up. All of it. And thank you!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed reading about my running days. I'm looking forward to writing more about it! Hence the dozen posts over the last couple of weeks about training plans, haha. My interest is back!

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  8. I get my best reading time in at the "library" every morning. Keep your book nearby.

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    1. I actually started a book on January 1st, and then got so caught up in it, I stayed up until 3 AM reading. Then I finished it on the 2nd!

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  9. SO excited for you! I just got the ProForm Pro 2000 for my bday in November. I thought I was going to have a panic attack picking it out. Mine was delivered 12/22. We set it up and I am LOVING it! Hope you love yours too!

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    1. Oh, I'm so glad you like yours! Reading the reviews is SO SO overwhelming. I miss the good old days when the internet didn't exist and you just had to roll the dice with your purchase, lol.

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    2. I agree! And seeing reviews on YouTube made it even worse! I had anxiety between my "decision" date and when it arrived and I could try it out! ...sad but true!

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  10. Goodreads is a pain in the butt for me. I like what Gretchen Rubin does - weekly she posts the books she's read to instagram. Quick and easy. Since you aren't reading her volume of books (she reads 2-6 books a week!), you could just take a picture whenever you finish one. I think reading is a habit more than anything else and I go on binges. When I am reading, I read many books really close together and then I get busy with something else and don't read at all for a few months. I'm always happy to be reading though!

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    1. That's a great idea! (To use Instagram, I mean). I agree, Goodreads is definitely a pain to keep up with. I tend to go on reading binges, too! I just borrowed FOUR books from the library, so hopefully I'll actually read them! haha

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  11. I live in PA so I too have had the "too cold to run blues". I hate the DREADmill but suppose I need to get used to it or it will be a long winter :). Hope yours works out for you. ☺

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  12. 2018 for me is “the year of kicking ass”. Every year I write a list of 52 random things to achieve, simple tasks. That way at the end of the year I can look back at my list and see how’s productive it was. I’ve been doing it since 2008, and it’s so much fun! I can believe it’s been ten years this year! I also made a yearly video for a second a day after you’re first ever post using it, and the video turned out great. Thank you so much for the inspiration!

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  13. I love Goodreads! You can set a goal; as part of their Reading Challenge. I realize you aren't going for number of books, but it's fun to set it and blow it out of the water; then you can change it; or scale back if you need to!

    That treadmill looks amazing!

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  14. I use an app called Overdrive to link to my local library. When I trained for a half last year, I would listen to books as I ran. I definately run faster to music, but sometimes I wanted something different.

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  15. What a fun video!! Such a good way to remember and document each day!

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