January 01, 2021

My Goals for 2021


Happy New Year! I'm sure we are all hoping for a much better year than the last.

As you know, I love new beginnings and fresh starts. As cliché as they are, I also love New Year's resolutions (although I call them "goals" to sound a little less cliché). I usually pick a few big goals each year, and despite my best efforts, I fall off the wagon at some point. But I do tend to hang on to one or two of them each year and see them through.

In 2016, I made a goal to set a personal record in my 10K--and I did it!
In 2017, I made a goal to record one second everyday (on an app)--and I did it!
In 2018, I made a goal to pay off our debt--and I did it!
In 2019, I made a goal to give up alcohol for the entire year--and I did it!
In 2020, I made a goal to write a blog post every single day for the year--and I did it!

In each of those years, I had other goals that I wrote, but I didn't complete them. These are the big ones, and I'm proud that I stuck with them--they were long-term goals and not easy to do.

This year, I'm going to make some big goals and lots of little goals, and we'll look back on December 31st to see what I actually stuck with ;)

So, here goes...

1. Get my weight back down under 144. Ideally, I'd love to see 133 again, but I will be thrilled to get in the low 140's. 

To do this, I plan to do intermittent fasting, which is by far my favorite way of eating. I can see this as a true lifestyle change--something I can do forever. It fits into my life very well. However, I tend to eat too much during my "window", so I'm going to work on reducing that. 

Getting in water is important to me, too. I felt great when I was doing 75 Hard and drinking a gallon of water every day.

And along with diet, I am going to give up alcohol again for 2021. I did drink in 2020 (I'll have to write a post about that--I can't remember if I did already!). I didn't realize how much better I felt while not drinking for all of 2019 until I drank again. It's definitely not worth it. But it becomes a habit that is so hard to break. I did it once, though, and I know I can do it again.

2. Continue my streak of walking 5+ miles per day. I'm really pretty stunned that I've managed to continue this for so long! Today is Day 167. I think it would be awesome if I could not only make it to 365, but to continue for the rest of the year.

In addition to the walking, I've started to get the itch to start running again. A few times during my walks, I decided to run a mile just because. I actually kind of miss it! I'm not going to set a specific goal for the number of miles or anything like that. But I was thinking that once in a while, even if it's just once a week, I could run a mile or two after my walk. No pressure, but something that would make me feel good about myself.

3. Start stretching daily after my walks. I've been in so much pain for the last couple of years and it's only getting worse. Especially when I'm stressed--I get terrible knots in my shoulders and back. It makes my body feel really stiff and I KNOW that stretching will help. Once I get a little more limber, I may even try yoga as well. 

Today, I stretched for 30 minutes after I did my walk and it was amazing at how little flexibility I have. I've never been a very flexible person, but right now is the worst it's been. My main reason for doing it is to hopefully get rid of (or lessen) my pain.

4. Continue to blog daily. I won't write much about this now because I actually plan to write a post about what it's been like to blog daily. It was MUCH more challenging than I thought! But I did it--every single day for 366 days last year.

I'd like to try to make some post series: Transformation Tuesday (I loved that one!), Friday Night Photos (this has been fun), Weight Loss Wednesdays (to check in with how things are going in my attempt to drop this weight), etc. I think having a structure like that to my blog will make it easier to come up with post ideas.

5. Develop a routine and stick to it. The "Goal Crazy" planner/journal that I bought is perfect for this. I broke down all of my goals into tiny segments which involve habits to do each day. Doing these habits will help me to build a routine. I always feel so much better when I have a routine.

Along these lines, I also have to learn not to let things throw me off when something comes up. Even things like going out to dinner with a friend or having Luke and Riley come over can throw me off and make me feel overwhelmed because it's out of my routine. I want to work on NOT letting that bother me and to fit things into my life without feeling lost.

I know that sounds silly to a lot of people, but for someone like me who thrives on a day to day routine, it's very hard when things come up. So I need a good routine, but one that is flexible enough for me to allow other things to take priority temporarily. 

6. To do one project per month--whether it's knitting/crocheting, sewing, woodworking, or something else, I want to work on a hobby because it makes me happy. It's "me time" that I look forward to.

7. Get more sleep. This goes along with the routine, but I want to make it a point to get more sleep. No more staying up until 2:00 AM and getting up at 6:30 AM. I'm going to set my bedtime at 12:00 AM, but I will be in bed by 11:00 PM--where I can read or write or something like that. My body needs more sleep.

Okay, those are a lot of goals! But like I said, I've broken them down into small chunks that I can handle and my planner is perfect for helping me to stay organized in order to meet them. And next year, if I report that I only stuck with one goal, hey--that's better than nothing! Might as well aim high :)

Anyone else have goals for the New Year?

12 comments:

  1. Katie I am so much like you regarding how I react to interruptions to my routine. I am probably the world's least spontaneous person - and that bothers me. But beyond the spontaneity issue, I also kinda spin out when my routine is interrupted. The biggest problem area is my eating and exercising. I usually make our dinner plans and if something doesn't go according to plan, I find myself eating like crap just because the plan changed. There is no reason, other than what I tell myself. And if my exercise routine gets interrupted I absolutely do not try to work it in that day, I just wallow in my disappointment for a day. I too really intend to focus on how to better react to changes in my routine this year so that I don't totally derail when it happens. Good luck with your goals - I'm off to write mine now.

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    1. Yes! I'm so glad someone understands just how disruptive a simple dinner can be. I really would like to work on having a backup plan for anytime something comes up. It's so frustrating when you have everything planned out and then it all gets thrown off by one little thing. Good luck on your goals for 2021!

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  2. I had ppd after my last son was born in 2019, I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten till I got some help and started feeling like my self again. I am pregnant again so my goal this year is to not let that happen again and we are working to pay off all of our debt.

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    1. Congrats on the pregnancy! I hope things go well for you this time around. PPD is scary.

      Paying off debt was one of the biggest anxiety-relievers of all time! We were $14,000 in credit debt in 2017, and once I wrote our budget and we stuck to it, we had it paid off in 14 months. And we've been maintaining that--it feels good! I hope you're able to make some progress on it as well :)

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  3. Check out Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. Her classes are all lengths. She even has some for back pain. When I do yoga regularly it makes the biggest difference in my running and back/hip pain.

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    1. I will have to check it out! The last couple of days I've been using a stretching chart which takes me about 30 minutes to go through. And I feel like it's actually helping with my neck and shoulder pain--I really don't feel like doing it after walking for 90 minutes, but if it helps, it'll be worth it. I'll check out the videos for yoga, though!

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  4. Hopefully it’s more than one that sticks cause these are great goals. One is better than none. You got this!

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    1. I know, I hope that I can stick to more than one--but one is definitely better than none. Thanks for always being supportive, Friend! Love you.

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  5. I see I'm not the first person coming to tell you to try Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube!

    Another suggestion along those lines is Down Dog Yoga. They are offering the app free til February, I just used it once so far and like it. I am right there with you, super inflexible.

    I've got a pretty comparable goal about getting my weight straight this year - if you want an accountability pal, feel free to text me any time. :)

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    1. Well, I'm definitely going to have to check out the yoga videos! I'm intimidated because I'm SO inflexible.

      And I'd love to text you for accountability--feel free to do the same with me as well :)

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  6. I gave up running after doing it my whole life. I feel bummed not being a runner, but I had this constant neck pain and I think it's from the impact. Then I switched to stair running because it's supposed to be low impact, and my neck hurt all the time. Now my neck feels better so I want to try running again. If it's too much impact, I'll have to give it up for ever.

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    1. I feel bummed about not being a runner now, too. I like the IDEA of it, and I know I needed time off. It's just so hard to get back into it! My body actually felt good when I was running, so hopefully if I can do a mile or two here and there, I might be motivated to do more. I'm glad your neck is feeling better! <3

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