December 30, 2021

How I Did With My Goals for 2021

Every year, I set goals. I love to think big and write out goals that seem so ideal at the time. And my favorite time of year to do this is at the very end of one year and start working on them January 1st (yes, it's totally cliché). I already have an idea of what my goals will be this year, which I'll write in a couple of days, but for now, I thought I'd look back at my goals for 2021 and see how I did. Because I sure as hell know that I didn't complete many (if any at all!) of them. I think this year was rough. But let's see... 

My 2021 goals were as follows: 

1. Get my weight back down under 144. I planned to do this via intermittent fasting as well as drinking more water and giving up alcohol. I gave up alcohol in 2019 as an experiment, and then in 2020, after drinking again, I realized I really did feel crappier. So I decided to give it up again for 2021 (and beyond).

Well, I did not get my weight back down under 144. I am not considering this a total failure, though, because I managed to get my weight down to 154--losing 43 pounds from May. I did this with calorie counting, not intermittent fasting. I really like IF but it just doesn't help me with weight loss. After a really crappy December, my weight is back up to about 159, but it's still a far cry from where I was last year at this time (or even just in May of this year).


I can't say that I drank more water this year, but I DID quit drinking alcohol. I got a late start on that--my last glass of wine was on February 14--but I'm still going to consider this a success. Alcohol always helped me to feel less anxious; I still haven't found an alternative to help my anxiety, though, so giving up alcohol was tough. I'm proud of myself that I have stuck with it, especially considering this past stressful month I've had. To relax with some wine would have been so nice! (I plan to continue to stay sober indefinitely.)

2. Continue my streak of walking five miles a day.

I broke my walking streak on March 3 after walking 225 days in a row (5 miles each day). I tried my very best to keep it going, but there were two things that derailed me: 1) I knelt down onto a screwdriver and really messed up my right knee; and 2) I developed the mother of all blisters and I just couldn't go on. I wrote a whole post about it here.

3. Start stretching after my daily walks.

This is something I just never got into. I had really started to feel the daily chronic pain at this point and I thought the stretching would help a lot. But it's really hard to get motivated to stretch when you're in pain. I do plan to work on this for 2022 because the pain has gotten worse and I still don't have answers for it. 


4. Continue to blog daily.

Finally! A goal that I actually managed to do for the second year in a row. This is NOT an easy task, especially when I have a bad day and I just want to curl up on the couch and forget about everything. And I've been thinking more and more about whether it's time to quit the blog--I just don't know. For now, though, writing every day has kept me from simply quitting. I know that if I start skipping days, I'll eventually just stop writing altogether. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. (Today will be 364 posts and tomorrow will be my 365th for 2021.)


5. Develop a routine and stick to it. A big part of this was to learn not to let an unexpected event throw off my whole routine.

I've learned that when you make a routine, God just laughs and throws a wrench in your plans. I've tried so hard to develop a routine--I thrive on day-to-day routines, which is common with bipolar disorder--but it's very hard for me to get back to it when something is unexpectedly thrown off. So, my "routine" is just as bipolar as I am, haha. I definitely did not meet this goal.

6. Do one project per month--knitting, crocheting, sewing, woodworking, etc.

I actually forgot about this goal! I didn't keep track of my projects, but if I had to guess, I would say that I probably completed about 10-12 this year. I mostly did woodworking, but I also sewed a couple of things. I can't remember if I did any knitting or crocheting (I don't think so). My carpal tunnel syndrome flares up when I do a lot with my hands and the knitting/crocheting is definitely one of those things.

Well, I just went through my photos from 2021 and I found at least 25 projects! Everything from crocheting baby flip-flops to doll bunk beds to flipping furniture to making peach jam. These just just some of them:


My very favorite project, though, was what I made Jerry for his birthday. It was a ton of work but very, very worth it!


7. Get more sleep. In bed by 11 PM, but if I really want to, I could read or something in bed until midnight. 

Hahaha! This is like telling a pitcher to "throw strikes". It doesn't matter how hard I try to get more sleep, my body is just going to do what it wants to do--and sleep is not one of those things. I feel like having a daily routine would probably help, so that's something I can always aim for; but again, I think I would really have to focus on what to do when my routine gets disturbed. Creating the routine is easy; but sticking to it when things come up is the part that I need to work on most.


I wouldn't consider my goals for 2021 a total failure at all--I am happy with my weight loss, being sober, that I've continued to blog every single day, and that I've completed about 25 projects of some sort or another.

I'm excited to write a post about my new goals for 2022! Tomorrow's post will be difficult--on New Year's Eve, I always write about my "Top XX of XXXX" (tomorrow will be my top 21 of 2021). Each year it gets bigger and bigger. When I started, I think it was my Top 11 of 2011. This year has not been great, so I'm just hoping I can come up with 21 items! (I do have this same thought every year, though, and once I start going through photos, I can find lots--so we'll see.)

5 comments:

  1. Progress not perfection is a great mindset to have and I think you nailed it! You should be proud with what you have accomplished. There is no rule how goals have to be measured you decide that for you!!

    I am declaring 2022 my year of health. Mind and body. Move more, eat healthier, therapy, journal, sleep routine.

    Good job Katie

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  2. Great work! You do so much. Thanks for the recap. Can't wait to see your 2022 goals. Me? No goals. Deadlines, yes. But no goals. Oh wait. Maybe. We'll see.

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  3. I really hope you continue blogging!!! I would miss it a lot!!!!

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  4. I love your blogging and hope you continue! This is a very inspiring list; I'm a slug compared to you!

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  5. I hope you keep blogging too. I consider you a friend. You inspired me to run. I continue to run to this day. I am on round 3 of the MAF plan. It renewed my running. And after gaining weight you've inspired me to not give up. Sounds hokey, but it is true.

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