Looking Forward at 2009

Photo by coxy

New Year's has come and gone and many resolutions have already been forgotten. I've never been super-big into resolutions...mostly because they're so easy to make & so easy to break! I think oftentimes we come off of the high of Christmas, throw out some lofty goals & never give them much thought again. I decided to go about it a little differently this year.

If I had to pick a word to describe 2008 for me, it would have been intention. I really sought to live with intention last year and it produced some really great results in my life. I am a procrastinating, clutter-bug by nature and let far too many things sit undone for far too long. I really began to work on changing all that last year. Granted - I still have a long way to go, but at least progress is being made!

For 2009, in lieu of "resolutions", instead I want to focus on goals for the year and not lose sight of them by the time February or March rolls around. I've taken the last 2 weeks to really think & reflect on what I want 2009 to accomplish in my life and am finally ready to share...

1. Read more - I have been an avid reader for years and years and have really just let that fall by the wayside since W was born. I am determined to read 18 books (mostly non-fiction) in 2009. I'll be tracking that progress in my sidebar.
2. Continue to focus on living with intention, especially in regard to our home...continue to use the 2 minute rule, work on touching things only once (I tend to be bad about moving things around and not dealing with them for far too long), putting things away as soon as I'm finished with them and in general keeping our house a lot neater. I'll be posting some pics of both my failures and successes throughout the year in order to help keep myself motivated!
   
3. Continue to focus on exercise (3-4 times per week) and extend that focus to healthier eating both personally and for the whole family. This means I have to be more and more diligent about cooking...something that I tend to struggle with! I may try posting some menus at some point...not quite sure about that yet. Several months back, I started to track my weekly exercise in my sidebar and it has made a huge difference for me. I truly believe that this pregnancy has gone even more smoothly than the last largely in part to my increased exercise. I'm especially excited about the prospect of being able to further tone & define my muscles once baby girl is born - just think, I might actually like what I look like in a bathing suit this summer!
4. Be more diligent about reading my Bible & growing my relationship with Jesus - some days I do really well and others, I let the disruptions of the day get in my way. I want to be more consistent & see continual growth. I may use some journaling to help track my progress...not 100% sure yet on that one.
5. Be more diligent about tracking our family finances - we budget and pretty much live accordingly, but don't always do a great job of visibly tracking that on paper. I'd like to change that this year!
   

I'm sure I'll come up with a few other goals as the year progresses, but for now, this is where my focus lies. I know our world is getting ready to turn upside-down, temporarily, with the birth of baby girl & the adjustment to a baby & toddler in the house, but I'm truly excited about what 2009 has in store for us! I love knowing that I can continue to grow & better myself and believe that great things are just around the bend!

How about you - what are you doing to hang on to your 2009 goals?