Fresh Start

With a new year comes a new start. A clean slate. A fresh outlook.

Last year, I miserably failed at accomplishing any of my resolutions, however I plan to take a different approach this year. I am setting goals rather than resolutions. I will have a detailed plan for each goal and have set actions for how I plan to achieve them. I am doing it this way to keep myself more accountable and motivated.

My biggest goal this year is to revive my organization. I used to be overly-organized, now not-so-much. I have dusted off my planner and made it my lifeline. Everything I need is written in there, color coded with highlighter and adorned with multi-colored post-its for my multiple to-do lists. I have sorted all of our important paperwork into file folders and shredded papers that we no longer need. I have a calendar hung to keep us on track with bills. Goal 1: started, now to maintain for the next twelve months.

My next goal is to focus on my health.  For the past two years I have let my health fall to the wayside. I got lazy in pregnancy and took being a stay-at-home mom to the extreme by spending more time on the floor playing with Elly than I did focusing on my eating or physical activity. This led to too many bad food choices, neglect on what I was putting in my mouth, and a bunch of extra weight. I want to change that this year. I do not have a goal weight. I am not making specific exercise goals. The purpose of this goal is to improve my health, my eating habits, and incorporate some exercise into my daily routine.

Make family a priority. More specifically, make my marriage a priority. Too many nights, Brent and I spend doing our own thing after being apart from each other all day at work. While Elly is the center of our lives, we need to focus on being a couple first because without that solid foundation, not much else matters.

Enjoy my hobbies. This means more time crafting, scrapbooking, sewing, cooking, baking, reading, and blogging. Setting aside time for myself to enjoy the things I love will be essential in making sure I stay happy throughout the year, and a happy Mommy makes for a happy family.

There are my goals on how I plan to be successful in 2012. Of course I have other goals, the ones that are obvious and will come in their own time – find a new job/better career position, save money, etc. – but I cannot set out a plan for those,  so it’s easier to not focus on them and getting let down.

Here’s to a great start to the new year. Happy 2012!

Did you set New Year’s Resolutions? How do you plan to achieve them?