It’s the middle of March and I’m feeling a little scattered when it comes to the roles and goals I outlined for 2014. My new normal is prompting me to focus more on the process than the results, but I still want to have a clear direction while I’m in process. I’m revisiting my goals today with that in mind.
There are two things I already know about my goals after 7 weeks with James in the picture:
- I need to focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking makes me feel even more frazzled than I already am. Taking care of James means my attention is divided anyways. In order to start accomplishing goals, I will have to devote a day to just one task.Today I will work on my Project Life book; tomorrow I will blog; the next day I will organize underneath the bathroom sink, etc.
- Keep my expectations low. Lots of grace.
Self:
- Daily time with Jesus – Not accomplishing a traditional “quiet time” but trying to be attentive to God’s presence in this season.
- Regular exercise – The weather is finally warmer which means daily walks are possible. Getting to the gym takes some scheduling effort. I haven’t started intentionally trying to lose the last 10 preggo pounds yet.
- Sleep – I can’t get enough…
- Reading – Different habits, but I’m still able to read with a baby around.
- Service – No real progress on this one.
Wife:
- Daily one-on-one time – Definite room for improvement. Usually we get a couple minutes before we sack out in bed.
- Monthly date-night – We’ve gotten a couple, thanks to my mom. She leaves this week, so we will see how this evolves.
Mother:
- Prayer – Tim and I pray before bed, but I’m usually half asleep. I need to be better about praying throughout the day.
- Breastfeeding – Going really well!
- Reading out loud – Sometimes I cheat and read my own book, instead of a board book, out loud.
- Document Baby James life – My mom got me a Project Life starter kit. I plan to print pictures next week and plan a day to get going.
Family Member:
- Consistent email updates – I was doing once a week emails but that has dropped off post James. I need to prioritize these updates over blogging/social media.
Home Manager:
- Finish unpacking – James has beens staying in our room, but my mom and I did finish putting together the nursery upstairs. Many more decor boxes to unpack.
- Cull excess – I have several bags of things to drop at Goodwill.
- Purge and revamp wardrobe – I unearthed two boxes of my pre-pregnancy clothes last week. Just now starting to wear pre-preggo pants. I think the purging and revamping will be a gradual process as I slim down a bit more.
- Meal plan – My mom has been feeding us for the past two months, but I’m working on a couple weeks rotation of budget meals.
- Pay bills immediately – If we had the money to pay our medical bills immediately, I would be on top of it…
- Daily house de-clutter – On and off successful with this.
Writer/Blogger:
- Write something everyday – Totally not happening.
- Comment on blogs – I’ve been doing pretty good with this, I think. In this season, I want to comment more than I blog.
- Limit back-end blog improvements to a specific day – Or just cut it out all together for now? I’d rather focus on getting blog posts written instead of frittering away my time on social media and improvements.
- Read books about writing/blogging – These will be put on hold until I have enough mental energy to enjoy them. I will stick to fiction and Christian living for now.
How are you doing on your goals this year?
Emily C Gardner 
Em, I admire that you have goals. It’s a great idea, and I definitely need to do better about setting my own, so thanks for the inspiration. However, there’s one thing you mentioned above that I think you got wrong. Under the “self” category, about “service”, you mentioned… “no real progress”. I beg to differ. You are serving your family with all your heart, just as God as called you to do. That is your most important ministry. So don’t be too hard on yourself. I can remember, I used to feel the same way with little ones, but always remember that you are serving God as you serve your family. Be encouraged! You are doing a great job, Em. You are making fantastic progress!
Sally, that is such a good reminder! I can get down on myself for not being able to help at youth group consistently and such now that James is here, when my family really does need to be my first priority right now. It is serving the Lord to focus on my family right now. Thank you for the encouragement!