MARCH GOALS.

I never actually set goals in February. I intended to, and then the month got away from me, and then there didn’t seem like there was time. But I did manage to read 8 books, go to a lot of physical therapy appointments, and sleep a bit more than usual.

Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in March:

• Turn 25! This one’s happening on Sunday, whether I do anything about it or not 🙂
• Run the LA Marathon. It’s probably going to be one of the biggest days of my life thus far.
• Read 10 books. This will put me to my quarterly total of 25 books, which would be awesome.
• Social media free weekend. If I do this, it’ll have to be next weekend – we’ll see if I can stay off Instagram all weekend. I’m trying to set better boundaries for myself re: social media, and this would help.
• Podcast meeting. My friend Bri and I are in the very early stages of setting up a podcast, and I’d love us to start talking about it in more detail.
• Save $250. My savings took a hit in January when I got rear ended by someone without insurance, and I’m still (eternally and perpetually) waiting for my insurance company to get the $500 deductible from them. I don’t have much extra cash, but I’m going to try to knuckle down this month and scrape some together so that I have at least an extra month’s rent. (But thank God I had that savings fund so that I wasn’t left scrambling for that deductible in the first place.)
• Hang out with a friend (and possibly start a writer’s group). I’ve been trying to make plans with one person for about four months now, and we haven’t gotten our schedules together. We both want to talk about writing and encourage each other, and I’d love to actually do that this month.
• Clean out my closet + donate my clothes. You’d be amazed at how much stuff I’ve accumulated in 11 months of living here. It’s time to let some of it go.

There’s a lot of big stuff happening in March, and I want to do my best to take things day by day and see what happens!

Do you have any big (or small!) goals for this month?

I finally got a chance this weekend to sit down and write all my goals. I’ve been so busy over recent weeks and I kind of had to force myself to remember that January 1st doesn’t mean anything magical and it’s okay not to have everything set in stone on December 31st. I’m feeling good about all the things to come this year: turning 25, running a marathon, celebrating a year of living in Los Angeles, and a lot more.

WORD OF THE YEAR

I’ve chosen words of the year the past few years. In 2015 it was BOLD. 2016 was BRAVE. 2017 was FOCUS.

My word of 2018 is CONNECT. In all honesty, it’s not the word I wanted to pick. I was ready to choose COMMIT, and then my friend said that she doesn’t think I have much of a problem with commitment. In that ways that matter right now, she’s right; if I put my mind to doing something, I usually follow through.

This year I’m hoping to connect with myself, with others, and with my new community. I’m also hoping to disconnect in order to achieve those things: spend less time on my phone, and more time connecting with the present moment around me.

2018 GOALS

I used my Powersheets to help me identify my goals for the year, by figuring out what worked and didn’t work in the last year, and what I wanted to be different. A little history of my experience with Powersheets: I’ve bought them every year since 2014, I think, but never have I once completed a full set – I usually drop out some time in the spring. Last year my friend Rachel and I even bought them with the promise to ourselves that we would have monthly accountability with each other – and then I moved across the country and she had a baby, so that fell apart.

To prove to myself that I would actually use the workbook for a full year (and to be kind to my budget) I’m repurposing my 2017 workbook. No fun new stickers, but money stayed in my wallet.

Here are the 10 major goals I have for the year:

• CONNECT with myself by simplifying routines and doing less – committing to one night a week with no plans
• CONNECT with others by developing community and keeping up with old friends – writing letters to people, committing to calling friends more often, hanging out with people in person
• Develop heart healthy habits by treating myself well and being positive in my self-image
• CONNECT with myself through fitness and activity
• Manage my money well
• CONNECT creatively through blogging, writing, and Project Life
• Read 100 books in 2018
• Finish novel draft
• Live with less to CONNECT with my space
• CONNECT with Los Angeles through exploration

Sure, some of them could probably be grouped under the same umbrella (finishing the novel draft could go under “Connect creatively”) and I couldn’t fit the word connect into all of them, but the heart of the goals is what I care about.  More posts about certain goals (especially reading and fitness, as well as maybe some thoughts about financial things) coming as soon as I find the time to write them!

VISION BOARD

The Powersheets encouraged me to create a vision board for 2018, so I hopped on Pinterest and did just that. Here it is:

So that’s where I’m at for 2018. I’m excited to see what this year brings!

(It’s a bit late for this post now that we’re two months in, but I figure better late than never!)

My friend Rachel was the first to tell me about the idea of a 12 week year. Basically, you approach each 12 week segment as its own “year” and set goals for that time period. I thought about what I wanted to do for the whole year, and then I broke down these goals into ones that are possible to complete in 12 weeks. When the twelve weeks are up on March 25, I’ll take a few days to come up with goals for the next 12 weeks, and then I’ll start again!

So without further ado, here are my goals that I made at the beginning of January:

• Read 18 books
• Complete Whole 30
• Train for + complete a half marathon
• Lose 15 pounds
• Go through bank statements to cancel unnecessary subscriptions
• Create a sustainable budget + spending system
• Outline entire novel
• Write 30 blog posts
• Complete BBG
• Get two articles published online
• Stay up to date on 2017 Project Life
• Declutter and organize craft supplies
• Clean out closet + donate clothes
• Clean ten boxes from the attic

I’ll update you on how things are going at the end of March!