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My Goals for 2019

One of my favorite things of the beginning of the year is to reflect on the past year and set goals for the upcoming year.

(Did you read my post on how I did on my 2018 goals yet? If not, read it here.)

I actually start contemplating goals for the new year in November, but I start by looking back over the past 10+ months and asking myself what worked, what didn’t work, what I learned, and areas I want to grow in. I also choose a word for the year to make my focus in the new year.

It usually takes me at least 4-6 weeks of reflection to come up with my new list of goals for the new year and it’s something I carefully and prayerfully contemplate in light of my word for the year.

This year, my word for 2019 actually came to me in October. And it completely surprised me! In fact, it seemed so different than what I expected that I sat on it for 4 weeks hoping another word would surface.

But it didn’t. Instead, the word became more and more clear that it was the right word for me.

I usually tell you my word for the year first before I share my goals, but this year, I decided to share my goals first and then will share my Word for the Year on January 2, 2019. (But you’re free to guess my word if you have any ideas after reading my post!)

A Big Perspective Shift

I wrote this on Instagram this morning and wanted to share it here, too:

I've changed a lot this past year. I didn't realize just how profound the change was until I sat down to review my goals for 2018 and how I did on them.

And I realized that I fell short and didn't complete a lot of the goals — and I was totally okay with that!!

It's not because I've grown lazy (though I have gotten into a rut in some areas and I want to work on that in 2019!), but it's because I've really started to see life through different eyes.

The business didn't grow this year (income-wise), and I am totally okay with that. Why? Because I realize that it makes enough — enough to pay our bills, to put money in savings, to give to causes we believe in, and to pay my team. I don't need to hustle hard to take it to the next level because I'm honestly really happy and fulfilled with where it is.

In addition, it affords me the flexibility to be available to my kids and Jesse. If I were to try to work a bunch of extra hours to grow it more, it would mean I'd give up sleep and time with my family. Those are two things I'm just not willing to sacrifice.

After realizing how content I feel with where things are at, I sat down with Jesse and we ran numbers to see if we could actually downsize some areas in our life and in the business so that we could make even less and it would still be okay. (And we did — and this gives me even more freedom and less financial burden!)

If you know me personally (or you've followed me online for awhile), you probably know what a big shift this is for me! I was such a driver and Type A personality. And it came out in a big way in the business.

But I really woke up to reality this year and realized that Kathrynne is going to be 14 soon and I have less than 5 years left (probably) with her under our roof. And in 10 years, we'll likely be empty nesters!

These are the golden years of mothering and I don't want to miss them because I'm so knee deep in growing a successful business.

My Goals for 2019
Personal Goals
1. Read 40 books I already own (I’ll be sharing my list of books in a post this coming week. Also, I’ve finally caved and I think I’m going to use GoodReads to track my reading this year!)
2. Slowly read through the New Testament using the She Reads Truth Bible reading plans at the beginning of each chapter.
3. Listen to 2 audiobooks per month. (I use the Libby app to get these for free.)
4. Complete all of the Organize in 5 Diary tasks to get our home more organized and set up better organizational systems. (Psst! Did you get yours? It’s just $9 right now.)
5. Stay offline for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week. (I share more about why I chose this goal here.)
6. Leave my phone in the basement every night. (I talk more about what inspired me to make this goal here.)
7. Go to bed before 10:30 p.m. 5 days per week. (I’m using this little spreadsheet I made to track most of my personal goals)
Marriage Goal
8. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.
Motherhood Goal
9. One-on-one time with each child at least 3 times per week. (I am planning to dedicate 40 minutes per child after dinner each evening at least three nights per week to hang out and spend time with each child individually.)
Family Goal
10. Take the kids to at least two continents and 4 states we haven’t traveled to. (We’re hoping to travel to Europe in the summer and South America at some other point during the year. I have travel alerts set up to track the best prices for flights and am hoping to find a great deal to snag in the next 4-6 months!)
Financial Goals
11. Pay cash to redo our room and renovate our bathroom (we have to pull out the shower and put in a new one because it was installed incorrectly and is leaking and ruining the floor/wall and we want to do a few renovations while we’re at it + we want to finally decorate our room — we left it really bare when we moved in and decided to wait to prioritize it in the budget).
12. Pay cash to paint the main floor of our home.
13. Fully fund our Emergency Fund (This is a carry-over from 2018 and we are hoping to have this done in the next few months).
Business Goals
14. Redo/set up a much more intentional customer acquisition experience for all three of our email newsletters.
15. Finish launching the rest of our beginner Your Blogging University courses. (If you want to start a blog, be sure to check out my other site, Your Blogging Mentor.)
16. Launch a Blog Coaching/Accountability Group membership. (I’ll be opening this up to a very limited number of people in January of 2019. Stay tuned!)

I will be giving you updates on my progress on my goals — especially the books I’m reading, the organizational projects I’m doing, our travels, how I’m doing at sticking with a consistent bedtime and staying offline, and much more throughout the coming year!