21 for 21-My Goals and Resolutions

Let me start off by saying that I miss writing for this blog. I love having something that is mine, my own platform, my own community, my own place on the internet for me. In looking back at my blog, I noticed I wrote a lot more in 2017 and 2018, and tapered off in 2019 and 2020. My years have been jam packed, sure, but regardless, my intent for 2021 is to make time for the things that matter to me.

Every year, I make a list of goals and resolutions, and some of these things are practical, others are daily tasks, and some of them are just overall “big” goals that need to get accomplished. Having a list sets the tone for me, and makes me feel like I am accomplishing something.

In an effort to not make all of my personal life “content” though, I have redacted three of my goals, just because they are a little more private, and I want to focus on expanding on the less personal goals that may help inspire someone else.

So here, it is, my 21 for 21

Daily Goals/Habits:

• Wake up at 5am on weekdays
• Read 30 minutes a day
• Write 30 minutes a day
• Work Out for 21 minutes a day
• Bring lunch to work every day*
• Cook dinner at home 5 days a week

My goal in waking up at 5am every morning is to use the extra hour and a half to put into my graduate degree. As listed later on, I am intending to take 5 classes this year. Last year, when I took 4 classes, I felt overwhelmed and stressed, and never felt like I had enough time. I want my time to be used more wisely, and in doing so, I want to feel more productive in my school work.

I also want to save some money this year, and realized I was eating out way too often. My goal of eating dinner at home most nights and bringing lunch may not seem lofty, but I think these will ways to achieve better health outcomes. The caveat bullet under bringing lunch to work is that sometimes I am at off site events for most of the day, and it’d be impossible/impractical to bring lunch, so on those days, I get a pass.

Finally, I want to devote more time to reading, writing, and working out, because I know these things will keep me happy, and I won’t feel at the end of the year like I haven’t done anything to achieve my personal goals.

Weekly or Monthly:

• Attend temple every week
• Use my KitchenAid once a month

The temple attendance seems obvious, but I know I feel better when I am consistent. As for the KitchenAid, my partner gifted me one in 2018, and I have barely used it, and I want to spend time learning how to use it well

Year Long:

• Complete 5 classes in my program

As I mentioned, this year, I completed 4 classes of my masters degree, and I want to keep the momentum up and try to do 5 classes. Wish me luck!

General:

These are a little more random, but will hopefully keep us entertained through the hopefully latter half of the pandemic:

• Learn to use Jerky Maker- I purchased a jerky maker for my partner for their birthday, and while we have been excited to use it, we have yet to do so. My hope is to make lots of tasty jerky and snacks in the new year.
• Learn to can- Fun fact, I learned to can jams in college, and wanted to get back into the hobby, especially because they make such lovely gifts.
• Lean to use Pasta Maker– Lots of cooking at home is going to happen this year, including making our own pasta!
• Play and Cull all of our board games- when I counted up all of our games, it looks like we have 15, some of which we have never played! I love buying games second hand, but I bring them home, we put them away, and forget to pull them out to play when we are bored. Hopefully, as we play through, we can also cull down the ones we love, and get rid of the ones that just aren’t worth keeping.
• Cultivate a Cohesive Wardrobe- While my wardrobe over the last five years has expanded from campaign t-shirts and shorts every day to mostly business casual clothing, I still struggle to match shoes to outfits, remember accessories, and have cardigans/blazers in different colors so that my style is cohesive. My goal this year is to keep pieces I love, and be practical. Sometimes, you just need to buy a cream colored cardigan to round out an outfit, and that’s okay.
• Work through guided journals- I have two journals, a gratitude prompts book and a writing prompts book that I want to use to stay creative and motivated through the year.

• Figure out a better solution for Christmas décor- My soon to be mother in law gifted us some lovely Christmas décor, and while we love it, the items have expanded past our small box of items we used to keep.
• Get a new carrier for Stevi- Stevi is our little kitty who we have just never managed to remember to buy a carrier for. So this needs to happen this year.

And finally, the last one is kind of silly, but I have never owned a bikini, and I want to purchase and wear one to the beach. I want to feel positive and confident about the body I’m in, and hopefully this will help me celebrate my body.

Like I said, I have three more, but those are more personal. Are you the sort to make resolutions for the new year? If so, drop them in the comments, I’d love to see what others are up to?

Best,

M