Life

The Obligatory Goals Post

Karen

It goes against blogging rules to start the new year WITHOUT posting goals. I can not break the blogging rules, there is no telling what sort of chaos would be unleashed and Lord knows, we don’t need more chaos right now.

Can I get an amen?

Let’s start with my goals from last year. Which I didn’t post. WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY 2020 WAS SO CRAPPY. It’s my fault! Well that explains it. I’m truly sorry for that. Let’s right the world and move on … *ahem*

My 2020 goals were:

  1. Learn calligraphy
  2. Clean out my closet
  3. Write 1st draft
  4. Buy new kitchen table
  5. Complete 1st Bujo project
  6. Complete paint-by-number
  7. Settle finances i.e, living trust
  8. Paint exterior house
  9. Buy/Learn new board games
  10. Buy a new Garmin
  11. Find a PCP (primary care physician)
  12. Make vacation books
  13. Make back bedroom into my office
  14. Buy a new cell phone
  15. Start a writing journal

Let’s see how I did …

  1. I did not learn calligraphy. I bought books and pens, but I haven’t actually practiced. No. That’s not true. I learned a few letters but only enough to do a spread in my bullet journal. I can not, in good conscience, cross this off my list.
  2. Check. I got rid of five bags full of clothes that I’ve been hanging on to for 20 years. My closet is still full, but it’s not overflowing like it was.
  3. Bwhahahaha – we all KNOW this didn’t happen.
  4. Not yet, but we’re on the hunt for one. We currently have a kitchen table with “tiles” and I hate it. Primarily because it gets food/crap in the cracks and we all know I’m not going to take the time to clean them out, unless someone is coming over and then I do it because it’s too embarrassing not to. However, with the boys no longer living with us, and since Kevin and I rarely cook anymore, let alone eat at the kitchen table since our schedules conflict, we don’t use it. (It’s still dirty though).
  5. I did complete a full year of bullet journaling. I’m pretty proud of  myself and I’m totally and completely hooked on bullet journaling now.
  6. I haven’t even started my paint-by-number. This may seem like an odd goal but I bought a Paris scene that I really like and I want to paint it and then hang in my office. I can’t explain why I want to do this, only that I feel compelled to do this.
  7. Check. Kevin and I met with a lawyer last February and put everything in a living trust. We wanted to make sure the boys got everything and the government got nothing. BOOM.
  8. Check. Kevin and I painted the exterior of the house this past October. We lucked out. It took us about three days to paint it and the weather was perfect for those three days. I painted the windows and Kevin did the majority of the work. It was hard work and hopefully we don’t have to do that odious task again for ten years but it looks good!
  9. Check. Sort of. I did buy a new board game, Dead of Winter. I watched videos on how to play it, (of course), but we haven’t actually figured out and/or played it yet. But we will.
  10. I did buy a new Garmin fitness tracker. It’s exactly like my old one, but I did buy a new one. I’ve had the one I’m currently wearing for about five years now and it’s looking pretty worn but I really like it and I really like that I can buy replacement bands for it. It looks like the newer fitness trackers you can’t buy replacement bands for and that irks me. I like choices. I don’t want to buy a new fitness tracker simply because the band has worn out. So I’m sticking to this one because I have replacement bands out the wazoo. I wear a Garmin Vivosmart HR, in case you were curious. We earn health points at work if you walk at least 6000 steps a day, that’s the primary reason why I wear one.
  11. I have not signed up for a PCP yet. Yes. I know. I’m old(ish), I need a PCP. Don’t judge.
  12. We have vacation pictures galore so I want to make vacation books. I want something physical that people can look at if they choose.
  13. Check. We converted Blake’s old bedroom into my office and I’M SO HAPPY WITH IT!
  14. Check. I bought a new cell phone. My last phone was five plus years old and I had gotten to the point that I couldn’t do much with it because it wasn’t supported anymore. I now have a Samsung A51, if you’re curious.
  15. I have not started a writing journal. And I’m not sure I really need one – wouldn’t this blog count as a writing journal?

So I accomplished seven out of 15 goals. Not bad. Better than I thought I would do.

Which brings us to my 2021 goals …

  1. Learn calligraphy – but not just calligraphy, but handwriting in general. I bought “The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering for Beginners” and I’ve been watching The Happy Ever Crafter YouTube channel. I really want to get to a point where I am actually decent at this. I have always hated my handwriting, which is basically printed block letters, and I would like to learn some more fun “fonts” just to spice things up a bit. To learn cute hand lettering techniques, I bought “Cute Hand Lettering for Journals, Planners and More” by Cindy Guentert-Baldo. She also has a fun YouTube channel if you’re a hard-core journaler.
  2. Write 1st draft of novel. I plan on taking advantage of CampNaNoWriMo in both April and July to work on that. Maybe. I plan on participating, I’m just not sure what project I will work on at this point.
  3. Write three short stories and post on my blog per month.
  4. Blog consistently. I have a schedule. Can I stick to it?
  5. Complete that damn paint-by-number.
  6. Find a PCP. *sigh*
  7. Make vacation books
  8. Consistently walk. I really want to tone back up.
  9. Take two long weekends and go to Montana, (I’m sort of obsessed with Montana right now, who knows why), and Florida. We would like to take our annual cruise but who knows if that will happen this year. If the world gods allow, then we will.

And that’s all I can think of for right now. I’m sure I’ll be adding more as I think about them.

Kevin and I are having a debate – is my list a goals list or more like a to-do list? For instance, I was going to put buying a kitchen table back on my list again, we still need one, but Kevin thinks that’s more of a to-do, not a goal.

Let’s look this up:

– A goal is ultimately the outcome you want to achieve. – An objective breaks each goal down into smaller steps, and identifies the specific actions that must be completed in order to achieve the goal. – A task is a specific set of steps taken to achieve the stated objective

So. Buying a kitchen table is a goal. Shopping for one is the task necessary to achieve that goal.

I’m not sure, but I think I made my point?

Anyhoo – vision boards.

Are you into those?

I don’t know. I have mixed feelings about vision boards. I mean, they’re great if you’re a visual person and you look at your vision board and obtain inspiration from it, but I look at vision boards and think they are a pretty collage. But to play along and be a team player, I made one on Canva:

Breaking this down: Blog, write, handlettering/calligraphy, walk and travel. (That’s a picture from Montana – do you see why I’m obsessed with it??)

I don’t know how useful a vision board is to me, but I’m going to print this off at Staples and put it in my bullet journal because I’M A TEAM PLAYER. (Also, I print colored stuff at Staples because it’s too expensive to own a color printer – pro tip for you).

Okay. Enough with the goals.

Comments are open – what are your top three goals you want to achieve in 2021?

Go.