When it comes to annual resolutions, I just say no. Instead of lofty resolutions, I make goals. As in attainable things that make me feel good about myself.
For 2019, I broke my goals into a set of Health goals and a set of Happiness goals. Now that the year has come to a close, I’m holding myself accountable with a transparent review of how I did on each of them.
Health Goal #1: Go to the gym 9x a month and mix it up with new gym classes.
How did I do: Not great
I certainly did NOT go to the gym 9x a month each month of the year. However, in the spring I did a 6-week bootcamp where I worked out 3x a week and I surprisingly loved it. It was awfully expensive though and quite time consuming too. I started my new job in June and was waiting until I felt acclimated to add going to the gym back into my schedule… and that never actually happened. Oops.
Health Goal #2: Sign up and run 5k and 10k races that look fun. Extra credit for running with friends and family!
How did I do: Great
I ran two 10k’s this year, the Sole of the City 10k in April and the Wayfarers Annapolis 10k in June. Jack (and Travis) ran the kid’s fun run at the Frederick Running Festival in May. We also did a charity 5k walk as a family in October. As for 2020, I’m already signed up for the Sole of the City 10k in April and on the hunt for more kid’s runs.
Health Goal #3 and #4: My Soda Fast and Packing my Lunch
How did I do: There is a lot of room for improvement…
I was getting a little crazy with drinking soda for a bit, so I reduced my consumption to just the occasional soda as a treat. However, I fell off the wagon a bit when I started my new job because they have Coke available everywhere for us. I’m back to just enjoying it every so often again and trying to make myself drink more water instead.
When I made my packing my lunch goal, I was working from home 2 days a week and at an office the other 3 days. I wanted to pack lunch at least one day a week. Well, since June I’ve been working in an office 4-5 days a week and I certainly have room for improvement on this goal. There are SO MANY yummy places to eat within walking distance of my new office, so I’ve only been packing my lunch about one day a week (yes, I know that was my initial goal). This is definitely one that needs to carry over to 2020.
Happiness Goal #1: Travel More
How did I do: CRUSHED IT!
As a family we went to Great Wolf Lodge in February, Harrisonburg for my sister’s wedding in May, Philadelphia in August, and Ocean City a few times over the summer. Travis and I also had our super romantic trip to Kauai in May, which was absolutely amazing. On my own, I’ve done a few weekends at my besties house in Annapolis and a work trip to Atlantic City in September.
Happiness Goal #2: Have more dates with my husband
How did I do: Eh… lots of room for improvement
Well, we did have an entire week of dates in Hawaii in May… so I’m going to count that. Other than that week, we had one weekend overnight for my birthday in September. And I think that was about it. This is going on the list again for 2020.
Happiness Goal #3: Learn something new
How did I do: GREAT
I’ve picked up a ton of library books this year and have enjoyed reading in my new, improved sunroom and also on my daily metro rides. Jack and I also joined my family for a session of making pottery on the wheel and then glazing our finished piece. I did the bootcamp at my gym, which was totally outside of my comfort zone. I also visited the AR Workshop in Annapolis to make some fun painted/stenciled signs, an advent calendar, and even learned how to hand knit a chunky blanket. Which turned into me hand knitting MORE chunky blankets and a tree skirt!
Happiness Goal #4: Spend time with my friends.
How did I do: Pretty good
I wanted to be sure to make more friend dates, happy hours and sleepover party plans this year and did pretty well. I also got a small group together in September to go to a local wine festival for my birthday. I had ‘friend dates’ at the AR workshops and also put more one-on-one dinners on my calendar.
2019: Thrive
In addition to my health and happiness goals for the year, I also picked a *word* of the year. For two years in a row, I went with Balance. But for 2019 my word was Thrive. So many times I felt like I was just going through the motions to get everything done, but for 2019 I wanted to focus on THRIVING!
When I wrote and published my goals post I had no idea that my work life was about to blow up. Just a week or so later my awesome boss was gone and my whole department went through a reorganization. A job that I had planned to be at for a decade or more suddenly turned into something that made me miserable.
And you know what… I thrived.
I decided to use the reorganization as an opportunity and ended up finding a new job that was a much better fit. Once again, I love going to work each day and I enjoy the people I work with. Without that work explosion, I probably would have stayed there forever… but it was just the kick in the pants I needed to take my career in a different direction!
Next up is putting together my 2020 goals. I have some thoughts, but I’m letting them marinate a bit before typing something up.