I downloaded a Year Goals sheet from Philofaxy, which has space for yearly goals, monthly goals, and weekly goals. I used it to plot out my New Year’s Resolutions, and will add the monthly and weekly goals as they come up.
I have seven major goals for the year.
1. Go to bed/wake up earlier.
My sleeping schedule gets messed up. Like, really messed up. Right now, I’m going to bed around 9am and waking up around 5pm–I’m off from work at the moment and when we rented this place, we had no idea that our landlord’s son runs a night club right below us. So I won’t be able to really work on this goal until next month, when we move. When I go to bed so late, I end up spending a lot of time doing nothing–like playing on my phone–that could be spent doing productive things.
Susan Branch realized that all she was doing in the evenings was watching TV, so now she goes to bed super early and wakes up at some ungodly hour, like 3 or 4am. But she manages to finish a calendar and a book every year, so she’s onto something. I’m not going that crazy with it–I’m shooting for in bed by midnight and up by 8 or 9. That still gives me a ton more time to get stuff done, even though it will be hard with my night owl biorhythms.
2. Make dinner 3x a week.
This is a good amount for us to have leftovers. I work until pretty late two nights a week, and I don’t usually want to cook then. If I cook every other weeknight, I’ll have enough to just throw something together for myself, and then I won’t end up wasting money and calories on fast food.
3. Keep living space clean.
My plan of attack is vaguely based on Alejandra.tv’s free video series. Every night before bed, I’ll do all the dishes and wipe down surfaces in the kitchen, deal with the main “gathering areas” for junk, and put away clothes and anything that isn’t where it’s supposed to be. This should help me stay on top of clutter and general grossness. The whole thing is making it a habit, instead of seeing something in the wrong place and letting it linger there for months.
4. Live off salary and save freelance income.
I should be able to do this, especially after this month. If I’m eating at home and have done the necessary expenses cutting after this month, there’s no reason why I can’t let my freelance income stack up. Which should help me accomplish my next goal…
5. Save $1000.
Most of Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps don’t apply to me, since I don’t have debt, a house, or kids. But the ones about getting things on track to start saving and have a cushion do.
6. Then get a secured credit card.
I messed up my credit big time in my 20s, and now it’s time to build it back up again.
7. Complete draft of a children’s/middle-grade novel.
This is a big one, and maybe it seems to be coming out of nowhere, since all of my other goals are pretty mundane. But it’s what I’ve always wanted to do with my life, and it’s time I sat down and did it.
I’ll write an update the beginning of every month to update you on how I’m doing.