Show and Tell Tuesday: Goals and Resolutions

I really tried to give some thought to my goals this year rather than making a random list of stuff to accomplish and then not giving it a second thought.  My plan is to revisit my goals on the first of each month to see how I'm doing.

I broke my goals up into categories: finance, health, school, parenting, home, and personal.

Finances - Pay off a significant portion of our debt.  I have a specific number in mind, but I'm not comfortable listing it here.  We have been following the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps for the past year, and we have a great handle on our finances.  We just need to continue on our plan, pay for everything with cash, and pay pay pay off debt.

This is our Dave Ramsey envelope wallet that we put our cash into.  When the cash runs out, we are done buying things.

Health - This is a hard one to discuss at the moment.  I'm not happy with my weight, health, or fitness level.  That has to change.  It will change.  We have some plans in process to start us all on a better path towards permanent health.  I think I'll be able to expand on this more at the start of February. In the meantime, simple things I plan to do are eat at least one fruit and one vegetable each day and drink at least one glass of water each day.  I know these things seem rather unsubstantial, but they are small goals I can do without overwhelming myself and then giving up the whole process.

Let's get back to a healthy place such as this, shall we?

School - Stay on top of lesson planning, grading assignments, and long term planning.  Staying on top of school helps me feel more organized and put together at home.  My specific goal is to have my lesson plans ready by Thursday for the next week.  I also plan to grade at least two stacks of papers each day.

I'd like all this to look better.  Such a mess.  I think I'll start by taking the two coffee mugs back to the office!

Parenting - Spend more time with kids.  Now that they are older, busier, and more into their video games, I want to make sure quality time is spent with both boys.  I'm thinking game nights and one on one dates with each of the boys is a good start.

They are not going to be this sweet and little forever.  I don't want to look back and regret time not spent with them.  (I found them sharing a bed and a pillow this morning. So sweet when asleep!)

Home - We all do better when the house is clean and organized.  That means one load of laundry done daily, kitchen cleaned up daily, a quick swipe of bathrooms daily, and 15 minutes spent decluttering daily.  I follow the principles of FlyLady and it really helps me stay on track...if I follow the system!

This basket is crying out...fold me, fold me!

Personal - READ
The goal is simple.  Read 10 pages of any book each day.  I plan to focus on one book at a time.  I'd like to switch it up between pleasure and self help.  I've got a bunch of self help books to read from when Eric and I went to the Dave Ramsey SMART conference back in November.  I also have free apps to the library, so money is not an excuse. (Update: I already read one pleasure book and I'm currently reading The Seven Decisions by Andy Andrews.)

Andy Andrews was one of the speakers we saw at the SMART conference.  I am really enjoying reading about how your thinking can change the course of your life.

I'll check back in a month to admit to either progress or areas in which to keep working.