Tag Archives: goals

Manage it Monday – The Why?

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Can this still count as a Manage it Monday post even though I’m posting so late on Monday night? Although, my belated posting does fit with the topic of my post. I simply ran out of time to write last night after all the Easter festivities. Before and immediately after work I wasn’t able to finish this post either. See, I need better organization and time management. That’s one of the reasons I’m doing this series. I don’t know what it is about this year, but I’ve done so much self-reflection thus far. Before I get into the meat of this series, I want to get a little philosophical for a moment,

Tonight’s post is all about the …

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Why worry about getting things done? These are my personal reasons, my “why”.

1. I want to be a good steward of my blessings. Every day is a gift, and I want to use my time in the best way possible.

2. I want to get more done, but also stress less. I want to be productive, but also have time to relax and enjoy life.

3. I’m a pen, paper, and planner nerd. All things relating to productivity and organization interest me.

4. Our house feels so disorganized right now, and it’s driving me crazy.

5. I need it. See above :)

What’s your why?

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2013 Goals

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Since I shared my 13 in ’13 post, I have done a lot of self-reflection on what I want this year to look like. I know I have a tendency to be an obsessive planner. Yet, I know that I don’t know what the future will hold. I do know that I want to use whatever time and opportunities I am given wisely and productively. With that in mind, I decided to flesh out my 2013 goals with more detail. I felt silly reading some of these out loud to M, but I decided to go ahead and share them all anyway. In 2013, I want to:

1. Find a way to serve, love, and encourage at least once a week.
2. Complete the ESV Study Bible reading plan. Pray. Grow spiritually.
3. Establish and stick to a morning routine.
4. Pay down debt. Save. Be able to comfortably buy a car by September.
5. Lose 25 pounds. Take care of myself
6. Be a good homemaker! Decorate. Declutter. Cook. Clean. Organize.
7. Be thankful. Be positive. Worry less.
8. Write. Improve my writing. Come up with a plan for the book I want to write.
9. Get back to quilting for fun. Improve. Learn. Set quilting goals…but don’t let them cause stress!
10. Win The Planner Challenge!

I am looking forward to seeing what the rest of this year brings!

Do you have any goals for the year?

13 in ’13

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More:

1. Serving
2. Prayer
3. Cooking
4. Writing
5. Sewing
6. Positivity
7. Reading
8. Saving
9. Taking care of myself
10. Simplifying
11. Decorating
12. Early mornings
13. Family time

Less:

1. Negativity
2. Spending money
3. Complaining
4. Dr. Pepper & Diet Mountain Dew
5. Anxiety
6. Impatience
7. Procrastination
8. Social media
9. TV
10. Oversleeping
11. Stress
12. Eating out
13. Focusing on petty things

What do your lists look like?

Don’t Look Back

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Y’all, I wasted 2012. I look at this list of goals I made at the start of the year, and I came up short. Big time. Thinking about it makes me sad, but I’m glad that, Lord Willing, I’ll have another chance. In the sermon yesterday morning, our preacher mentioned not dwelling on the past. It made me think of this little book my Mama gave me years ago.

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This year I’ll do things differently. I’ll let go of some things and hold tightly to others. I’ll do more and be better. I’ll have my struggles and shortcomings, but I’ll keep on going anyway.

Looking ahead…

Happy New Year to you all!

Best Month Ever: October Goals, Plans, and Dreams

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October is my favorite month, so it’s the perfect time to kick off this new blog series. Welcome to Best Month Ever. Every month I will share my goals, plans, and dreams for the month. Resolutions for the whole year don’t really work for me, and I’m much more likely to get things done with smaller goals. I’m sharing for accountability’s sake, but don’t worry, this won’t all be serious. It’s really just my way of welcoming a new month!

In October I’d like to:

- make a blog button for this Best Month Ever series
- While I’m at it, I should probably make a button for Love You Muches in general.
- get out my real camera to capture all the fun fall memories that are sure to come
- write, write, write
- finally finish reading Cold Mountain. It’s been forever.
- lose 5 pounds
- finish 3 quilts (this is the one thing on my list that seems impossible right now.)
- plan our trip to visit M’s parents
- consistently wake up early
- finish Exodus & read Leviticus

Fun things I’m looking forward to:
- my birthday
- picking out our pumpkins
- Fiddler’s convention
- Alisha’s wedding
- Tuscaloosa for Alabama vs Mississippi State game
- Laura’s birthday
- Storytelling Festival

Welcome October. It’s going to be a busy month. I’m so happy to see you!

What are your goals to make this the best month ever?

Who do I want to be?

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A child of God.
A loving wife.
Someone with a smile on her face and in her heart.
Someone who puts other people first.
Someone who leads others and her family to serving the Lord.
A hard worker.
A published author.
A writer just for fun.
Maybe the next J K Rowling, Fanny Flagg, or Harper Lee.
A quilter.
A sewer of cute things.
An early bird.
A good daughter.
A sister.
A friend.
One day a mom.
Superwoman.
Someone who has it all together.
A skinny girl with long hair.
A decorator of our house.
Hospitable.
Not a shopaholic.
A saver more than a spender.
A mama.
Not a worrier.
Not stressed.
A good housekeeper.
Someone who folds laundry neatly instead of stuffing it in drawers.
A decent cook and baker.
A helper.
A reader of good books.
Organized.
A wife my husband is happy to come home to.
Not hateful.
Not sad.
Not snappy.
Healthy.
Someone who actually likes to drink water and exercise.
Someone who can balance everything.
A servant.

I have a long way to go.

The Plan – For Letting Go and Setting Sail

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Warning: Long post ahead!

After I wrote my Letting Go and Setting Sail post, I emailed the text of it to my husband, my mom, and my dad. They all gave me some helpful advice and encouraged me to work towards my goals. Daddy realizes that I am a planner at heart, so he suggested that I plan ways to help me stop worrying. I took his idea and ran with it. The result was a list written inside the front cover of my planner. All of the things on this list are things I know I should be doing. It seems silly to write them out, but seeing them listed is a good reminder. I’ve proven time and time again that I learn best when I write things down. For further accountability, I decided to share the list here.

I know I can’t do this on my own. I am not planning so I can handle life myself. I know I need Christ’s help!

The Plan

1. Spiritual Goals

  • Pray and study
  • Set aside quiet time to pray/meditate/study every day

2. Family

  • Always act with love
  • Appreciate, value and respect

3. Writing

  • Try to get in 3 hours of writing a week

4. Financial

  • Save money
  • Pay off debt (by November1)
  • Spend less (shopping ban April – July 1)

5. Health

  • take vitamins
  • drink water
  • walk 2-3 times a week

6. Quilting

  • always keep sewing

7. Everything else

  • count my blessings
  • enjoy blessings and SMILE!
  • be considerate of others
  • help other people

How I’m going to keep it going

Having a plan doesn’t mean anything if I don’t actually work towards these things. Every Sunday, I will have a weekly review of sorts. I will just spend a few minutes reflecting on the week and examining myself. I will probably jot some quick notes about the week down in my planner.

Here’s Where You Come In

I am asking for your prayers. Please pray with and for me as I work on this. Also, I’d like to encourage you to make your own plan. If there is something you are struggling with, resolve to make changes. We can all help each other. If you are interested in doing this, please leave a comment below. If people are actually interested, I can create a linkup for us to all share our plans and provide encouragement and feedback. I am really excited about this, so I hope others are too.

If you made it to the end of this long post, you get a gold star! Thanks bunches,
Beth

Everybody’s Doing It – 2012 Goals

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This is me giving into peer pressure and jumping on the bandwagon. I told myself I wasn’t going to make any resolutions. I posted about trying a Fresh Start a while ago, and I was just going to leave it at that. Then I read somewhere that telling other people your goals is a great way to stay accountable. Then I started reading everyone else’s posts about their resolutions. Now I find myself writing a post about resolutions. Except I’m not calling them resolutions. I’m calling them goals. These are the things I’m going to actively work on this year.

1. Grow Spiritually  – pray more, continue my existing personal Bible study

2. Write- write a little every day, continue this blog!

3. Wake up early  – I am more productive when I work from 7-4. I feel better when I get up early.

4. Be healthy – Yes, I’m still trying to lose weight.

5. Serve God and Serve Others

6. Save money

The start of a new year is a good time to renew my commitment to these things. Of course, there are other things I would like to do this year. I want to keep reading, sewing, cooking, and working on house projects. I want to spend as much time as possible with Michael and loved ones.

There is one last goal that I have to add to this list. It’s not important in the grand scheme of things, but it is something I really want to try to do. If you know me, you will know how impossible it seems. I’m going to share it anyway for accountability’s sake.

7. Use the same planner for an entire year – Yikes!

What are your goals this year?

Fresh Starts

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On December 1, I posted the following as a facebook status.

This has been on my mind and I’ve wanted to say it for a while. 2011 has been quite the year. I know I haven’t handled things the way I should. There are so many happy, positive, faithful people I look up to and want to be more like. I’d like to apologize for the complaining and lack of trust I’ve shown these last few months. If it’s okay with y’all, I’d like to make December 1, 2011 a fresh start! I know there will still be those days when things seem bad, but I’m learning how to get beyond them. I’m excited about this month of making some special memories in a rough year. I am sorry. I love you all and thank you all for your support! Please continue to pray for me. I need it.

I received many messages of encouragement and love from my friends and family.  I am extremely grateful for everyone’s support. I’ve been thinking a lot about “Fresh Starts” since then.

New Years’ Resolutions have never really been my thing. I can’t remember ever consciously making any big resolutions. When you know there are things in your life you need to change, why wait until January 1? I probably won’t make any resolutions this year either. I do have goals I want to continue to work toward in 2012, and I am looking forward to whatever life throws our way in the new year. For now, I want to keep on trying to be positive, to lessen the pressure I put on myself, to stop worrying, and to make every day a Fresh Start! 

Even the smallest amount of change can be scary. It is so easy to get stuck in a pattern and not know how to get out of it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you feel like you need a Fresh Start, I am here for you. You don’t have to tell me what it is, but if you want to talk, I’m here to listen. There is strength in numbers!

Love you muches, Beth

 

 

Weight, Words, and Wonderful People – Three Things Thursday

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1. Back in September, I decided I needed to lose weight and eat healthier. I joined Weight Watchers Online and did okay at first, but it all went downhill. I cancelled my subscription and decided to count calories. Apparently I lack motivation and dedication. I weighed myself yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks. I have officially gained 1 pound. Instead of losing weight, I’m 1 pound heavier than I was when I started all this. Looking at the scale, I was crushed. I was expecting it because I knew I hadn’t been doing well in the diet and exercise department. Still though, seeing the number on the scale brought me a huge sense of failure. Time to press the reset button and start all over again. My new wish is to reach my goal weight by Valentine’s Day. Any weight loss tips you have would be much appreciated!

2. Another thing I failed at – NaNoWriMo. November is National Novel Writing Month when you challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in one month.Today is December 1 and I only managed 10,006 words. 

3. Now I realize that this post starting to sound really negative. I’m a big believer that life is all about balance. How about something positive for this 3rd Thing. It’s just a photo that makes me smile. I took this photo of Michael and his grandparents on Thanksgiving Day. I love all three of these people very much, and it was great to get to spend the holiday with them.