2021 Goals

2020 kicked my butt… hard. I’m ready to hit the refresh button and reset with a new year. I was inspired to create this graphic by my friend Kathie after I saw her goals on Instagram. I’m not sure about making new goals every season, that’s a lot of work! But, I’d like to follow up every month or so and come back to my goals to see how I’m doing. Although my 2021 goals are fairly broad, I’ve already got some concrete steps ready to make them achievable!

My theme for the coming year is self-care. With so much uncharted territory in 2020, I want to get back to focusing on me – physically, mentally, and emotionally. A perfect example is my reading life. I had a good chunk of time in 2020 struggling with reading at all. I know taking time to read is a key component to how I feel, so I really want to try and make sure I’m setting aside a little time each day to read.

1. Make Healthy Choices

I’m going back to basics – exercise, eating better, drinking more water, sleep. All those things help me work better and play harder. Any form of an exercise routine went out the window when it started getting too dark and cold to run outside in the morning. I’ve already signed up for a 30 Day Yoga Journey to jump-start my plans to work out. I love yoga when I’m doing it consistently and this is a great way to get back into it. I’ve got to get back to planning healthy meals full of balanced nutrition. The holiday season has been filled with sugar and I can tell my body has had enough. I’ve found wearing a mask means I’m not hydrating as much as I should during the day. So I need to be more conscious of taking time for water breaks. And finally, sleep – I do fairly well in this area, but there’s always room for improvement.

2. Find a better work-life balance

Prior to the pandemic, I had a pretty decent work-life balance. I work really hard, but also make sure to try and take my lunch break, leave on time, take my vacation, etc. Since the pandemic, all of that has disappeared. I can count on one hand the number of times I took a lunch break away from my desk since June. That’s not good. I want my staff to feel comfortable to take their breaks and use their vacation and I want to do the same.

This might prove to be difficult as we continue to navigate the pandemic with a much smaller staff, but it’s important. I don’t want to burn out at work because it definitely spills over into my personal life.

3. Take time to be creative

I’ve also found that the pandemic has used up so much of my brain power at work navigating the unknown, that I have had a really difficult time being able to be creative for my blog or taking time to do things I enjoy. I’m hoping that as I work on my first two goals, I’ll be more inclined to be creative. But, I also know, that I have to schedule time into my schedule to allow myself to be creative. It has to be a choice I make. I’ve got some ideas for the blog for the upcoming year that I’d love to start tackling.

I’d love to know what your goals and resolutions are for the new year! Share them below!