Every year millions of people make and break New Year's Resolutions. Since I am no exception to this cycle (change is hard!) I have found a different way to motivate myself to make big changes over the course of a year.
While I was serving my proselyting mission (I'm LDS) I decided that instead of making ginormous goals at the beginning of the year, I would come up with a list of 12 goals that I would assign to each month with the provision that I could double up, change, and re-arrange these goals as circumstances so often change.
Now in my third year of this goal-setting cycle, I've been able to apply and re-apply myself to goals and make some real changes in my life. I totally recommend this process to anyone who likes achieving short term goals that add up to big changes. Below are my monthly goals for 2017.
January: Once a Month Temple Attendance
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (I know, it's a mouthful.) Most people call us Mormons because we believe the Book of Mormon to be additional, supportive scripture to the Bible and another Testament of Jesus Christ.
Some of our most sacred meetings are in Temples built throughout the world. I'm lucky enough to live about 20 minutes away from one, so I would like to increase my occasional attendance to at least once a month. I want to take advantage of living so close to this holy place and show my appreciation for the opportunity that I've been given to go and participate in the meetings there.
February: Make Two String Art Pieces a Month
I LOVE STRING ART!!! It's something that combines my creativity with more rough and tumble materials (and it doesn't require my nemesis: hot glue guns...) I've slowly been making them as gifts, but I'd like to increase my production.
Who knows? Maybe I'll start an Etsy shop or something. :)
March: Get my A1C at/below 7.0
This is an ongoing goal as a diabetic. However, by putting it on my list I hope to bring it to the forefront of my attentions as I'll have my next A1C test in April. This last one was 7.1%, so if I buckle down, this is totally possible!
April: Once a Week Family Counsel/Home Evening
Again, this one is somewhat religious. One of the programs our church encourages us to participate in is called Family Home Evening. Basically, your family picks a night, has a moral lesson and usually there's a treat involved.
My Husband and I haven't been great about this, but we're looking to improve! To add to it, we'd like to be more regular about talking about finance, problems and plans (aka, hold a regular Family Counsel) although the system we have right now has been working fairly well.
May: Move to a New Apartment!
Okay, so this one isn't so much a goal as it is mandatory. Our lease is up in May and we've got to move on! I just know how busy that month is going to be already, so I don't see a problem with putting this on my goals sheet.
June: Have Daily Personal Scripture Study
Again, religious (obviously.) As a couple we're really good about reading scriptures together almost every day, but I haven't been as awesome about my own personal study. So that's got to change!
July: Read One Magazine Cover to Cover Each Week
Look, I'm going into the media industry. Shouldn't I be immersed in studying it? I would LOVE to be a copy editor someday, so what better time to get familiar with what the finished product should look like?
August: Pick Up Spanish (again...)
I can't count how many times I've tried this one, but I'm not giving up! Especially now that I have a fairly fluent Spanish speaker in the house with me who dreams of returning to Argentina someday. I've got to be ready for when that trip becomes a reality!
September: Start a YouTube Channel
I'll be a Senior this coming fall and I've already started working on building my "publication" resumé. However, I'd like to expand my media experience a little further by opening my own youtube channel.
Nothing super serious, but just a place to play and experiment when I might not otherwise get the chance to. You can only learn so much at an internship!
October: Learn to Bake Bread
Honestly, I just want to make some of that deliciousness for myself. I love to bake, but I'll be a little ambitious and try this out next year.
November: Fundraise for Diabetes Awareness Month
I'm not entirely sure what I'll try for this month, but obviously this is a cause close to my heart and I want to do my part to support research and funding for a cure!
December: Practice Singing Regularly
I found that I'm a decent vocalist while on my church proselyting mission but I haven't really made the time to continue improving the little talent that I possess. Hopefully at this point I'll have a little more free time on my hands, plus a youtube channel to share my progress on!
So that's the list for 2017. I hope to be able to report back with my progress and results!
Happy New Year!
~Auntie Em
