A new year and a clean slate holds a certain appeal. I always appreciate a fresh start, and the chance to pause and reflect on my goals and recalibrate my focus. The new year feels like such an opportunity to dream big and use your imagination to do some futures forecasting for your own life. What a fun opportunity!
Rarely do I stop to reflect on past achievements, but today I'm glad to see I've knocked over a few major goals in the second half of 2013, with still a few more to tackle in the coming year.
2013 Wins
- Taught myself that I'm a good saver when I put my mind to it by doubling my goal of 5K.
- Made great gains in my adrenal fatigue recovering journey by taking control of my own health, and getting support from the professionals, which I'm looking to build on in 2014.
So, to 2014. I've already set some goals for my job, but it is nice to look beyond that and reflect on personal goals for the year.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a perpetual planner and a chronic goal setter. So I've come up with a mix of big ambitious goals and rituals to form my fairly comprehensive list. I tend to aim big, but try not to beat myself up too much if I don't meet all of my goals. I feel like there's a whole lot of value in the process, but too much pressure makes things get stressful, and a perfectionist like me tends to get overwhelmed. I prefer to think of these as ambitious guidelines.
Goals and Rituals for 2014
Academic
- Finish my first Masters and get Distinction or better for my last few subjects.
- Knock 26 books off my reading list by reading one a fortnight.
- Make time to write and publish a blog post a week, either a book review or a reflective piece.
Health
- Lose 20 kgs by finding balance with my eating habits and losing the all-or-nothing mentality.
- Work out every day, over and above my daily bike commute with a mix of crossfit, bikram and running, or even just a dance class, a long lazy ride or a walk - just as long as it is something.
- Run a sub 60 min 10 km race. Aiming for Run Melbourne on July 27.
Money
- Remain debt free and stick to a budget to save another 20K by October.
- Finish renovating Curracloe Farm and have both it and our apartment done.
- Simplify all our finances.
Work
- Confirm my next move for study and get accepted into my new course.
- Explore the ethics/economics space more and refine my goals and next steps.
- Get some funding for my research project idea.
Personal
- Refine what I own down to essentials and only things I really love.
- Go to Beyonce dance classes to get my sass on.
- Get up at 5.15 with Marcus every weekday morning.
Rituals
- Publish my Top 5 on my Tumblr every day. Very inspired by my friend Clare who is behind this amazing movement.Watch a video of Clare speaking at TedxWomen to find out more about it.
- Take it in turns with Marcus to organise a weekly date or activity.
- Create a night time ritual for better sleep.
On top of this long list, I really love the idea of sprint goals - extra points of focus over a short term which are designed to shake up and reshape your habits. They say it only takes 30 days for a new habit to be established. I've been brainstorming a list of habits I'd like to form that I'll attempt throughout the year:
Sprint Goals
- Do at least 1 page of journalling everyday.
- Get out of bed before 6 am everyday - not just week days.
- No TV.
- Meditate for at least 30 minutes daily.
- No sugar.
- Bikram 30 day challenge.
- Practice spanish for 30 mins daily.
- Photo a day challenge.
- Practice guitar for 30 mins daily.
- 30 min walk every evening.
- Eat only food made at home.
- Make the bed for 30 days in a row.
So there you have it. A long, ambitious list of targets for 2014. It feels good to do some longer term thinking and planning. Don't forget to have fun, be happy, and appreciate how amazing life is.
Bring on 2014!
What are you celebrating in 2013? What are you looking forward to in the new year?
