My 2020 Goals

For the last couple of years, I’ve shared my word of the year (you can see my 2018 word of the year here and 2019’s here) and goals in this space.  Last year, there were even a couple of months where I shared monthly goals – although these posts didn’t last long.  

The fact is, I love making goals.  Hubs and I make goals together each year that help keep us on track for what we want to work on individually and together throughout the year.  And I always sit down and jot down things that I would like to accomplish throughout the year. 

This year feels different though.  

As we get ready to celebrate our youngest turning two (!!) and then welcome our newest baby boy to the family, I’ve been thinking of what my goals should be for this year. 

And to be honest, choosing a “word of the year” doesn’t seem like enough to fully capture a season of transition that I know is on it’s way.  

How can I choose just one word when I literally do not know what our lives will look like 4 weeks from now?

That said, I do have goals for this year – just with the understanding that everything will be a little in flux for a while over here as we soak in the last bit of this season and enter into the next. 

My 2020  Goals

This year, I want to be really intentional about seeking balance and perspective as we transition to a family of five.  I want to create systems and routines that are flexible, but predictable to prevent overwhelm.  

To be present and intentionally seek out joy in my roles as wife, mother, and friend. 

I want to create a home where memories are created, traditions are formed, friends are welcomed, and the love of Christ is on display. 

And I want to be intentional about taking care of myself so that I can best serve those in my care. 

Personal Goals

• Get in the Word everyday.
  • This was also a goal for 2019 – and really a habit that is important for me.  Taking time each day to get in the Bible and pray are essential parts of my day.  I know that it will be even more important as I am stretched even more with three kids very soon.
  • If motherhood has taught me anything, it’s that I truly cannot do this on my own.  I need time with God daily to fill me up before I can serve and love others well. 
• Be intentional about rest.
  • Like, actual rest – not mindless scrolling on my phone, but true, refreshing, life giving rest.  
  • Specifically, setting healthy boundaries in work and personal life so I can get sleep. 
  • Taking the time to “just be” – enjoying time with family and friends without feeling rushed or distracted. 
  • Being proactive in getting chores done rather than putting them off until it’s rushed and overwhelming. 
• Set quarterly goals to add in specific areas of self-care post-partum & accomplish this BIG goal list.
  • Give myself grace to heal after baby. 
  • Slowly add in fitness goals as the year progresses and my body gets stronger. 
  • Continue the habit of waking up before the kids to have moments of quiet before the house starts buzzing. 
  • Set quarterly goals to help move towards these bigger goals throughout the year. 
• Get back into meal planning on a regular basis. 
  • I’ve been winging it for the last several months – and I really need to get back into the swing of it.  
• Read more books rather than scrolling the phone. 
  • You can see my 2020 reading list so far here. 
• Spend more time in the moment and less time on my phone. 
  • Two of the books on my reading list are about our use of smartphones and it is something that I am really trying to be mindful of in 2020. 
  • Frankly, I’ve noticed when I am on my phone (especially around my kids), I tend to feel more anxious, interrupted, and distracted.  I’m less present and have a tendency to be more grumpy and my kids do, too.  They definitely act out more when I’ve spent more time on my phone.  And I am WAY less patient than I need to be. 
  • So, this year, I’m working to put the phone down more often.  We’re only a month in so far, but I dare say, I’ve noticed some changes around here.  

Family Goals

• Transition to a family of five. 
  • As far as I can tell, this is the biggest transition we have coming our way this year.  And it could happen really, any day now. 
  • I posted earlier this month about ways to prepare older siblings for a new baby, but to be honest, I don’t think you can ever be fully prepared for a new baby.  
  • My goal is to be intentional about helping our older boys adjust – and making sure that Hubs and I communicate our needs and emotions well as we learn how best to help and support one another with another little one. 
• Have regular, intentional family time. 
  • In the same spirit of putting my phone down and being intentional in the present, we’ve been adding in at least 2-3 “family nights” a week.
  • This might be a picnic dinner where we watch a show together, or playing a game after dinner, or going out somewhere fun. 
  • Basically, time for us all to just be together and enjoy one another’s company. 
    • Before, Hubs would usually be the primary person to play after he got home from work – and frankly, still is.  But, man.  I have been enjoying my kids and my family SO MUCH more since being really mindful about filling our weeks with these family times.  
• Spend Regular One-on-One time with each of our boys. 
  • Because adding a new baby will take me away from them some times, and I do not want to miss this season with them.  I think that one-on-one time with each of them will be especially important this year.
• Create a simple home school preschool routine with the boys. 
  • This isn’t something I’ve talked much about here on the blog.  But, we have been working on finding a good home school preschool rhythm over here with the boys.  They love when we do school.  And I’m hoping that we can hammer out a good system in 2020.  
  • And maybe I’ll share more about this in the months to come.  (aka once we get the hang of it.)

Home Goals

We actually have a lot of home projects to work on this year.  When we found out we were expecting, many people asked us if we planned to move into a bigger house.  We definitely thought about it, but the fact is, the location of our home is exactly where we want to be right now.  

And we really don’t NEED a bigger house.  (I know I definitely do not want to clean a bigger house…)

So, since we’ve committed to staying, I’ve begun to see our home with a fresh perspective (and coats of paint).  Full of possibilities and I’m excited to turn lots of those things into reality.

Most of these things won’t be complete until much later, but here are our home projects this year:

• Clear out the clutter. 
  • We’ve been working hard to declutter our space and it already feels so much better.  
  • Hoping to continue this as we move through 2020. 
• Finish updating interior paint. 
  • We only have our master bathroom left to paint! 
• Repaint the trim work throughout the house. 
  • Definitely a summer or fall project, but needs to happen after repainting the interior. 
• Repaint the back deck and create a fun play space for the boys. 
  • We play a lot in the garage and front yard now.  I want to create a great play space in the back, too though.  I have lots of ideas…
• Clear some of the old brush along our back fence-line and re-mulch flower beds.
  • Really, just clean up the back yard. 
• Update decor to reflect our family and style.
  • We’ve taken a lot of things down since re-painting and I’m trying to be more mindful of what goes back up.  I imagine that this will be a slow process over the year as we work to create our own style that is both fun and functional with a house full of boys.

Blogging Goals

My big goals last year for this space were to stay consistent, diversify content, increase page views, create a social media plan, and to set standard office hours. 

I think I accomplished a lot of those. 

I was mostly consistent – save that one time I took a break and all but disappeared from this space for a while.   

We definitely added more motherhood and lifestyle type posts, although kids’ activities still largely dominated the content.  (You can see our Top 10 Posts from 2019 here!)

Page views definitely up.  Social media is still just okay for me, and I definitely did NOT set regular office hours.  This year though.  

Here are my 2020 blogging goals: 

• Set and stick to regular office hours. 
  • So that my work will be more focused and my family will have a more predictable idea of when I need to be “at work”. 
• Update old posts & improve SEO for new posts. 
• Add video content. 
  • This is the biggest goal for me and the one I feel least comfortable with.  
  • BUT, I know that video is incredibly useful in the blogging world and I need to step out of my comfort zone and get behind the camera and learn how to make this happen this year. 
• Increase blogging income. 
  • I am confident that I can increase my income, but I’d like to do it by more than just a few dollars.  The fact is, that running a blog takes a lot of time and effort.  And frankly, as much as it is a great creative outlet, it’s also a job. 
  • One of the big things I accomplished in 2019 was being approved to Mediavine, which has increased by ad income noticeably in just a short time already.  
  • That said, I do have a specific amount I’d like to earn this year and I’m working on different avenues to accomplish that. 
• Work with more brands that I love and think you’ll like, too. 
  • I’ve been a lot more picky about what brands I want to work with in this space – making sure that I only say yes to things I love, that are beneficial in our home, and that I think you’ll like to.  I’d love to have more opportunities to collaborate with brands this year. 

And That’s It. 

19 goals for 2020.  A big part of me wants to add just one more to make that an even 20 – but I’ll refrain. 

My hope is to share quarterly goals and updates here as we go along in the year.  Both as a way to hold myself accountable and also just to follow up on our progress.  I mentioned before that I was not so successful in sharing monthly goals here.  Mostly because the months go by so quickly and it’s hard sometimes to even get started on goals. 

But, quarterly goals, I think I can do.  That’s enough time to see what’s working, adjust as needed, and get things done. 

What are you working on this year?  I’d love to know some of your big goals for 2020.  Share them below and let’s celebrate our progress together!

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Jaclyn from Coffee, Pancakes, and Dreams
Brittany from Dreams and Coffee
Mary Leigh from Live Well Play Together
Tiffany from Lake Life State of Mind
Lindsay from Lindsay’s Sweet World
Keri from Cultivate an Intentional Life