I love a good, fresh start. Whether it’s going on a vacation, coming back from a vacation, joining a new gym, moving into a new home… I crave starting anew. I love setting new goals, building new habits and starting from scratch. But unfortunately, New Years Resolutions are one thing I cannot get behind. I have never successfully held a resolution and frankly, for the past 5-10 years, I can’t even remember making one. For me, there is no point. I am a person of permanent reflection, to a point where I need my mind (and my husband) to quiet me down sometimes. I reflect on every work day, every vacation, every conversation, in order to become a better person, friend, wife and citizen.
New Year’s resolutions are redundant for me, and ironically, stress me out. I can’t possibly add in another goal to the ones that are constantly shifting in my mind, so I try to focus on small goals at a time. For years, this has worked much better for me. This way, I can develop new habits slowly, and decide what works and what doesn’t work for me. I try to think one month at a time, so that I have a better handle on how many times I will do something in order for it to be successful to me.
For instance, I joined a gym for only 3 months to help rehab my knee and keep me fit until baby comes. I don’t like paying a lot for gyms, especially with the weather we have here in Northern California, so this was a bit of a debate. But I calculated out how many times I think I need to go in order for it to be ‘worth it’ for me. I paid $250 for three months, and I estimate that with travel, barre and the at-home yoga that I do, that I need to go 18 times in order for it to be ‘worth it’. That comes out to 6x a month, or $13.80 a visit. Currently, I have only gone 11 times so far with one month to go… so it’s not looking like I will reach my goal! This… my friends, is why I only signed up for 3 months!
The point of the story is that I set short term goals and targets to track myself and keep things in perspective. With a new baby on the way, trying to set goals or plan for the entirety of 2018 seems a futile effort. So, I choose to focus on three months at a time. And instead of setting ‘goals’ or making ‘resolutions’, I take a much more realistic approach, such as what the outlook for those months is holistically, and what I will be happy with achieving at the end of the quarter.
2018 Outlook: Q1
Make our new house feel like a Home before baby arrives
We just moved into the new house which means lots of renovations, DIYs and before and afters. If you read this post about our to-do list on the new home, you know I have a lot on my list. But let’s be realistic, I am 7 months pregnant and can’t possibly be painting walls, putting together IKEA furniture and moving furniture around just for the sake of getting it done in 3 months. No, this is a process, and my only aim is to complete the dining room and nursery before the baby comes. That’s it! Sure, if I make some progress on the bedroom or master bathroom I will be thrilled, but my expectations are that those will take more time than this sleepy-headed roly poly can handle right now.
Focus on my husband
As the last few weeks of ‘just the two of us’ slowly melt away, I want to make sure I spend as much time with Mr. R on date nights, hanging in our house, sleeping in, and going to the gym together as possible. I know that it’s those little moments that are going to slip away in the wake of a crying baby and sleepless nights, so I want to savor them as much as possible. Does this mean that I will forego the gym every once in a while or scrap that craft project for the bedroom? Yup, which is why I’m lowering my expectations for those activities!
Transition my blog with more lifestyle content
This blog has had many iterations, but fashion has been 75% the focus for the last 2 years. While fashion is my first love, my lifestyle has changed and I definitely want to share more of the aspects of my life outside of fashion. I want to talk about design in fashion, travel and home decor, but through the lenses of DIY, motherhood and clean living. If you all remember last year I wrote this post about embracing a slower fashion lifestyle, and while I have made HUGE STRIDES in my consumption and application of fashion, I want to be even better and spread this mentality to other aspects of my life. I do not claim to be an ‘only sustainable, only all-natural’ blog, and I do not think I will become that. But I do want to find a way to balance my love for fun and vibrant design with smart shopping!
What isn’t on the list, but might be in future quarters
Motherhood!
Uhh… can’t ignore this one obviously. Don’t expect full-on mommy hood posts on the best diapers, but thoughts on raising my little babe will definitely be present!
Health and Wellness
I have to try to get that pre-baby bod back someday!
Financial goals
This blog does have to make money in order for it to be a reason I am happy with what I do. Some months are more prosperous than others, and while it’s not completely about money, I do want to continue to grow and work with more companies that matter to you! Any thoughts on this is much appreciated btw…!
What do you think of my Q1 blog outlook? Are you excited for what’s to come? What’s next for you in personal or business matters this year?
