How are you doing on your goals for 2012? I’m excited about the progress I made in July…
Personal
Read through the Bible in a year. {I’ve been keeping up with this faithfully.}
Read through the 24 books on my 2012 booklist. {I’m working on July’s books and hope to have them finished by the end of this week. I have also read quite a few other books!}
Listen to 12 audiobooks. {I finished July’s audiobook last month!}
Run in at least one 5K race. {I’ve been running at least a few 3.1+ mile runs on the treadmill each week and am slowly working on getting my time down. I’m hoping to sign up for an official race soon — probably in September.}
Complete the Couch to 10K program. {I’m hoping to start this soon.}
Tackle 12 Do-It-Yourself Projects. {I postponed July’s project because the weather was too hot to bake!}
Focus on one habit per month. {This month we continued working on getting places on time (we’re making some huge progress with that!) as well as working on getting things done early — another area I really struggle with. I didn’t get everything done early this month, but I got a lot fewer things done late and planned ahead a lot more than I usually do — so that’s progress and I’m encouraged with it!}
Learn to use my new DSLR camera (huge surprise Christmas present from Jesse!!) & improve my photography skills. {I’m excited to be seeing some improvement and progress with this! And I’m also excited that I’m beginning to feel more and more comfortable using my camera!}
Take at least one photo a day and put together a page every week for my Project Life album. {This is caught up since last month, I just need to write notes in some of the pages!}
Memorize Colossians using the plan and free download here. {I’m almost caught up with this.}Marriage
Go on the Love Like You Mean It Cruise.{Done–read my recap here.}
Go on two Marriage Retreats (Went to Cincinnati together in April).
Have monthly date nights. {We had one date in July.}
Read four books together. {We’ve done two books so far this year and we’re working on a third.}
Read at least 3 books on marriage. {I’ve read two so far this year.}Children/Homeschooling
Continue regular dates/outings with each of the children individually. {I went on at least one outing with each child individually in July.}
Continue Grace and Truth memory book. {The children memorized a few verses plus one verse of a hymn in June.}
Ice-skating lessons for all three children.{The children finished up their third round of ice-skating lessons and we’re taking a break while we do swimming lessons!}
Swimming lessons for all three children.{We started our second round of lessons this month and the children are loving it!}
Finish second grade, begin third grade with Kathrynne. {Kathrynne finished second grade in May — woohoo!}
Finish kindergarten, begin first grade with Kaitlynn. {Kaitlynn finished Kindergarten in May and is excited about beginning first grade soon.}
Start preschool with Silas. {Started this in April.}
Go on at least one field trip every month. {We went on one field trip in July.}
Go on at least one family vacation.{We went to family camp in July.}
Finish at least 15 read-aloud books. {We’ve finished 20 read-alouds so far this year!}Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family
Write at least two handwritten notes every month to encourage someone. {I wrote & mailed two handwritten notes this month.}
Continue being involved in our local church, homeschool group, young couple’s group, and blogging accountability group. {Ongoing}
Continue with weekly get-togethers with both sides of our extended family. {Ongoing}Business/Blogging
Continue to take Sundays off from blogging/business work. {Ongoing}
Continue keeping strict Office Hours for the business/blogging time each day. {Still plugging away on this!}
Switch to a paperless planning system. {This is the one goal I think I’ve officially decided to drop this year as it just wasn’t working for me. Back to the paper.}
Follow my weekly blogging plan. {I stuck with my blogging plan most of July, if I’m remembering correctly — woot!}
Plan blog posts out at least a month in advance. {I made some great progress in this area in July!}
Write and schedule blog posts at least a week in advance. {I’m not a week ahead yet, but I’ve been blogging ahead a lot more recently and am excited to be making some progress on this.}Financial
Continue to tithe 10% of our income. {Ongoing}
Give generously to needs in our community and around the world, as God prompts us. {Ongoing}
Pay cash for a new-to-us vehicle to replace our family’s van.{We bought a new-to-us vehicle in July — yay!}
Finish saving for and purchase a rental property with cash. {We’re in the process of investigating our options in our price range right now and deciding if we want to go ahead and purchase something or continue saving. At this point, it’s looking like there’s a good possibility we might be purchasing something very soon. I’ll keep you posted.}
How Are You Doing on Your Goals for 2012?
If you’ve posted goals for 2012, I’d love for you to post an update on how things are going and share your link in the comments. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to just leave your update as a comment. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!
Sara @ Confessions of a Redheaded Mama says
For July I knew I was going to be busy working extra hours so I wanted to be realistic with the goals I set. One goal that we weren’t making much headway with was potty training my almost three year old. I decided to leave that off the July goals. Wouldn’t you know that July is the month he showed interest in potty training? We still have the occasional accident if he is in the zone playing but for the most part it has been smooth sailing.
Can’t wait to knock off all my goals for August 🙂
Frugalista says
I’m actually doing well with an ongoing financial goal. We are reducing our overall debt significantly, by the Grace of God, and this makes very happy and hopeful about the future.
Shelly says
I love the idea of yearly goals for myself and our family but I have never set yearly goals before. I have this year been setting weekly goals but I think for me it would be hard to determine what goals to choose for a year. I will check out your post you linked to on how to choose yearly goals and maybe next month I will have my rest of the year goals to post.
Thanks for the encouragement to set goals. I do get so much more done when I set my weekly goals.
Christina says
I would love to know how you found out about the marriage retreats. I have been searching online and I can’t seem to get any leads. Can you share where it was and maybe a website?
Crystal says
They aren’t anything we’re attending — just the two of us getting away and talking about goals, priorities, evaluating where we’re at in all areas of life, and just having one-on-one time.
If you’re looking for a marriage retreat to attend, I’d highly recommend A Weekend to Remember put on by FamilyLife in many, many different areas of the country.
Melissa says
My ongoing financial goal for this year has been to examine our budget and find creative ways to free up more money to aggressively pay down one of my two student loans. I want to be free of those debts sooner than the scheduled six and a half years remaining and so far I have gotten much further along than I thought would be possible. I’ve learned so much on the journey to accomplishing this goal. I’ve even picked up a few skills (who knew there were so many delicious and nutritious ways to fix dried beans!) Certainly this blog has been an inspiration and also given me many great ideas on how to save more. Thank you!
K says
Your goals are worthwhile, important, and fruitful. I have goals, but they are pretty basic and lame, like getting laundry done or some other household duty that really won’t last or be remembered for any significant reason.
What would you recommend to someone who needs to obtain goals that are a little more significant. Not just for the individual, but for others as well.
I will say that I do have some really good goals, like, being a better person for God, my family, myself and for others…… or trying to give to a local food pantry and a battered women’s shelter, respectively. (I’m not always able to do that, but the desire to do so is always in my heart. I really want to do more in this area.)
I have other things that I’d like to do as well, like beginning to homeschool my preschooler, as well as my other children. (I’m scrambling to get info on where to start w/ my older children, w/ regard to curriculum and some other matters. It’ll definately be a faith walk. LOL! I did some units w/ my youngest, this past school term – hard work, but so rewarding and fulfilling at the same time.)
I know that it’s not a good idea for one to compare him/herself w/ another, but it’s hard when you feel so unproductive and others seem to be flowing in their God-given purpose….flourishing even.
Did you seek God for your calling? I mean, outside of being a wife and mother – and I don’t mean to minimize those roles, as they are not only crictical, but also a God-given privilege. Some days I wonder what I did to deserve my husband and children.
I suppose I’ll continue seeking through prayer and with faith. (I don’t mean to sound so bummed out and ungrateful.) I am very thankful to Him for what I have. I just can’t help thinking that I should be doing something more…. a hunger of sorts – and it’s not all about the material things. In the meantime, I’ll continue to do what I do with a heart of gratitude and thanks. 🙂
Well, thank you for sharing w/ your readers. Your posts are very encouraging and relative. May God continue to bless you and your family.
Crystal says
If God’s putting a hunger in your heart to do more, I’d earnestly seek Him and ask Him to show you what the next step is. For me, He’s never revealed the big picture, but usually just given me light for the next step.
Truth be told, I’m in that same season of waiting and seeking Him for direction for the next step right now. I have a lot of grand ambitions and big dreams, but I’m quietly waiting for Him to give me direction as to what He wants for me… instead of just running ahead with what I think might be a good idea.
As far as how to choose goals, this is something that my husband and I prayerfully do together — and something that we tweak and change as priorities, needs, and seasons of life change.
I encourage you to embrace each day and make the most of exactly where God has you right now — and then seek Him earnestly for light and direction for the next step.
Also, these two articles might be encouraging/helpful to you:
https://moneysavingmom.com/2011/12/qa-tuesday-how-do-you-decide-your-yearly-goals.html
https://moneysavingmom.com/2012/07/why-moms-need-to-set-goals.html
Kim says
Two of my goals have been to get to bed consistently by 10:30p & walk on the treadmill every day. I’ve been doing good with those after I finally wrote my goals down. However, my dog has been waking me up at 3a & barking, scratching at the kennel door to try to get it open every night for about the past 3 months. (He has improved from starting at midnight). I’ve watched Dog Whisperer videos & use some of his techniques, & purchased a treadmill at a garage sale (he walks on the treadmill 2-4 times a day & I walk with him at least once). It’s just been too hot to take walks outside twice a day. I think it’s separation anxiety. His kennel is beside my bed & he used to be kennel trained until he was out of it three nights one week. I’ve tried sleeping in another room, but I think that increased his anxiety. My other big goal is to get my business going, so I have income–the sleep deprivation has really hindered that. If anyone has any experience & advice on how to get him to sleep through the night, it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Mackenzie says
I’m doing really well on my goal of eating more healthfully and exercising more 🙂
Crystal says
Great job!
Stephanie says
I definately need to get back on track. Seems like I barely can manage the few tasks I have. But I am going to recommit. August 1st is a good day to start. Anyone else in a season where they just can’t consentrate on what they are reading? Not my Bible, books I am interested in, barely a complete magazine article. Frustrating!
Kris says
Your recap from the cruise is not working…page not found.
Lilianne says
Still working on my reading goal for the year (2 books per month – 24 total). So far I’ve read 16 so I’m actually two books ahead of schedule! My blog has my latest reviews and books read 🙂
First 5k of the year is this Saturday (woo hoo!) and I also signed up for a charity walk in Sept (I’ve done one walk a year for the last two years).
I also have some summer goals (mostly cleaning and such) still working on those, lol.
Crystal says
Way to go!
Pam@behealthybehappywellness says
In July, my goals were all around local foods and seasonal eating – and I did pretty well! We actually went on several vacations and were quite busy, so being intentional about what I wanted to accomplish definitely kept me on track!
http://behealthybehappywellness.com/blog/2012/08/july-re-cap-and-august-goals
yasmin says
Love it! Thanks for the inspiration to make my own list. =)
Meredith M says
I love these updates! I’ve done pretty well with my goals. I’m looking forward to making more progress on our financial goals once my husband is able to find a job. He’s been unemployed for the past 6 months. While it’s frustrating that we can’t get ahead and do the things that we need to do around the house, it’s good to know that we haven’t gone into any debt, either.
Tracey says
I always enjoy seeing the progress you’re making with your yearly goals! It encourages me to keep plugging along with mine! 🙂
http://girlstogrow.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-goals-update-for-july.html
Lea says
My main goal for 2012 is to get a JOB. 2011 was not a good year for this goal either. 7 months in, 37 jobs applied for, 2 interviews later and I am still plugging away. I did get more specific this year, telling myself that I needed to apply for x # of jobs per week/month etc., but a lot of weeks there just are not new jobs to apply for.
Melissa says
Don’t give up hope! I was in the same boat as you (unemployed for 8 months) and I got a call last week about a job! I start really soon! 🙂
Lea says
Congrats Melissa! I’ve been unemployed since mid 2010 so this is a longer dry spell than I ever thought it would be.
Debora A. Acevedo says
I hope you find employment soon! Given the state our economy I promise myself that I will never complain about my job ever again.
Leah says
Yay, you bought a CAR!! I’m in the middle of that adventure right now. Saved the cash, and now just need to find “the one!”
Crystal says
We were pretty excited as we’ve been looking for quite some time. I’m hoping to do a post this week on the process and what we learned through it!
Sarabell says
I love your goal updates! I do one every month too so they’re always so inspiring!
Here’s my July review: http://travelingphoblogwripher.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-review.html
Lisa- panaMOM says
Go run the 5k! Your time will be better on race day than it ever is on the treadmill so just throw the planning out the window and run it!!!
I ran my first 5k 2 weeks ago. I didn’t train long (about 6 weeks) enough, but I ran the whole thing and had a great time. And lost to my 8yo by 6 minutes! That was most of the fun!
Go Crystal Go!!
Crystal says
I sort of ran a 5K at camp — well, at least it was my first almost-3-mile run with others. And I kept up with the guys (though they were probably going slow just for me!) and ran faster than I usually ever do on the treadmill — so I was pretty excited. 🙂
I had planned to do a 5K last weekend, but I’m still getting my strength back after having the stomach flu (I lost a few pounds the first day I was so sick and then was weak for almost a week, so I decided I probably better postpone the race!) Hopefully in September. Thanks for your kind encouragement; I’ll keep you all posted!
Annabell says
How do you keep track of your goals? I am great about making goals, but I am terrible about staying accountable. Also, how do you decide what to include on your list? I want to start my own list, and have done a couple of the weekly lists, but I don’t want to go overboard or feel like I need to put everything on there!
Crystal says
This post might be helpful: https://moneysavingmom.com/2011/12/qa-tuesday-how-do-you-decide-your-yearly-goals.html