Did you set goals for 2019? Here’s an update on how I did on my 2019 goals in May.
It’s June 10, 2019. And it’s time to check in on our goals! How are you doing on the goals you set for 2019?
I spent some time today reviewing May and reflecting on the blessings of the past month and the lessons I learned. I also looked at my goals and how I was doing in each area. (If you missed My Goals for 2019 post, read it here.)
In order to keep myself accountable (and because I know some of you really enjoy these posts) I’m sharing a goals update post at the beginning of each month. I hope that this will not only motivate me to be focused and intentional this year, but I hope it might also inspire you in the goals you set for 2019.
So here’s my goals update for May 2019:
Personal Goals
1. Read 40 books I already own. (I’m using GoodReads to track my reading this year!)
Update: I finished 6 books in May — unfortunately, none were books I already own. But they were some great books, so I don’t feel too badly about it! Look for a Book Update post in the next few days where I share more about my thoughts on the books I finished.
2. Slowly read through the New Testament using the She Reads Truth Bible reading plans at the beginning of each chapter.
Update: I finished Romans and 1 & 2 Corinthians in May.
3. Listen to 2 audiobooks per month. (I use the Libby app to get these for free.)
Update: I finished to 4 audiobooks in May.
4. Complete all of the Organize in 5 Diary tasks to get our home more organized and set up better organizational systems. (Psst! Did you get yours? It’s just $9 right now.)
Update: I got behind on this in April, but I caught up in May. (You can see two posts I did on some of my organizing projects in January and February: Cleaning Out the Cookbooks & Organizing My Purse & Bathroom.)
5. Stay offline for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week. (I share more about why I chose this goal here.)
Update: I did much better about this in May — yay!
6. Leave my phone in the basement every night. (I talk more about what inspired me to make this goal here.)
Update: So, honesty here: Ever since I took email off my phone at the beginning of May, I haven’t really felt such a need to not have my phone by my bed and I’ve sort of slipped out of this habit. But I want to get back to it!
7. Go to bed before 10:30 p.m. 5 days per week. (I’m using this little spreadsheet I made to track most of my personal goals)
Update: I didn’t do a great job of this in May, but I have gotten more sleep ever since the kids have been out of school! 🙂
Marriage Goal
8. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.
Update: We went on an incredibly fun trip to Destin, FL! Jesse and I drove by ourselves to FL and then we met up with two other couples there. We stayed in an AirBNB and split the cost three ways. Since it was off season, it made for a very inexpensive trip and we had the BEST time!
Motherhood Goal
9. One-on-one time with each child at least 3 times per week. (I am planning to dedicate 40 minutes per child after dinner each evening at least three nights per week to hang out and spend time with each child individually.)
Update: I hit this goal every week in May — woohoo!
Family Goal
10. Take the kids to at least two continents and 4 states we haven’t traveled to. (We’re hoping to travel to Europe in the summer and South America at some other point during the year.)
Update: We traveled to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa together at the end of May. Also, we booked tickets to Europe!! We’re actually headed to Iceland since that’s where we found the cheapest tickets! Stay tuned for more details on these trips!
Financial Goals
11. Pay cash to redo our room and renovate our bathroom (we have to pull out the shower and put in a new one because it was installed incorrectly and is leaking and ruining the floor/wall and we want to do a few renovations while we’re at it + we want to finally decorate our room — we left it really bare when we moved in and decided to wait to prioritize it in the budget).
Update: We picked a contractor and tile and are hoping to get this started soon!
12. Pay cash to paint the walls in the main floor of our home.
13. Fully fund our Emergency Fund.
Update: This is DONE! YAY!
Business Goals
14. Redo/set up a much more intentional customer acquisition experience for all three of our email newsletters.
Update: We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes working on this and made some BIG progress in May.
15. Finish launching the rest of our beginner Your Blogging University courses. (If you want to start a blog, be sure to check out my other site, Your Blogging Mentor.)
Update: I’m working on my next course, Monetize Your Blog, and it’s going to be a bigger/more comprehensive course than I’ve ever done but I’m continuing to make good progress.
16. Launch a Blog Coaching/Accountability Group membership. (I’ll be opening this up to a very limited number of people in January of 2019. Stay tuned!)
Update: We opened this up to new members in April and I’m just loving leading this! Interested in being the first to find out when we open up to new members again? Be sure to join the waitlist!
How are the 100 days of family fun going? Our summer break starting soon looking for inspiration
So well! Have you been following along on Instagram?
I always appreciate your example to read more, Crystal! I set a goal to read 36 books (including audiobooks) this year, and I’m mostly keeping up with it—thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
Oh, and I’ve also made a habit of leaving my phone in another room every night, and it’s been the BEST thing! Less mindless screen time has helped me in so many ways.
YAY! I’m so proud of you! Thank you for sharing — and for your kind encouragement!
I love these goals! I have been listening to your podcasts lately and just been really inspired by you. I struggle with taking care of myself and being able to “do it all” as a work-at-home mom, homesteader, and homeschool mom without much of a support system so of course, you know how that goes – I have no time to take care of myself.
But recently after listening to your podcasts I’ve been working in little pockets of “me” time. I listen to podcasts (yours right now) while I milk my goats. I read for 10 minutes every day (right now I’ve picked books that you suggested on productivity) and that has been amazing. Also inspired by how you take care of your health but I always feel overwhelmed by trying to take care of myself so i made myself a little challenge – 30 days of eating salad at least once a day. So I usually have salad for lunch. No other rules. Just starting out small. After 30 days maybe I can add another change.
So, thanks for laying it all out for us. For sharing your goals with us. It’s helping me in this season of life.
Also, as a blogger I’ve looked at your blogging resources but wondered if you have ever considered doing one on one coaching? That’s definitely something I would pay for. 🙂
I love this comment so much! Thank you for taking the time to share! This really blessed me!
Crystal, John and I, Aaron and Rachel spent a couple days in Iceland enroute to and from Sweden four years ago, and John and I are hoping to go back. We loved it. We toured Reykjavik city and spent a sizeable portion of a day at the Blue Lagoon. Fabulous!!! When we return, John and I want to spend time at Iceland’s National Parks. Such a diverse island, with so much to fascinate. Take into consideration what others have said about rain gear and the possibility of it being much cooler than a Tennessee summer 🙂 When we return we want to go at a time of the year when it is most likely one would see the Aurora Borealis which is usually late fall to early spring. But one fantastic part of going in the summer, as we did, was having the midnight sun!!! In fact we flew out of Reykjavik to Stockholm at 0100 am and it was nearly broad daylight. 🙂 Have a great time! So wonderful your family are making these travels a priority goal.
Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I had heard to expect it to be a high of 48 degrees and to be really wet and overcast and light all the time! So we’re trying to plan accordingly!
I’ve found the tickets to Iceland are good. But the stay can be expensive. Looking forward to see how you meet your budget while there. This will be a big help for my travel plans.
I’ve done a lot of research into ways to save money there and we’re excited to see if we can stick with our budget set for the trip!
Iceland is stunning! We stopped there for a few days last summer on our way to London. The biggest challenge was packing for 2 completely different climates. When the travel pros say “waterproof” clothing & shoes, they MEAN waterproof clothing& shoes! It’s incredibly expensive to eat there so we packed granola bars for quick breakfasts before heading out. I absolutely loved being there, even if it was cool, rainy and gloomy all the time.
We’re planning to bring a suitcase full of food so that we hopefully won’t have to spend much on food! We’ll see! I did a lot of research trying to figure out the best way to do it inexpensively.
My in-laws have been to Iceland and they loved visiting. They would love to go back!
Thanks so much! We’re really excited!