2020 Goals

2020 Goals

• Jan 10, 2020

Last October, I decided to treat myself to the 2020 PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner. I've been a fan of Lara Casey's company, Cultivate What Matters, for a while but had yet to take the plunge on their signature product. It looked a little overwhelming to me – and it's not cheap either! Would I really use an entire planner dedicated solely to goal planning? It felt unnecessary, even if the paper lover in me longed to try one.

After reading a number of blog posts and watching some YouTube reviews, I decided to make the investment. With a baby due in February, I know it probably sounds like the worst time to decide to add another planner to my plate – or even to be thinking about goals. But I want to spend my days doing the things that matter. I want to be present and intentional, in every season of my life. While I don't need a planner to accomplish those things, I love the idea of having a physical reminder that keeps me accountable.  

Here's a look inside PowerSheets, if you're curious. Each planner opens with prep work – some guided goal-coaching worksheets you fill out to help evaluate different areas of your life, identify what worked and what didn't from the past year, and envision what you want your legacy to be and how you can get there. It encourages you to think big picture while celebrating the small steps of progress. As they say: little by little a little adds up to a lot.

I spent the week between Christmas and New Years going through these 34 pages. Once you've done the prep, it's time to choose a word of the year and set your goals. In 2018, I chose a word of the year for the first time. I loved going back to it throughout the year, so I don't know why I didn't choose one in 2019. I was excited to do it again for 2020! Before doing any of the work, I was considering words like: balance, present, thrive, and refresh. As I looked up those definitions, explored synonyms, and read what I'd written about this year, I found it:

Nurture comes from the Latin verb nutrire, meaning "to nourish." As a noun, it can mean "training, upbringing" or "something that nourishes." As a verb, it means to "care for and encourage the growth or development of." Very literally, I will be doing both this year. I'll give birth to a baby that I will nourish and will be caring for the growth and development of both of my sons. In that sense, it perfectly described this upcoming season of my life. 

But I loved it for other reasons, too. There are a lot of changes I'd love to make in 2020. Many are small because realistically, this isn't a year where I can "get it all done" and tackle big projects. I'll be adjusting to life as a mom of two, trying to find our new normal, and looking for every opportunity to rest. Nurture spoke to me in this sense, too. Even at home, I can care for and encourage the growth of my faith, my marriage, my passions, and my habits.

So, let's talk about my goals for 2020 – and how I'm going to nurture them.

Image sources: Photos, Ice Cream, Brothers, Planner, Quote, Plants, Clocks, Door, Bible

Here's my vision board for the year. This was something I've never done before, but it was part of the PowerSheets process. I won't lie – I thought the idea sounded a little dumb at first. But as I tried to synthesize my goals into images, I started having fun. As nerdy as it may be, I loved finding photos that spoke to me and visually represented what I want from 2020. With this in front of me as inspiration, I wrote my big-picture goals:

1. Revitalize my faith through daily time with God. 
It has been a long time, honestly, since I've prioritized my faith. It's been an area of my life that I've treated casually – reading my Bible at random, one-off prayers in times of need, and sporadically attending church. I've long said that I want to deepen my walk with God, but my actions don't reflect that desire. And so, they're words that sound good but mean nothing. This is my main goal for 2020, and it's the one that I hope to see the most progress in.

Mini goals to make it happen: read the entire Bible in one year, use a guided prayer journal, join a small group, memorize Scripture, read Christian non-fiction, and create family faith routines.

2. Nurture my relationship with Nick and our sons.
My relationship with Nick and our two boys is the next most important thing that I want to focus on. Since much of this year will be spent at home, it's a great opportunity to nurture those relationships. However, I know how easy it can be to "get through" each day by going through the motions. I want to be present and intentional. Whether it's reading together or going on adventures, there are so many ways I can invest in my boys.

Mini goals to make it happen: defined technology-free time, create a family bucket list, one-on-one dates with our firstborn, read marriage and/or parenting books, and go on local adventures (hikes, museums, story times, etc.).

3. Grow in my knowledge and stewardship of our finances.
In our marriage, Nick is more of a saver and I'm more of a spender. Thankfully, we're balanced versions of both and thus don't disagree a ton on finances. But I realized recently that I feel very uninformed and, truthfully, lazy about money. While I'm happy with the way Nick and I have divided our household responsibilities, I want to be more attuned to our budget, our savings goals, and how we're planning for the future.

Mini goals to make it happen: use a budgeting app, read a finance book, complete the Contentment Challenge, unsubscribe from all marketing/sales emails, identify savings goals, and  have a quarterly budget review with Nick.

4. Invest time in the hobbies that bring me joy. 
Books and blogging had to be on my list, of course! Reading is my favorite form of self care, and I want to continue to make time for it when the new baby arrives. I've set some low-key reading goals for myself this year, and I'm excited to work towards completing them. And this blog is such a fun space for me to be creative! It isn't the right year for me to challenge myself to grow my audience, but I do want to commit to continuing to post.

Mini goals to make it happen: read 100 books in 2020, blog 2x per week, complete the Picky Pledge Challenge, make a #10toReadin2020 list, and buy one book from an independent bookstore per month.

5. Create purposeful monthly, weekly, and daily routines. 
One of the things that came up over and over again in my prep work was how much I want to establish new routines for myself and my family. From meal planning to seasonal traditions, these types of rhythms can make me more productive. I use too much brain space and time when I'm winging it! That being said, I'll be going slow with this goal since early newborn days don't always lend themselves to solid schedules.

Mini goals to make it happen: add recipes to Plan to Eat for streamlined meal planning, create a house cleaning plan, schedule monthly review + planning sessions, and identify my ideal morning and evening routine.

6. Record and preserve our family memories. 
I've always lamented my lack of a system when it comes to digital photos. I recently culled and organized my photos from 2007-2015 but stopped in 2016 (when my son was born and my photos exponentially increased). My goal for 2020 is to catch up on this project and develop habits so it doesn't get out of control again. I'm also working towards catching up on my firstborn's childhood journal, as well as consistently filling one out for the new baby.

Mini goals to make it happen: cull photos from 2017-2019, organize photos from 2017-2019, backup all photos to two places, create yearly photo albums, and schedule monthly childhood journaling sessions.

Obviously, these six goals are somewhat vague. Most are on-going things that don't have a specific end point or a clear way to measure whether they were completed or not. However, I do have ways I plan to break these down into smaller action items that are more measurable. Completing those things will help me see whether or not I'm making progress! One way I'll do that (which ties into the routines goal) is to share monthly goals here on the blog. I'll have at least one mini monthly goal per yearly goal and will record my progress here for accountability. If you check back next week, I'll be sharing my January 2020 Goals.

Will I look back at the end of the year and feel like I should have been more specific? Possibly! But I know that this will be a year with a lot of change, regardless of the goals I set, so I want to have grace for myself. Do I think PowerSheets are worth the investment? Time will tell. I will definitely track my progress with them throughout the year and will fully answer this question in December. Right now, I'm excited to get started and see what happens!

Have you made any goals for 2020?
Or chosen a word of the year?