2016 Goals

Remember when I mentioned that if I get overwhelmed I tend to just stick my head in the ground and quit sharing back when I talked about my One Word for 2016 (Grow)? Yeahhhhh, well, consider that as being the case these days. I had grand plans for being on top of 2016 and those are all still there, they just kind of got pushed to the back burner while I got my head knocked around by reality for a little bit. But here's the thing, especially as I start talking about my 2016 goals - just because you didn't meet a goal, doesn't mean you should throw it out the window. It just means you need to re-evaluate, adjust where needed, and get back to it. So with that, let's talk goals for a moment.

First, I am going to be quick to admit that I'm pretty good about setting goals. Working towards them? That's a whole other issue. hahaha I can set them, I can apply SMART goal setting techniques, I can come up with plans for meeting them but in the end, more often than not, I get off the beaten track and end up tossing them out the window. BUT...I'm determined to not let that happen in 2016. I'm determined to pick myself back up, dust off my britches, and get back to it if I get knocked off of the proverbial horse. Like right now...dusting myself off.

I did a lot of thinking about my goals and coming up with meaningful ones for me to work on this year...and I'm actually really excited about them and the possibilities of where they can take me!

Goal #1 - Be Financially Responsible
Ahhhhh - yes, MONEY!! It's necessary, but it sure is the bane of our existence sometimes. And it can cause so much grief if not handled appropriately. Here is it broken down:

• Set a budget monthly. My husband and I have a day calendared towards the end/beginning of each month to sit down and do a full review of how we did that month and create the plan for the next month making sure we budget for any extras like vehicle registrations, repairs of any kind, debt payoffs, etc. 
• Balance the checkbook each week to ensure nothing is getting missed and everything is hitting the account as it should be.
• Create a spending report for the month and use it as a balanced scorecard to assess if we are being financially responsible

Sure this isn't a glamorous goal and doesn't elicit all kinds of excitement like, perhaps, training for a first marathon or other life event. But this one sets the stage for everything else because if I'm spending all my time stressing about money, I won't have the energy to do the rest of what life requires.

Goal #2 - Position Myself for a Work Promotion

There's a possible opportunity for me to get a promotion this year at work and it's the one I've been waiting for. I've had several other chances to do other things at work that would have brought me increased pay, but for me anyways, work is about so much more than what I take home in my paycheck. So I made the conscious decision to hang back in the intention that down the road the job I want will open up. I think it is very real that this could happen in 2016. So in order to prepare myself for that I have some objectives outlined:

• Enhance my professional appearance - I always dress nice and professional especially when I consider the campus culture, but my feeling is that I take "casual Friday" and dressing down in summer more seriously than I need to. I would rather up my game in that arena and be dressing nicer rather than dressing with the crowd. I'm not talking super fancy like suits when the work culture is skirts and sweaters; but I'm talking that I can wear a nice pair of jeans with some appropriate boots, sweater or blouse and accessories. I don't need to wear a t-shirt to work pretty much ever. Simply put.
• I've been given the opportunity to participate in a year-long leadership program at work, and I'm so excited that I was selected. It's about 22 people that were nominated by their division leadership and it's a great group of people that are most likely the future generation of movers and shakers here at the college. So I'm quite humbled to be in such an esteemed group of colleagues. So needless to say, I'm planning on totally rocking the program and getting everything I can out of it.
• Start my Bachelor's Degree program. It's been too long and I've pushed it back enough. It's time to get it done. My plan is to be in my program by summer (July/August depending on when the cohort starts). To get there I need to secure my financial aid package (this goes with the financial responsibility goal too) and clear some stuff off of the personal plate to ensure my brain is available to get back in the swing of the educational game.
• And of course, be a stellar employee that is focused on work when I'm there. I need to cut out some of the distractions and be fully present in what I'm working on.

Goal #3 - Get to Goal Weight

No really...get to goal weight and keep it off! I know that I'm one of those people that has set this goal every year for so long, but I'm not going to let that keep me from chasing it this year again. I will meet it. I will. My objectives to accomplish this:

• I set this goal with my running coach, so we are going to be working on it together...talk about accountability!
• I will track my calories even though I hate it and I will drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I will pack my lunches more often than not and I will train consistently.
• I developed a reward plan that goes into effect on February 1 so I will earn some money to help me buy new clothes as I shrink out of what I have...or just to buy fun stuff along the way like kick-ass tunes or new books.
• I have plans to add back in some lunch time walks too, but I need to move it out of the "plan to" stage and into the "doing" stage. 
• (FYI - I'm down 6 pounds since the first of the year! Woohoo!!) 

Goal #4 - Develop My Blog
Yeah this little space of mine over here that I like to so often neglect. The reality is that I enjoy blogging, I just don't want to make it my career. So I've done a lot of thinking about what that means and how I should go about blogging without it consuming my every waking moment. (Obviously, I haven't done a very good job getting this one off the ground yet in 2016...but I'm dusting myself off!!)

• Blog 3x a week minimum on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
• Develop a solid editorial calendar and stick to it as much as possible
• Set an appointment for writing content every night when I get home
• Study at least one blogging resource a week
• Attend the 2016 IDEA BlogFest!! (So excited about this one and that I get to attend as a Sweat Pink Ambassador!)
• Represent the brands that I am an ambassador for through consistent posting on social media and with appropriate blog posts

I have some other lesser goals like read more, journal more, perform maintenance around the house on a somewhat consistent schedule (like baseboard cleaning, light plate covers...things like that), check back in on my goals each month, etc. Those are more intentions of how I want to live though rather than a solid GOAL that I can measure. I also have three running specific goals that I will talk about in the near future. Stay tuned...

So there you have it - my 2016 goals! I think you can probably see that I did put some thought into these and I think they will all help me GROW this year!

QUESTION: Do you have goals set for this year? What are some of them and how are you working on achieving them?