Annual Personal Planning Session
Around the New Year, I go away from my house and family for a night for my Annual Personal Planning Session. I used to just set these goals at home, which worked great. But there’s something about getting away from my usual space that invigorates both my creativity and my motivation, which helps my goal setting. I look forward to it every year. My husband travels enough to have hotel points but without that, I think I’d stay at the cheapest hotel I could find because I just shut myself in my room, eat fast food, and work.
First I,
- Review last year’s goals, then I
- Set goals for the coming year
- Put my goals into my weekly calendar/project management system (I learned my productivity system from my STEP program (affiliate link)
I started doing goal categories back in 2013 when I read a friend’s blog, so I thought I’d share my goals here to keep the domino effect going . . .
Goal Categories
I love having goal categories. Setting one goal per category helps me move towards the person I want to be without getting overwhelmed by having too many goals in one category (e.g. health). My goal categories have changed over the years, but right now I set one annual goal in each of these categories:
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Service
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Parenting
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Physical
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Learning/Talent
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Professional
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Travel
My 2020 Goals:
Service:
- Hold a spring photos fundraiser for Supporting Mamas to raise money for perinatal mood disorders
I’m also a photographer and as a postpartum anxiety/insomnia survivor who received a lot of love and support, I’d love to pay it forward.
Parenting:
- Give warm greetings and hugs in the morning, after school, at bedtime
Physical:
- Train for and complete a sprint triathlon.
My husband did his first half-Ironman last year, so I thought it’d be fun to show some interest in his hobby. My knees can’t handle more than a 5k, so sprint distance it is!
Learning/Talent:
- Start learning the guitar! Post a video at the end of the year to show my progress.
Professional:
- Post 100 articles on Money Fit Moms
Each post takes me for-ev-er, so this will be my stretch-goal for sure . . .
Lastly, my favorite category,
Travel:
- Go to Austin City Limits music festival
I love concerts, so this is a definite bucket list item for me.
Review of 2019 Goals
Color Legend: Accomplished. Did Okay. Fail.
Service/Charity:
- Be more involved in kids activities: Classroom Reader and Team Mom
I was a Team Mom for basketball. Also, I’ve been reading in both classrooms for the program that teaches social/emotional intelligence every month. It’s a great experience and I love it.
Parenting:
- Spend 6:15-6:30 pm before making dinner bonding with kids.
Eh. Honestly, I kind of forgot about doing this specifically. But I’ve been doing better at putting everything down and getting down on the floor to build a train track or play a game of Candyland.
Physical:
- Train for and complete the MS Century Bike Ride — 100 MILES!
Learning/Talent Development:
- Listen to every episode of Spanish podcasts (1) Duolingo and (2) Españolistos
I fell off the wagon on this one. But I did listen to a lot and have made some progress on my Spanish.
Professional:
- Study personal finance and personal growth, start to develop a web presence
Money Fit Moms was created out of a desire to make the world a better place. Unfortunately making a website people will find involves a lot of work and self-promotion. It’s been an uphill battle (emotionally and otherwise), but I’ve made steady progress. Last year, I earned an additional certification as a Personal Financial Education Instructor. I also completed the majority of a blogging course and created a functional blog (this one!). Money Fit Moms also has pages on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and a growing email list.
One Nagging Task:
- Save half the money needed to re-landscape our yards
So this one is sort of wiggly because we were not expecting to move this last year. So, we do have a new backyard . . . and a new house. And we love our new backyard, so consider this done!
Travel:
- Take surfing lessons
Also, sort of wiggly. We took a more chill approach to Hawaii this year and didn’t manage surf lessons, but I did learn how to wake surf in Lake Powell, so I’m counting it!
