Life By Kristen

2012 Goals

It’s over a month in from the start of the New Year and my new writing adventure, but here I am posting about what I want for this year. I’m not normally behind the ball so much when it comes to timely updates, but I’ll blame the unseasonably warm weather this winter on my uncharacteristic procrastination and slight laziness.

So in addition to the Twelve Changes initiative, I also have set a theme for 2012 that was the result of my participating in Stratejoy’s end of year Joy Council: Savor and Focus ( the amazing Molly has come up with a great course to set your own theme & help you jump start your year with this magical course– check it out).

I will savor moments, enjoy every endeavor, focus on me and the things I want. For 2012, I’ve set out a lot of goals and things I want to do for myself. Here are some action items I’ve already laid out( in random order):

1. Read 50 new books this year. So far I’m at 7. I’m keeping track via GoodReads and because I’m a stationary addict, I’m also keeping track in a small notebook in my bag.

2. Tackle at least three items on my 30×30 list. #9 ( cooking class) is happening mid-March- Indian cooking! #12 & 13 will happen this spring/summer at the house. I feel confident  I can work on a few more before years end, or at least get the planning for them in place.

3. Grow out my hair for Locks of Love. I did this back in college & after a colleague recently cut hers for the organization, I’m ready to do it again.

4. Create at least one thing from Pinterest a week. This is a big goal, but considering half of my boards are related to the house or cooking, I feel pretty confident I can achieve this. This past Sunday, I made chicken broccoli casserole ( blog post forthcoming) and this coming Sunday I will do a dessert for my family’s Sunday dinners.

5. Stop complaining about my weight gain and actually do something about it. So far this goal has been a lot of thinking about it and little action other than to add exercise DVDs to my Netflix queue.

6. Get serious about writing- this blog, freelance, my book ideas, my journaling. It’s always the first thing I knock off  doing or make excuses for ( well, besides exercise, clearly).

7. Make better attempts at communication & plans with friends, family ( this is also my 12 Changes goal for February). I’m getting a bit better with this and going out more with various people. Still trying to get a hold of the budget situation so has been interesting. I should just be inviting friends over to hang out and play games so it’s cheap for everyone, but I keep using the excuse that the house is a mess for not having people over. LAME ( really who cares?)

I feel pretty confident that I have given myself achievable goals and that these goals have measurable and definable outcomes to measure my success. The Pinterest challenge will be fun to document on the blog, as will my reading recommendations and reviews- which will help with another goal of working on my writing.

What sorts of goals or things do you want to work on this year?