Life By Kristen

Taking On 2013

Every blogger seems to  be putting out their 2013 goals this week. My theme for the year is ‘be about it,’ and I’ve outlined some goals for myself for this year.

Finances

– Switch over all retirement stuff to one firm

– Knock out 5% of debt

-One Month No Buy Challenge- I completed a no groceries month last year & I am going to try for a no new purchases of any kind for the month of February. The only purchases allowed are gas and perishable foods.

– Continue to grow my emergency fund

Health

-Do more walking and start weight training at home with kettlebell

-Eat breakfast everyday- and no coffee alone is not a breakfast, Kristen. Nor is cake or cookies.

House

– Set up a working office/reading/painting room

– Get new blinds for the entire house & new privacy sheers for front door & sunroom

– Paint front door inside&out, scrape/paint interior of sunroom

-Clean up and prettify backyard including new back fence

– Larger summer/fall vegetable garden

– Research remodeling attic

Lifestyle

– Be more social: Go to more events sponsored by museums, lectures, make plans with friends for day trips, trivia nights, etc.

– Have friends& family over for dinner at least once a month: I love to cook and one of the downsides of living alone is cooking for one because it’s never as much fun as cooking for loved ones. I want to have more friends over for dinner and game nights and make weeknight dinners for my parents and close family

-Read 50 books: I tried for this last year and came up short, but I’m tackling again. This year I really want to focus more on the ‘classics’ and various books that always comes up on people’s favorite all time lists.

-Get with it with the blog, including making a decision about self-hosting and being disciplined with posting

-Disciplined with freelance writing: I fell out of this by the middle of 2012

– Scan and organize career portfolio of media articles, exhibit reviews, work achievements, etc.

-Get out of house more to do the things I love: This is sort of in the same vein as being more social. I am by nature a homebody a lot more than an out and about gal, but a few of the things I love to do do not have to be confined to my home. I want to read more at coffee shops, go to the beach to read and walk after work ( something I did not do AT ALL in the summer of 2012- a real crime since I drive past 2 on my commute), and spend time writing in places other than my desk at home.

Yes, there’s a lot there, but I think all of these have easy, action steps that with focus and “being about it,” I can have success. 2013 is starting off with lots of little annoying to dos: change name on passport, transfer car registration, etc. but these small items are even easily done when laid out clearly. Writing down my intentions and desires for the upcoming year used to overwhelm me, but now I see them as a fluid outline of how I want my life to be in the year ahead. I have big ideas and things I want as I head into the next decade of my life, but I’m feeling very confident that I can do it all and even tackle the new things as they come up.