Goals / Plans / Whatever for the New Year

This post had to come sometime, right? And seeing as how it's the 3rd day of the new year... it seemed appropriate that it come sooner rather than later.

In my head I have a perfect picture of what my life will look like when all of my goals and plans become a reality. Or, a somewhat perfect picture. Since laying out a picture of my entire life would be way too overwhelming - and most likely extremely boring - I'll try laying out a perfect day.

Note: Every time I use the word perfect, I really mean "perfect."

source

So here goes -

4:30 - wake up
4:35 - 5:10 exercise
5:10 - 5:30 scripture study
5:30 - 6:10 shower / get ready for work
6:10 - eat breakfast, finish getting lunch ready
6:30 - leave for work
7:00 - 4:00 - work
4:30 - get home
4:40 - 5:40 - take the pups on a walk
5:40 - 6:10 - make dinner
6:20 - eat dinner
7:00 - clean up dinner, pack leftovers for lunch the next day
7:30 - 8:00 - quiet / meditation time
8:00 - 8:45 - read / work on computer (job search, etc)
9:00 - lights out and fall asleep quickly - something that I have a really hard time with sometimes - so that I can wake up early and do it all again

Now that I've listed all of that out, I realize no wonder why a perfect day never happens. It doesn't allow for the time you have to run to the store in the middle of dinner prep because you don't have a critical ingredient. Or the time you decide to visit a friend on the way home and end up staying until 10 pm because the visit is so fun. Or the rare (to the point of extinction) evening you have a date with some handsome and dashing man.

So rather than try to live out a perfect day, now I'm going to just list the things that I hope to get done on a daily - or nearly daily - basis. Things that you can't see in the above list.

Here we go again (in no particular order) -

Daily:

• exercise
• prepare healthy meals
• eat healthy meals
• oil pull
• look for a new job
• read scriptures
• say prayers
• call a sibling (I have 7 - one for every day of the week! :)
• walk the dogs
• meditate 

Weekly:

• visit my maternal grandparents
• declutter something in the house
• do something fun with a friend
• work on at-home business (3x a week)

Monthly:

• get a massage
• visit my paternal grandmother
• go to the temple (2x a month)

While some of my goals for the year are included in the list above, here's everything -

• exercise Mon - Sat
• walk the dogs 3x a week
• don't eat sugar
• start networking better
• get more training if necessary
• oil pulling
• run a 1/2 marathon (signed up for one in April, but it's contingent upon my reaching a certain weight milestone since I don't want to completely beat my body up. if I don't reach the milestone by April, I'll sign up for another one later in the year)
• TRAIN for a 1/2 marathon
• go to Chicago (I have a traveling buddy lined up!)
• talk to my siblings more often (at least once a month each)
• respond positively - retrain my brain to look for the positives
• find a new job - that has a good chance of becoming a career
• meal plan
• weekly planning / goal setting
• move into an apartment or house of my own
• renew my membership with therapy animals of utah
• be more empathetic and understanding
• read scriptures daily
• when I get off track, get right back on track
• recognize that not sticking to plan doesn't mean I failed
• eat healthy
• attend the temple twice a month
• say twice daily prayers
• develop a healthier mindset
• be more cheerful
• lose 80 lbs - that may be a goal that needs two years to accomplish, so 50 lbs is my first goal
• be more forgiving of myself and others
• learn three songs on the ukulele (Christmas present)
• learn three songs on the guitar I bought many, many years ago
• become healthy and fit - not because of looks or a number on the scale, but because I'm not healthy right now and that needs to change
• decide what I want to be when I grow up

Reading over that list is slightly overwhelming for me. So I'll bring it down. Waaay down.

Spiritual

• pray twice daily
• read scriptures daily
• attend the temple twice a month

Physical

• lose 80 lbs
• run a half marathon
• improve hygiene (oil pull) 

Mental

• recognize the positive
• be more grateful
• default to cheerful

Personal

• get into a better job (and move into a new place)
• take a fun trip (Chicago!)
• spend more time outside

Okay, so that's still a lot, and some of these things will require other things from my longer list as baby steps to get there. I haven't laid out all the planning and tasks required for each one, but I'm starting to recognize exactly where it is I want to go this year. A big part of accomplishing them will be to set monthly goals that are more specific and measurable. So I'll work on that too.

As much as I like writing about them, I'm really looking forward to getting into it and making progress however slowly.

My next post should be - will hopefully be - how I'll be forgiving myself when I mess up. (: