2018 Goals + Intentions: January

I know it’s the middle of February and I’m just getting around to declaring my “new years resolutions” when most people have long forgotten about theirs.. Side note: does anyone else feel like January took FOR-EV-ER to pass, but February is flying by?! Anyways, since this here blog thing took longer than expected to get up and running I’m going to be playing a little catch up to bring you up to speed on my goals and intentions for 2018 and will be back in a couple days for February’s goals and intentions.

I have a hard time keeping New Year’s resolutions. But don’t we all? I do better when I set goals for myself. For me, having an end goal and working towards that end goal is more attainable. Breaking up a big goal into smaller, more attainable goals makes getting to that finish line that much easier.

For 2018, I set 8 goals for myself (and 5 fun travel goals!) and I’m going to set small monthly goals that will help keep me on track towards achieving my 8 goals and intentions by the end of 2018. I’ll be checking back in each month to see how I did for that month and set new intentions for the next month. Below are my 8 goals and intentions for 2018, my goals for the month of January, and at the bottom of this post a little blurb about why I’m not making any diet changes in 2018.

My 2018 Goals + Intentions

1. Less screen time, more learning – I spend a lot of useless time on my phone (social media, rechecking email every 5 minutes, and candy crush mostly). To combat that I plan to read more books and listen to more podcasts.
2. Organize and simplify – Specifically, I want to organize our apartment to maximize the minimal space we have. We also have a storage space full of childhood memories and random crap that needs to be downsized. I also intend to be more efficient with my photo organization (ie: dump my phone photos at the end of each month)
3. Finish our space – The only room that feels completely “done” to me is our living room. Some rooms just need minor things done with them for me to check them off as being done, and others need a bit more work- our dining room needs a complete rehaul (new dining room set, an area rug, entry way furniture).
4. Adulting (fun I know.) – Refinance my student loans, create a better budget and stick to it, make check up appointments for dentist/doctor/ophthalmologist etc.
5. Grow EAT healthy designs – EAT was on the back burner in 2017 due to our new job positions, moving, and finding a new life balance. Now that we have a better handle on our day to day lives I feel like I can devote more time to growing EAT in the coming year.
6. Continue to choose non toxic products that work for us. This was one of my goals for 2017 and I actually made good progress with it. I’m still trying to find a good balance of products that work for my face, a good non toxic shampoo, and better cleaning products.
7. Move more – Make it to the gym more, go on more hikes, get steps in, make it to more yoga classes.
8. Be creative – I’ve always been creative but I feel like in the past couple of years that side of me has been shoved aside. I don’t quite know how I am going to accomplish this; maybe I’ll start by finishing a quilt I started while I was in grad school. maybe.

TRAVEL GOALS (my favorite):

1. Portland – as our Christmas / birthday gifts to each other. Neither of us have been, but it’s been at the top of our travel bucket list for a few years now and I can’t wait to cross it off next month!
2. Europe – we are headed to London, Paris, Milan/Lake Como, and Berlin in a couple months to celebrate my cousins graduating college! (and they obviously need chaperones)
3. Boston – because we heard that Trav’s Green Bay Packers will be playing my New England Patriots in Foxborough and the last time these two teams played each other was 2014 and the last time they played together in Foxborough was in 2010! And like we need another reason to visit one of our favorite cities
4. Antelope Canyon / Page, AZ – Another bucket list place that is within a reasonable driving distance from us. Maybe this is the year we make that trip!
5. At least one camping trip – we have everything we need to tent camp and my grandparents trailer is always available for our use so why not make use of it all?! We actually had reservations to go up to Big Sur last year but then plans changed. I would like to make at least 1 camping trip this year (tent or trailer).

For the month of January my intentions were (that coincide with the above goals): 

1. Find and read one book that interests me.
2. Organize our guest bathroom and get rid of products that have not or will not be used anytime soon. Also, transfer the photos I have on my phone onto my external hard drive before the beginning of the year and then at the end of each month.
3. Since I’m going to be organizing our guest bathroom, I intend to print out, frame, and hang palm tree pictures to be “done” with decorating one more room.
4. Create a budget with Trav so we can crack down on saving money to travel this year.
5. Find 4-5 local markets to attend with EAT in 2018.
6. Order wool balls for our dryer to switch out our dryer sheets.
7. Hit the gym 3x/week and take advantage of the great Southern California weather and go on one hike.
8. Pull out the quilt I started while I was in the middle of grad school (3 years ago..) and make progress on it.

Why I’m not making any diet changes in 2018.

We eat our fair share of greens and ice cream and I don’t plan to cut back on either. We limit our intake of red meat to almost none, and eat vegan or vegetarian meals weekly. We eat to satisfy our taste buds, and to nourish our bodies. There is no need to cut out sugar, carbs or any other nutrient for that matter because it just leads to an unhealthy obsession with food. Food is meant to be enjoyed and that’s what I plan to continue to do – enjoy my food.

So there you have it. I’ll be back in a couple days to break down what worked and didn’t work in January and my intentions and small goals for February.