To be honest, I mostly think New Year's resolutions are mostly dumb. They're usually too big and broad, and often designed to fail and just make you feel bad around March when it's all gone out the window.
I do, however, love lists and goal setting in general. A few times a year I'll make ongoing lists of goals for different aspects of life and revisit them from time to time (generally when I'm searching for something in an old notebook and come across it accidentally). I like seeing how things evolve over time and some goals get achieved while others no longer feel important and that's okay.
If you look at goals as an evolving process it's easier to keep up with them, because there's no pressure to suddenly make dramatic shifts on January 1 or else all is lost. The dates are arbitrary, so goals might take years and roll from one year into the next and that's fine. The idea is to always be thinking about what needs tweaking and what daily habits are helping build the life you desire.
Here are my 25 goals off the top of my head as we begin 2025. Let's see where this year takes us!
WELLNESS & SELF CARE
Bring back the flexitarian lifestyle (before kids I was mostly vegetarian with flexibility for meat when I felt I needed it, where did that go?)
Self-care Sundays (not that Sundays mean that much in our self-employed/shift work home, but still a chance to wind down the evenings with some me time)
Daily movement (before coffee!)
HOME
Finish the last 15% (who else loves projects but tends to leave the last annoying 15% for "later", but later never seems to come...)
Practice the art of hospitality (always envious of people who know how to elevate having someone over into something special in a simple and lovely way)
Keep a deep cleaning schedule (the really big or yuck jobs are so easy to put off, but so satisfying when they're done!)
COOKING
Continue to experiment with gluten free baking (very interested in gluten free but not so convinced by my efforts thus far)
Experiment with paleo and plant-based desserts (curb the sugar cravings that haunt me in the evenings)
Try some things off the sourdough bucket list (cooking sourdough or cookies in the smoker, the "unloaf", new scoring patterns, focaccia muffins...)
FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
Make seasonal bucket lists to savour each season (otherwise the time just slips away)
Plan a summer trip (we have something fun in mind but it won't happen if we don't plan it!)
Increase the kids' responsibilities in the house and foster their sense of personal responsibility (I dislike the word "chores", I want them to see household work as just something we all do together)
Plan date nights and maybe a getaway with my husband (we are terrible at this! Sub-goal: find a babysitter)
PROJECTS
Try harder on the garden this year and see some results (I say I'm a bad gardener but really I just plant and lose interest)
Work on the backyard (we have big dreams and a small budget; will need creativity)
Build a front porch (I don't know if it will happen this year but it's a dream. Our concrete slab is not so cute)
Continue to dabble with making my own skincare products and even cosmetics (not to sell; just something I started over the last few years and love - fails and all)
WORK & CAREER
Stay on top of my bookkeeping (I am so good at procrastinating any accounting or paperwork tasks)
Practice healthy boundaries and saying no when necessary (getting much easier, but always give the ick as a recovering people-pleaser)
Share more fails (I think fails are really funny and always worth sharing, I just usually forget to grab photos or videos when I'm annoyed something didn't work out)
PERSONAL & SELF CARE
Reflect and celebrate milestones (who else is always focused on what's next, and forgets to celebrate what just happened?)
Schedule actual days off (I say this every year, maybe 2025 is it)
Practice the 2 minute rule (if the task takes 2 minutes or less, do it immediately. Take things off the to-do list before they even go on!)
Plan friend dates and social events (as a big ol' introvert this one is a lot of work for me, I have to push myself to be social and it's always worth it)
Buy myself flowers (I used to do this often and I've lost that habit. Bring back the flowers in 2025!)
