I’m excited for the New Year. I’ve always loved New Year’s goals and resolutions, and while my outlook on yearly goals has changed to a simpler method of 30-day goals or intentions, I am still excited as I try and decide which intentions I would like to focus on throughout the coming year in 2014. I am also excited because I am not requiring myself to complete a specific intention each month of the year, these are goals I would like to incorporate in my life over the course of the whole year, as I figure out where they will fit in my life and schedule. I may do one in January and wait until March to start my next one, depending on what my current circumstances are. The intentions below aren’t in any certain order. Hopefully you will find some of these ideas useful and they will help you in your own path towards intentional living.
30 Days of Simple Meals
I have long since admitted to myself that cooking is NOT my favorite thing to do. I rarely find it relaxing or enjoyable. I wish I did, but I don’t. I would rather spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Once in a while I do get a craving to bake something, but cooking stovetop? Never. That’s why one of my intentions this year is to spend a full month focused on creating simple meals that are delicious and health, but take 30 minutes or less in the kitchen to make. I’ve already confined myself to quick meals like broiling fish, cooking rice and steaming some veggies, but my husband and three kids can’t handle that everyday. For this goal, I am going to find some new, tasteful and healthy dishes that I can add to our menu on a regular basis, that won’t require me to eat up my time sautéing, boiling, frying or poaching. Come join me as I figure out simpler cooking, I’ll post my recipes and successes/failures here!
30 Days of Early Rising
I really enjoy getting up early in the morning. It allows me some quiet time to reflect and relax, and get a few important things done before the kids and my husband wake up. The problem is, to rise early, you need to go to bed early, which is somewhat of a problem as I like to spend time alone with my husband in the evenings, and I also work several nights a week. This is an important intention for me though, as I have realized I truly do need that ‘quiet’ time each day to give me calmness as I start my day. It helps me be a better mother and wife, friend and sister. I don’t feel nearly as hurried throughout the day when I spend some time in the quiet morning stillness. In the past, I usually start the week out by getting up at 5:30am, which lasts until about Thursday morning, and then I am worn out from staying up late while getting up early. I then proceed to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, which throws off my sleep schedule and makes it really difficult when I try to get up early on Monday mornings. So, for this intention, I am going to attempt to get up at 5:30am for 30 days straight, as well as to adjust my work and sleep schedule so I get enough rest at nights. At the end of the 30 days, I’ll reevaluate how it has affected my productivity and family life.
30 Days of Digitizing
It has been a goal of mine for a while now to go completely digital. There will always be some paperwork we have to have like vital records, but, pictures, letters, journals, etc. can all be digitized for safekeeping and in my case, to enjoy more. Most of my pictures are in boxes or scattered in random folders all over my computers. My goal is to have all of our pictures organized by year and event then using our television and digital photo frame, have them display throughout the day. This project will take more than 30 days I’m sure, but I would like to work on it 15 minutes per day for a month and see how far I get. My intention for this goal is to remember our experiences and enjoy them more by viewing pictures regularly, which I hope will cut down on the feeling of needing to buy mementos when we go places.
30 Days of Less Shopping
With this intention, I would really like to challenge myself to go shopping only once per week for all our needs. I often end up running to the store to just grab one item, but make it back with five additional things. I’d like to make a conscious effort to make a list throughout the week, and only buy those things on my list. Once I’ve gone shopping on that day, whether it is for food, clothing, household items, a treat or anything else, that will be the one day of shopping for the week, and anything I forget to put on my list will just have to wait until the following week’s shopping trip. My hopes with this goal is that I will a) save money, b) buy less wants and more needs, c) save money, d) spend less of my time and energy consuming e) save money…
30 Days of Meditation
I’ve read on and off about the benefits of meditation, and I know personally the benefits of being in a calm, quiet environment, but, I have never tried meditation. Frankly, I’m just not sure it’s for me. I just can’t picture myself enjoying sitting cross-legged, or even just sitting without doing anything for a long period of time. I like to think and plan and get things done. However, I’m willing to give it a shot for 30 days, mainly out of curiosity and because meditation gets so many great reviews from those who practice it, then, like my early rising goal, I’ll see if I want it to have a permanent place in my life.
What are some goals or intentions you are setting for this coming year?