2012 Goals (Part 1)

Okay, so this is my third fourth attempt at a New Year's Resolution post, and the third fourth time is the charm right?

My first attempt was a post about how I was going to make New Year's "Objectives" and not "Resolutions" for multiple reasons, but I stopped myself, deleted the post, and started over.

My second attempt was then to write a post about my 2011 New Year's Resolution of Simplifying and how although I made progress last year, I still have a long way to go, so that was going to be my one resolution again for 2012.

Delete. Rinse. Repeat.

My third attempt was then to talk about how I was making this way too complicated (which was ironic considering I was trying to post about simplifying), and I was trying to have all these profound resolutions but I couldn't seem to boil them down like I wanted to.

But now I'm back to square one where I'm not making resolutions, but goals for next year. Resolutions get a bad rep, because no one ever keeps them. At least not the majority that's for sure. I'm a goal-oriented person, so this year, its all about 2012 Goals!

Instead of trying to make something all profound, I'm throwing in the towel and just posting everything that I want to achieve in 2012 (subject to change by the minute apparently). I'm going to try make things a little more specific this year. In no particular order...

Actually Budget

• Update budget spreadsheet for 2012 financial goals/anticipated expenses.
• Update budget spreadsheet weekly with actual expenses.
• Once a month, review, update spreadsheet, and add new budget goal for the following month.
• Reduce total credit card balances by 75% by December 31st, 2012.
• Start Emma & Jackson's college funds by March 31st.

Home Resolutions - Become a Better Do-It-Yourselfer

• Update DIY Home Improvement list and plan by January 31st.
• Complete six home improvement projects before December 31st.
• Start the great basement clean-out of 2012!!
• Set up a regular cleaning schedule to free up our weekend time for more fun with the babies!

Continue to Simplify

• Do a 2012 Brain Dump and re-evaluate it monthly.
• Complete Project Simplify by May 31st.
• De-clutter one "thing" a month. Whether that's a whole room, or just a closet.

Health - Take Better care of Me

• Get into a routine where working out three times a week is the norm.
• Set one smaller "healthy" goal to focus on each month.
• Get back into pre-Jackson shape (i.e. lose 13 pounds total)
• Lose 5 lbs by my 32nd Birthday (February 19th)
• Lose 10 lbs (total) by May 31st
• Lose 13 lbs (total) by the 4th of July
• Wean myself off of my daily coffee!
• Continue Photography as my hobby!
• Learn to actually use my speedlite as opposed to just turning it on and hoping for the best.
• Master my camera!

Keep on Blogging
Life passes us by way too fast. I have really enjoyed blogging and it's been almost like therapy for me. I can't believe that its been three years already! It's kind of amazing too about which posts get the most hits (the ones you wouldn't expect). So I really want to keep it up and maybe even try something new!

Since there are only about 5,435 goals that I want to accomplish next year, and most of them probably have multiple parts, I decided to create a 2012 Goals page! One of the things I love about blogging is that it is a great reminder for me on a lot of different things. This is the perfect way for me to keep track of my goals for next year and share any tips or tricks that I may find along the way!

So here goes nothing!