Over the last two weeks, I’ve given a lot more thought to what specific (and general) goals I want to set for myself in 2014.
Believe it or not, I’ve relaxed a lot on my goal-setting over the past few years — and last year, I only set one “umbrella goal” to have a year of Ultra Simplicity.
It was kind of weird to have only one goal — but I do think that one umbrella goal helped me to prioritize the many other smaller goals I had throughout the year.
When a new project, idea, or goal came to mind, I could step back and evaluate whether it would help my overall goal of Ultra Simplicity. If not, I said “no” or maybe tried to tweak the idea/project/goal a bit. If so, I would push forward with that idea/project/goal.
And as I mentioned last week, when I look back over 2013, I can confidently say that Dave and I successfully lived quite simply in many, many areas of our life.
We simplified our budget and lived below our means to pay off another large chunk of our mortgage and do a bunch of landscape renovations.
We simplified our schedules and said ‘no’ to SO many opportunities for the sake of our sanity.
We simplified our home by purging A LOT!
We simplified our daily lives by allowing more free time, taking more breaks, and overall just moving at a slower pace.
Obviously, there were still stressful times, there were still very busy periods, and there were still plenty of bumps in the road — but having that umbrella goal of Ultra Simplicity really set the tone early on for 2013.
I loved it!
However this year, I’m feeling the need for a bit more structure. I want to lay out a few more specific goals for myself — but still with that overall theme of simplicity in mind (because I know that’s how I live and work best).
With that said, I’ve included a few of my 2014 goals below. The list is not exhaustive of everything I want to accomplish — and I never shy away from adding new goals to my list throughout the year. However, I did want to outline a few of the larger goals I have for the coming year.
Personal Goals:
1. Be as relaxed and laid back as I can when the new baby comes.
This was really hard for me with Nora because I had super unrealistic expectations of what all I’d be capable of after she was born (after all, I didn’t know what to expect — and I certainly didn’t expect a baby who never slept!)
I know that some things will be easier with the 2nd baby (I’ll actually know how to change a diaper and be a little more prepared for the sleepless nights)… but there will be other aspects that will be a lot more challenging the 2nd time around — like how to manage a newborn and a very active toddler (while working and running our house).
I’m the type of person who likes to “go-go-go”, be productive, and cross things off my list. It is extremely difficult for me to to sit back and relax… or (gasp) do nothing! However, my goal is to sit back and relax as much as possible — or at least as much as I feel necessary.
2. Get more sleep.
Obviously I don’t have full control over my sleep anymore, but I absolutely need to make sleep a priority for my own sake — even if it means falling asleep in Nora’s bed (or with the new baby) so we both get some rest.
3. Lose my baby weight.
I didn’t have any issues with this when Nora was born, but I’ve already gained a decent amount more weight than I did with Nora and I HATE exercising — so I felt the need to add this to my goals for the year (to hopefully motivate me a bit more!)
Family Goals:
1. Get Nora moved to her upstairs bedroom ASAP.
Seriously friends, her bedroom has been ready for over a month — I just need to install a closet rod and paint one more piece of furniture! We were purposely waiting to move her up there until after the holidays (since we had out of town guests staying in that room) but it’s time.
I need to get my butt in gear and get Nora moved upstairs — plus, I want to finish her room so I can share all the pictures with you!
2. Potty train Nora.
This is another area I’ve been pretty laid back in — and it’s probably totally my fault that she isn’t potty trained already.
We have a potty seat, she has her big girl underwear, she frequently asks to go potty on the “big girl potty”, and she successfully pees on the potty somewhat regularly. But I have yet to bite the bullet for a few days and fully potty train her.
I want to do it now (because I’m fairly confident she’s ready) but I also know that having a new baby in 2 months could cause her to regress — and then I’d have to start over again. So I guess we’ll just see how much energy I can muster up and if I accomplish this either before or after the baby comes.
Either way, it’s a 2014 goal for sure!
3. Create time for just Dave and me.
I’m not someone who advocates strongly for weekly (or even monthly) “date nights” because neither Dave or I feel it’s necessary to actually go out and do something to feel connected or to have fun. We’re both satisfied with sitting at home, watching a movie, playing a game, or just taking a walk.
However, it is nice to have at least some kid-free time to do those activities — and since Nora hasn’t been the best sleeper, Dave and I have not had much kid-free time over the past 2 years (it’s actually extremely sad when I sit down and think back over how little time we’ve had together since she was born).
I realize this will only get harder with 2 kids — so I’m putting this as one of our family goals. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but I do want to try to implement a little more time for just Dave and I on a semi-regular basis.
**Since we have no idea how life with a new baby (and 2 kids) is going to go, we’ve resisted the urge to set too many family goals this year. Basically, we all just want to survive with as little stress and as much fun as possible 🙂
Financial Goals:
1. Fully fund our retirement accounts (we both have Roth IRAs).
This is a goal of ours every year — and for the past few years, the amount to ‘fully fund’ has gone up each year. However, since we feel this is a really important use of our money, we budget accordingly each year and have the investment money directly withdrawn from our bank account every month.
2. Pay off 1/3 of our remaining mortgage.
Our goal is to have our mortgage paid off in 3 years (before Nora starts school) which means that for the next 3 years, we will be making our regular monthly payments (with additional towards the premium each month) PLUS making a few “lump-sum” principal-only payments throughout the year.
Please keep in mind that we purchased our house for a very good price and although we’re spending a decent amount in home renovations, our goal (ever since we got married) was to have our mortgage completely paid off before our kids started school. So this is something we’ve already been thinking about, saving for, and working towards since we purchased our first home 7 years ago.
**We do have various smaller financial goals (and new goals regularly surface) but these are our two main financial goals for 2014.
Farmhouse Goals:
1. Get the nursery cleaned up, repainted, set up, and stocked for baby boy.
This is pretty self explanatory — and will probably just be a weekend project without much expense at all. Of course, we first need to move Nora out of that room…
2. Finish the other 1/2 of our landscaping project.
As you might remember, we tackled a pretty massive landscape renovation this past summer. And while we already did the bulk of the work (both financially and physically) we still have more to do.
We need to finish landscaping along our driveway (which might mean knocking out a few more trees) and along the new fence we installed last year. We also need to address a huge dying tree that we’ve unsuccessfully tried to revive — and then figure out what to put in its place.
3. Get a new front door and front picture window.
I’ve always hated our front door and front picture window — and ever since we finished our kitchen renovation, the front door actually opens directly into a wall (which I probably don’t need to tell you is extremely awkward!)
So this coming summer, we’re planning to swap out the door for a more attractive one that also opens the right way – and then swap out the picture window for one that will allow for more ventilation into our living room.
The main reason we’ve put this off for so long is because we have a feeling it will also morph into a full-blown living room renovation — so that’s why we’re saving it for a summer project 🙂
4 . A new mudroom / bathroom and laundry renovation.
OK, so I’m actually not super optimistic this is going to happen in 2014 — but I really want it to, so I’m adding it to my list!
Right now, we have both a laundry room AND a full bathroom directly off our kitchen. And since we have no need for a shower off our kitchen, we’re planning to replace the shower with our stackable washer and dryer to make a laundry room + half-bath combination. This will be totally sufficient for our laundry room and bathroom needs (we already have 2 other large full bathrooms) and it leaves the old laundry room wide open for a fabulous mud room.
It’s the perfect location (right by the back door and the kitchen) and since all the plumbing and vent work is already in place in that bathroom, it actually won’t be THAT big of a project. I just know that this 4th project might need to be placed on the back-burner until everything else is finished first.
Business Goals:
This might sound crazy, but right now, I honestly don’t have any specific business goals.
I’m super happy with how everything is going right now — with my balance between my blog, the VA work I do, and the amount of free time I have for family and friends. My income has dropped a bit due to taking on less projects and responsibilities — but I’m 100% OK with that right now.
Last year at this time, I definitely did not expect to be changing my entire business name — and that certainly was not one of my 2013 goals — it just happened (and I’m glad it did). So I fully expect that 2014 will hold some “surprises” for my business too… but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
For now, I’m enjoying the pace of everything, I’m still loving what I do, I feel good about my daily and weekly “routines”, and I’m just not going to push anything new before the baby comes.
If I can manage everything I’m doing now with the addition of a new baby, I’ll most likely re-evaluate my work goals half way through the year. If I can’t manage, then I’ll re-evaluate sooner!
.
So that’s it for now.
Like I mentioned already, I definitely don’t shy away from altering my goals, adding new goals, or completely eliminating goals as the year progresses. There is no way to know everything the next year has in store for me, for our family, for my business, etc.
So part of goal-setting (at least for me) is to continually evaluate my goals to make sure they are working for me and my life. If not, then I need to tweak them (or completely change them).
I’m excited for another year, for more growth, more projects, more ideas, more planning, more work, and more fun!
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Babs says
Hi Andrea,
Have been a long time reader and user of your blog. You really do it well and as another reader mentioned, consistently. Thanks for that! I reference the older posts from time to time. Seasonally there are ideas and inspiration I have used.I have downloaded and am beginning this year to use your financial tracker…have not consistently had a need to use Excel before so I hope I can.
I’m a YNAB and Evernote user and have written to you encouraging you to try these. I was happy to see that you DID explore and now use Evernote. I can’t do without it….SO, I imported your Financial Tracker into it and now that is becoming indispensable as well. YNAB keeps the budget in REAL time with an IPhone app. It lets you see what you have budgeted and you shop from your BUDGET, not your bank account balance. When you are in a store, you enter a purchase based on the amount you have in YOUR BUDGET and you can see what that amount is and if you can buy what you have in your hand. If your budget category is short, you have to reevaluate and decide if it’s important enough to buy whatever it is so that you have to decrease a budgeted amount in another budget category. Take a look…you haven’t budgeted like this. There are on and offline free classes and videos and terrific support if you need help. With this and your financial tracker to see where things are I SEE what impulse purchases do …not pretty! There might be some duplication but there are advantages to both.
Best to you with the new little one and to Nora in adjusting. She’s so busy and happy! Babs
Mary says
Great post Andrea and very inspiring! I must try and set more goals this year, I think sorting all the paperwork should be my main one as I have piles of stuff I don’t need its the one thing I magically ignore but I need to get my butt in gear with it!!
Homevironment says
I have been a reader of your blog since long. Of all the bloggers, your blog is the one which I feel is the most organized. Everyday, I open your blog at 9:00 am CST time, and I find the post always there. No blog, I repeat, No blog has this consistency. I have recently started my own blog, and I look forward to having the same consistency. You are the inspiration about being regular and on time. Though, I know, being a newbie, this will be a little difficult for me. But well, Life is not easy and can be made fun by being regular about it. Thank you so much for showing me the way.. And oh yes! Before I forget, I had stopped making resolutions because I used to forget them by the end of february. This year, I saw this post, and I have committed myself to GOALS.. And I wrote my upcoming post about it. Thought, I should share this with you!!!
Julie says
Andrea,
I applaude your goal to pay off your mortgage so early but I have also read that the tax deductions you get off the interest may be worth keeping the mortgage and putting that extra money into investments. Do you have thoughts on that?
Andrea says
Yes Julie, there are SMALL tax deductions for the interest paid on mortgages — but nothing even close to the amount of interest you actually pay via your mortgage payments every month. Our goal has always been to pay off our mortgage before our first child starts school, so it’s more of a “we want to reach our goal” thing for us now at this point.
We’ve never had any debt outside of student loans an our mortgage and since we paid off our student loans ASAP after we were married, we’ve just been plugging away at our mortgage ever since. When we found out we were pregnant with Nora, we did some figuring and realized that if we really worked hard, it would be totally do-able to pay it off before she started school.
We will save significantly more money by paying off our mortgage 20 years early (and not paying the taxes all those years) than by getting a small break on our income taxes each year. Plus, we just want to be 100% debt free 🙂
Anna says
I have a confession to make! My husband and I had been talking about goals at my bringing up the topic and I couldn’t sleep until I wrote them down (since I am a goals gal as well and also do this every year). However, I’ve never had this many: came up with over three pages of them, in twelve different topics. Ironically, much of it we think will destress and simplify our lives and get us/keep us on the same page since we haven’t been married very long (2 years with a 10 month old son).
Have you found any trends in your number of goals or detail of the goals and if it means anything? I know we have had a busy year and are trying to figure things out and how we want our household to operate.
My husband was shocked when I handed him the list, coincidently on our anniversary, so he asked if it was his anniversary gift! With so much going on right now, even as a proponent of simple/no change, he appreciates the list to reference throughout the year. Personally, I think it will help us say no to things that are not on the list or have lower priority, which we need right now. It wasn’t his anniversary gift, but if it helps us a lot, I might do it for our anniversary next year!
As a breadwinner wife and a part stay at home dad, the hubs and I are the opposite of many families and so much of it has been me teaching him ways that I have found that have worked when it was just me. We appreciate your blog, sometimes I bring home your articles for my husband to read and it gives us a chance to talk about home management options and it provides an example of someone besides me and how they do things as well as for the aspects we haven’t figured out yet, and it gets us evaluating and trying different options to find out what works for us.
Let me know if you want to email me you a copy of our goals for your entertainment.
Andrea says
Hey Anna — sounds like you guys are going to have a productive year.
Just be cautious that you don’t over-do-it with your ambitious list of goals — there’s nothing more discouraging than setting a bunch of goals only to realize that you’re in over your head and won’t accomplish most of them 🙂
Feel free to email me your list if you’d like — and good luck with all your goals!
Francie says
I absolutely love your blog, this is my first time posting. I actually had a 2014 bucket list. Keep going I’m certainly entertained.
Melissa says
Good luck on acheiving your goals! For 2014 I am very excited that my husband and I purchased a new home. We bought it in October but have been doing some projects on it before moving in. Those are wrapping up now and our biggest goals are to move into the new home and get our old one ready to sell. I just scheduled a date for the move and made the required reservations. I’m very excited!
Andrea says
Well congrats on the new house — and by the way, that’s TOTALLY the way to do the renovation (while you’re living somewhere else!)
Good luck with the sale of your old house and definitely enjoy the new place!
Tara says
I love these goals! They are fabulous! This year I need to purge! 1-3-13 we had our first baby and I have saved EVERY THING! I have decided (as our house continually gets more and more overfilled) that it isn’t possible for me to do that… so 2014 will be a purging year for us! I hope to lose 50 lbs this year as well! 🙂 Darn 18 lbs from after having baby and the 30 I gained when trying to get pregnant!! 😉
Sarah says
I am so impressed Andrea! You are such an inspiration…I love your common sense and your realistic expectations too-so important. (And you know NO ONE ever knows what the first baby will be like so we all have completely crazy expectations-I know I did at least! And what a shocker that wake up call was!)
And you look so good! What baby weight??? 🙂 Such a sweet photo with Nora!
Andrea says
Thanks Sarah, Sometimes I think about you with all your kids when I’m worrying about how life will be after “only” 2 kids. I realize each child is a new adventure and you need to learn as you go — but I figure if you can do 6, I can certainly do 2… right!?
Leigh says
I finally got the baby (#3) down so now I can type. We potty trained my first (he was 28 months) six weeks after my second was born and it went quiet easily. My second trained (at 24 months) three months before her sister showed up, again, easily. I think you have done most of the work all ready and just need to do that final farewell to diapers and the subsequent damp few days. I chose to do it when I felt up to it and when my kids were in a good window.
I found this third baby the easiest for sleep. Not because she sleeps any better, but I am much more comfortable with just going with the flow and knowing it is a short season.
Kiescha says
Hi Andrea! I absolutely love your blog! I look forward to seeing what you and your family are up to. You have set some really important goals and I am sure that they will all be met. I have my goals in my head, but this post has inspired me to write them down so they can forever be IN MY FACE. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rebecca G says
You really have been very inspiring to me, and part of my goals are to declutter and simplify – (starting with paperwork – I was moved to action with your latest email!). We just have far too much “STUFF”. Having a brand new, never-sleeping baby and a 4-year old whose new-sibling-jealousy manifests itself as “play with me, play with me!” – 24/7), I suddenly feel like all of my spare time for going through stuff in the attic, shed, etc. has disappeared for at least 2 or 3 more frustrating years, so my goal is to sell, throw or donate as much as possible from the stuff sitting in plain sight. Whose idea was it to collect books before I had children and a husband? Oh, what I could do with that money and space now!
Andrea says
haha — thanks Rebecca! Dave “collected” books before we were married too. Luckily I persuaded him to purge almost all of them before we moved 3 years ago 🙂
I know it’s hard with little kids (which is why I’m working my butt off now before #2 arrives) but it sounds like you’re pretty active with removing clutter so I doubt it will take you 2-3 years to get back in your groove — it just SEEMS like forever when you’re the new mom and there are so many changes.
Give yourself a break for a few months and don’t even think about any major decluttering projects. Maybe you’ll have the time an energy to start back up where you left off this summer??
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving says
I’m impressed by all your goals – especially with the new baby! Since our new baby is due to arrive at the beginning of March, I haven’t set my typical goals. Rather, I want to savor life. I’m transitioning from full time teaching to being a stay-at-home Mom, so I know there are lots of changes coming – that I can’t quite anticipate fully. I still have quite a few projects that I want to accomplish before the baby arrives, but I want to savor this time of pregnancy and having a baby – sleepless nights and all! Now, back to cleaning out the upstairs bedroom on this third snow day…
Jamie says
I wouldn’t personal try potty training right now with a new boy on the way, but that is your decision. Try reading this book first. It was given to me by a pediatric urologist when our daughter was having trouble potty training. I have never regretted reading and all the wonderful information this doctor gives. It’s called “it’s no accident” by Steve J. Hodges. Hope this helps. You can rent it through the library I just got one Georgetown library to read it again.
Amy says
My babies are 18 months apart. I got the idea that it would make life easier to potty train my oldest when my baby was born. I got the potty chair and panties and started talking with her about it. THEN I realized that every time my darling had to go to the bathroom….I was still going to be needed to help with pants/panties, wiping….etc. And from what I understand, they go A LOT when they are learning. So I nixed that idea. She is only 25 months old and still in diapers. Instead of encouraging her before she was ready I’ve decided just to let her decide. It seems much easier this way. Maybe that’s lazy (lol), but with 2 young babies, I had to give in order to survive around here! Ha Ha!
Andrea says
yeah, Nora is exactly 25 months right now — so we’ll see what happens. and yes, I feel a little lazy right now too. I’m sure if we just really worked at it for a solid week, she’d probably be potty trained. I just don’t want to do that for a whole week 🙂
Debra Martin says
Thanks for this very inspiring post. I would love to hear more about how you keep your grocery budget so low. Can you still get by with spending about 20 dollars a month? You eat a great variety of food. I am not even coming close to that amount with the same number of people to feed. Any hints, tidbits of information would be really appreciated!
Sara says
Love this. I made no goals last year, as I was very pregnant with baby #2. Life went by, we survived having a newborn and a 2 year old at the same time. 🙂
This year is a different story. My main goal is to exercise and cut back on soda, and to plan 2 weekend getaways with just the husband and I. Haven’t had a night away (even for just a dinner date) in almost 2 years. Monthly date nights aren’t a necessity for us, but two weekend getaways without children might be just what the doctor ordered for us!
Happy new year!
Amy says
I hear you Sara! We have a 2 year old and a 6 month old and haven’t been by ourselves for more than 20 minutes in 2 years. I think I’m going to steal your goal! After all….babies are happier if their mom and dad are still in love 🙂 Thanks for the idea!
Sara says
So true! And surprisingly, my husband and I have never been better in our marriage, but I still can’t help but want a few nights away. 🙂 We’ve already booked the Family Life Weekend To Remember. Can’t wait!
Amy says
Googling that right now……. 🙂
Anna says
Andrea, how do you record your goals and track your progress toward reaching them? I see some bloggers with printables of yearly, monthly, and weekly goals, while others don’t do that at all – just writing it down seems to be enough accountability. What is your “method” for setting and achieving your goals? Maybe another blog post on this? 😀
Andrea says
Good question — however there’s probably not a one-size-fits-all answer.
In my opinion, simple is better (haha) and writing it down (especially here on the blog where everyone can read it) is enough for me. I don’t have a ton of super specific goals — so it’s not hard for me to remember them. They’re just always in the back of my brain and something I’m consciously working towards all the time.
Jen says
Your discipline and commitment to your goals always inspires me. Despite our different financial, domestic, and family situations, I can always apply some of your ideas in a way that fits our lifestyle and I am never disappointed. It’s a shame that because there are so many negative voices out there, you almost have to put a disclaimer on anything personal you share (especially financial or parenting things) because you know some angry person is going to throw their opinions at you, but I’m still glad you do it. The fact that my husband and I will not be paying off a mortgage less than ten years after buying a house does not make me angry at you; rather, it makes me think, “But what CAN we do along those lines to simplify our lives and make our money work better for us?” So thank you for sharing those personal things despite the inevitable negativity, because it really is inspiring to many of us. We know what you mean, and we know how to take it and USE it!
Andrea says
Thanks Jen, I really don’t get TOO many nasty emails — many more super nice emails than nasty ones 🙂
At this point, I do the disclaimers partially to clarify and eliminate confusion (and thus more questions), partially because I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or saying “you should do what I do”, and yes, partially to ward off some of those nasty emails!
Debby says
What a great post, Andrea. Just last night (as I snuggled under a blanket because it is so very cold here in NE Ohio) I told myself to get my goals written down so that I can revisit them and remind myself to keep on track. Happy New Year. I think 2014 will be a great year.
Andrea says
yay — glad you actually wrote them down! That’s key!
stay warm — we’ll be inside all day today too 🙂
Stacie Kaltz says
Hi Andrea, I love all of your goals! We definitely have added to save and pay off all of our debt in 2014! Paying off more of our mortgage would be a good one, we will have to save that for next year to start on at least! I love that you place “your” check in savings; ever since I ran across that we are starting to do that. I’m excited to save and see how much we have at the end of the year. I am also staying on track with our budget/expenses with your Expense Tracker, man that is such an eye opener! It really makes me think when I am going to purchase something. I personally would like to read the bible and study it more, exercise at least 3x a week ( I don’t like to exercise either, but it makes me feel/eat better), and as you accomplish some home projects. Your an inspiration! Good luck with all of your goals!
I would love to know how you save by purchasing clothing for yourself and your family. Like where do you shop at and do you always have a budget when walking in/ordering something. Do you only shop when you are in need of an item?
Thanks
Stacie
Andrea says
one goal at a time… right!
As far as clothing, I really don’t enjoy shopping much (or spending money, or fashion) so clothing really isn’t an issue for me budget wise. I hardly EVER buy any clothing for myself since I work from home and don’t mind wearing the same things over again.
I borrowed almost all my maternity clothing and Nora basically just wears hand-me-downs from friends or relatives. She has gotten quite a few clothing gifts from grandparents too.
Dave usually “needs” more new things than I do since he gets dressed up every day for work — so we usually ask for Kohl’s gift cards and use those (with coupons) to re-stock his wardrobed once or twice a year.
This could be a good blog post Stacie!! I’ve gotten many other questions like yours — so maybe others are interested in this topic too 🙂
Stacie Kaltz says
Exactly! I’ll be waiting!!! 🙂
Sheila says
Andrea your goals are very inspiring and you and Dave are in such great shape financially to be so young.I Just have a thought about your bathroom renovation . We actually moved when our 3 children were approaching middle school because it was becoming very difficult for 3 budding teenagers to share a bathroom. If you plan to stay in your home you may want to rethink taking out that shower. You will be happy to have it when Nora and baby boy are teenagers so they can have their own space. We were all much happier with more bathrooms once we moved. Our son has his own and the girls share a jack and Jill bathroom. Perfect.
Andrea says
Thanks Sheila… and yes, we have thought about the extra bathroom for the teenage years. However, since it will be 10-15 years before we have multiple teenagers in our house, we feel that we’d get MUCH more use out of a mudroom for 10-15 years than one extra shower that has been sitting basically unused for 3 years already.
Who even knows if we’ll be living in this house in 10-15 years, how many children we’ll end up having, or what other renovations we will do that might even add another bathroom somewhere. If worse comes to worse and we change our mind in 10-15 years, we can always move the washer and dryer again and put a shower back in 🙂
Luba says
Great post, Andrea! I have not yet written all my goals down yet, but your list has given me great ideas. My husband and I do not have any children yet, but sometimes with his crazy work schedule (it changes just about every week), I feel as though we really don’t spend quality time together. I would like to change that somehow. Also, I am excited about meeting new people and growing my business this year!