Accomplishing My Goals
I wanted to go through each of my goals and talk a little about how I'm accomplishing each and the progress I've made so far. If you have any suggestions for how I can reach my goals better, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!
Meaning
Publish one new blog post each month - This is not something I find that I can decide to sit down and successfully write something. I have to be inspired for topics, etc in order to actually write what I consider a good post. Lately, I have taken to writing down ideas as I am feeling inspired so I have some topics to work towards when I am feeling like writing. Obviously I have technically already failed by not posting anything in January but I will still be happy as long as I publish 12 posts this year.
Participate in Middle Tennessee Walk M.S. event (April 2017) - This is a fairly straight-forward goal. The event is on April 8th and all it requires is for me to sign up online and invite people to donate and/or walk with me. I have already signed up and now am just working on promoting the event through social media.
Travel
Obtain Global Entry (due by February 26th) - My goal was to obtain this before my Italy trip, and I did accomplish this. There was an application to be completed online and a non-refundable fee that is to be paid at the time of application. Once the online application is approved, an in-person interview is also required in order to be fully approved. If you don't know what Global Entry is, don't worry - I will be giving a more detailed description in another travel post (you can also visit the official site by clicking the link above).
Visit 2 new states (due by December 31st) - More on this later, but its looking like this goal may be one that I need to let go of. Due to some reduced air fares to Europe, I may not have enough time off from work to focus on domestic travel this year.
Learning
Take DSLR photography class or lessons (due by July 31st) - I'm still researching the best option for this here in Nashville. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.
Obtain 50% fluency in German language (due by December 31st) - I'm currently working on this goal using the Duolingo app. It is free and easy to use and easy to track progress.
Read 5 books, 2 of which are already on my book list (due by December 31st) - I'm hopefully going to blow this one out of the water because I ended up in a small monthly book club with a few of my friends this year. We've already finished Gathering Blue (2nd book in The Giver series) and I'm half way through another book called War Brides, which I've had downloaded on my Kindle for a year or more.
Health
Lose 15lbs before Italy trip (due by February 25th) - I'm close to reaching this goal as I'm currently down 10lbs. I may not fully reach 15lbs by the time I leave for Italy, but I'm happy with the progress I've made.
Create habit of exercising each morning (due by May 31st) - It really helps to have some accountability partners for things like this. A couple friends and I started doing an Arm strengthening challenge in January and we've continued it through February. I've only skipped one day so far and that was because I was fighting a head cold.
Pay down BECU credit card debt by $1,500 (due by June 30th) - In 2016 I set up my bi-weekly paycheck to automatically deposit a set amount into my savings account. I highly recommend doing this as it is super easy (at least through my company) and I don't even notice the money gone from my paycheck. I originally did this to build up my emergency fund and by the end of the year I had reached my desired amount. Now that money goes towards my credit card bi-weekly. I've had this credit card since college and it doesn't bring me any benefits at the moment (no travel miles/points or cash back) so I'd like to pay it off and close the account. I've currently paid off $820 between my bi-weekly deposits and my tax refund. Over halfway there!
Lose additional 15lbs before Seattle trip (due by August 15th) - this is simply an extension of my current weight-loss goal. Sometimes I like to break up longer term goals into smaller chunks so that they feel more attainable and I get a small boost from finishing each small chunk.
Pay off remaining BECU credit card debt (due by October 31st) - this is another extension of my current financial goal.
Family
I don't think this one needs more detail - I've already shared probably more than I needed to in my first post about goals. This almost doesn't feel like an actual goal, but instead more of a personal desire.
Meaning
Publish one new blog post each month - This is not something I find that I can decide to sit down and successfully write something. I have to be inspired for topics, etc in order to actually write what I consider a good post. Lately, I have taken to writing down ideas as I am feeling inspired so I have some topics to work towards when I am feeling like writing. Obviously I have technically already failed by not posting anything in January but I will still be happy as long as I publish 12 posts this year.
Participate in Middle Tennessee Walk M.S. event (April 2017) - This is a fairly straight-forward goal. The event is on April 8th and all it requires is for me to sign up online and invite people to donate and/or walk with me. I have already signed up and now am just working on promoting the event through social media.
Travel
Obtain Global Entry (due by February 26th) - My goal was to obtain this before my Italy trip, and I did accomplish this. There was an application to be completed online and a non-refundable fee that is to be paid at the time of application. Once the online application is approved, an in-person interview is also required in order to be fully approved. If you don't know what Global Entry is, don't worry - I will be giving a more detailed description in another travel post (you can also visit the official site by clicking the link above).
Visit 2 new states (due by December 31st) - More on this later, but its looking like this goal may be one that I need to let go of. Due to some reduced air fares to Europe, I may not have enough time off from work to focus on domestic travel this year.
Learning
Take DSLR photography class or lessons (due by July 31st) - I'm still researching the best option for this here in Nashville. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.
Obtain 50% fluency in German language (due by December 31st) - I'm currently working on this goal using the Duolingo app. It is free and easy to use and easy to track progress.
Read 5 books, 2 of which are already on my book list (due by December 31st) - I'm hopefully going to blow this one out of the water because I ended up in a small monthly book club with a few of my friends this year. We've already finished Gathering Blue (2nd book in The Giver series) and I'm half way through another book called War Brides, which I've had downloaded on my Kindle for a year or more.
Health
Lose 15lbs before Italy trip (due by February 25th) - I'm close to reaching this goal as I'm currently down 10lbs. I may not fully reach 15lbs by the time I leave for Italy, but I'm happy with the progress I've made.
Create habit of exercising each morning (due by May 31st) - It really helps to have some accountability partners for things like this. A couple friends and I started doing an Arm strengthening challenge in January and we've continued it through February. I've only skipped one day so far and that was because I was fighting a head cold.
Pay down BECU credit card debt by $1,500 (due by June 30th) - In 2016 I set up my bi-weekly paycheck to automatically deposit a set amount into my savings account. I highly recommend doing this as it is super easy (at least through my company) and I don't even notice the money gone from my paycheck. I originally did this to build up my emergency fund and by the end of the year I had reached my desired amount. Now that money goes towards my credit card bi-weekly. I've had this credit card since college and it doesn't bring me any benefits at the moment (no travel miles/points or cash back) so I'd like to pay it off and close the account. I've currently paid off $820 between my bi-weekly deposits and my tax refund. Over halfway there!
Lose additional 15lbs before Seattle trip (due by August 15th) - this is simply an extension of my current weight-loss goal. Sometimes I like to break up longer term goals into smaller chunks so that they feel more attainable and I get a small boost from finishing each small chunk.
Pay off remaining BECU credit card debt (due by October 31st) - this is another extension of my current financial goal.
Family
I don't think this one needs more detail - I've already shared probably more than I needed to in my first post about goals. This almost doesn't feel like an actual goal, but instead more of a personal desire.
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