How I Did on My Goals of 2015

Two years ago I radically changed the way that I viewed my life.  That may sound a bit extreme, but hear me out.

Before New Year’s Day 2013, I would make the occasional “resolution” that was promptly forgotten by the end of the week–get up earlier, exercise more, think before I speak, etc.  Now, these are all good things.  The problem was not the resolutions themselves, but the lack of follow through.  I didn’t make a plan.

In 2013, after some inspiration from Crystal at MoneySavingMom, I decided to change my resolutions into goals.  Goals.  Even the word has weight as it implies an action plan.  I examined my priorities in life.  For me these are:

• Faith
• Family
• Personal Growth
• Career

I then made goals for each of these priorities.  I chose reasonable, manageable goals that could be broken down into bite-sized pieces.  These bite-sized pieces became my weekly goals, the steps I was taking toward reaching my big goals.  In short, I had a plan.

I was a bit nervous about my first attempt at major goal-setting.  What if I failed?  What if my husband thought I was crazy?  Was I just being too Type A?  Was I setting myself up for disappointment?

I began the year with some excitement and trepidation.  And it was one of the best experiences I have had.  I went through the year with a sense of purpose.  I knew where I was going and how I was going to get there.  Did I reach all of my goals?  Nope.  But at the end of 2013, I was a heck of a lot closer to where I wanted to be than when I started.

I did the same thing at the beginning of 2015.  I have enjoyed the extra accountability that sharing my progress on the goals with you all has given me!  Today I am thrilled to share with you my final update on my goals for 2015.

2015 Goals

Professional

1. Add high school certification to my teaching license

–I signed up for the PRAXIS test for grades 9-12 English in January and took the test in March.  I actually had fun taking the test and was excited to do well on it.  Now I am certified to teach grades 6-12 in the state of Virginia!

2. Develop a remediation curriculum for middle school English

–I taught a 6th grade English remediation class at my school last year.  I also tutor after school and teach summer school.  I hadn’t found a curriculum that I really liked for this group of kids, so I decided to make my own.  

3. Add 10 products to my Teachers Pay Teachers store (I only added 4)

–I really enjoy gaining passive income from Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you are a teacher or homeschooling parent, check out my post on selling on Teachers Pay Teachers!  I added a few products at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t do many after I started my blog.  I just found that I didn’t have much time for it.

Spiritual

4. Pray the Morning Prayers at least 4 times a week

-We made a lot of progress on this goal.  I wrote about our new morning plan for including prayers here.  However, I’m not sure how I feel about this goal in general.  It seems like if we have one bad week and aren’t able to say prayers the required amount, then the whole goal is blown.  I’m trying to figure out how to have a better-phrased goal for the coming year. 

5. Read through the New Testament

-I was excited to reach this goal!  I had been a couple of years since I read through the entire New Testament, and I really enjoyed doing it this year.

6. Read 3 spiritual books

–I  have finished three: In the Heart of the Desert by Fr. John Chryssavgis, The Way of A Pilgrim translated by Olga Savin, and Following a Sacred Path: Raising Godly Children by Elizabeth White.

Family

7. Do one family outing a month

–This was one of my favorite goals!  We did MANY family outings–all of them simple but fun.  We went strawberry picking, to the children’s museum, apple picking, on a hayride, to the local pool, and so much more!  One of my favorites was a weekend camping with my brother and sister-in-law.  I shared some Tips for Camping with Small Children.

8. Have one date night a month (in or out of house)

-This was another favorite!  Because of the expense of hiring a babysitter (we don’t live near family), we usually have in-house date nights that might involve playing games, watching a movie, or getting take-out Chinese.  We were able to take a five day trip to Wisconsin as a couple!  My wonderful brother and sister-in-law watched our children while we went to a conference my husband was attending.  It was our first child-free vacation in seven years!

9. Watch 12 movies on AFI Top 100 list

-My husband and I have been working through the AFI list for the past few years.  It’s fun to watch classic movies together and always leads to great discussion.  We watched 9 this year.

Personal

10.  Complete the 30 Day Abs Challenge

-I failed miserably at this!  I tried at least three times to finish the challenge, but would give up around Day 12.  I need to figure out another way to work on my core strengthening.

11. Run a 5K

-I was so excited to complete this goal!!!  I hadn’t run since high school, but I decided that running was the perfect fit for me.  It’s frugal, can be done on my schedule, and gets me outdoors.  It also provides me with some alone time during the week–much needed by a teacher and mother of 3.

12. Publish one piece of writing

-I submitted my first guest post to Money Saving Mom in February.  Then I had another post in June.  Check them out!  I also started writing this blog–something I hadn’t even considered when I made this goal.  And, I can’t believe that I’m even saying this, I submitted a manuscript for a children’s book to a publisher a couple of weeks ago.  You never know where your goals will take you!

13. Read 100 books

   -Woohoo!  I read 114 books this year!  When I set this goal it seemed nearly impossible.  I’m really excited that I was able to read so much great literature (and some not so great!) this year.  I will share a post with my top 10 picks of the year next month!

Altogether I am really happy with the results of this past year’s goal-setting.  I can’t wait to share my goals for 2016 with you on New Year’s Day!

How did you do on your goals for 2015?  If you’ve never made goals before, do you think you will in 2016?

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