Since we’re (over) halfway through the year, it’s an ideal time to check in and see how 2016 is going. When I looked back on these goals before writing an update, I couldn’t believe how open and honest I was. While I’m still cringing a little at the thought of sharing so much personal information about myself, I appreciate when others do the same and think it’s extremely helpful. If it sparks inspiration in someone else for them to grow and learn, then it’s worth it.
After revisiting these, I’ve thought about refining the goals a little bit but I’ll leave that for another post if I decide to make adjustments. Without further ado, here’s the progress from my 2016 Goals post (original goal bolded, update in regular font):
FAITH:
- Spend time reading the Bible and devotions every day. I’ve more or less been doing this daily but not in a structured format. I’d still like to set aside specific “quiet time” for myself instead of squeezing in a random devotion here or there or waiting until bedtime to do it. The only spiritual reading I do on a regular basis is Jesus Calling, and then I will occasionally fill in with the Proverbs 31 email devos. I need to pick up the Bible more often and just read. I always think that I need a lesson to go along with verses, but there’s so much wisdom to be gleaned from reading the passages by themselves.
- Set aside intentional prayer time each day. This goes along with the above goal and while I’m good about praying randomly throughout the day, I really need to find time away from distractions where I can be focused and set the tone for my day. This means I probably need to get up earlier in the morning…and well, you can see the update on my 10:30 bedtime goal below for how that’s translating to morning.
- Land on a permanent church home. I’m thrilled to say we’ve found a church that we love – the message series, the childcare team, the pastor, the congregation – all of it. In the interest of privacy, I’m not going to post the name here, but if anyone local is curious you can contact me.
- Join a MOPS (moms of preschoolers) group and/or another ministry effort. I’m still working on this. Several groups aren’t meeting in the summer months, so I hope to pick up steam in the fall when groups start up again.
- Step outside my comfort zone in sharing my faith with others. I have lots of room for improvement on this. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me. I’ve always been a pretty private person, so being vulnerable and sharing a faith that not everyone agrees with is kind of a scary prospect! I’ve been doing a fairly good job virtually through this site but in person, not so much.
FAMILY:
- Go on at least two dates with my husband each month. On average we’ve been doing pretty good in this area, but many of the dates are with other people – double dates, social activities, etc. While that’s certainly important, it wasn’t the point of this goal (which was one-on-one time) so I’m still going to try to schedule strictly couple time twice a month.
- Focus on uninterrupted playtime with my daughter (aka no technology). When you stay at home part-time with your kid(s), your smartphone is sometimes the only connection you have with the outside world, and it’s so tempting to glance at it every five minutes to see what’s new. I’ve been making a concerted effort to leave it in another room when Nora and I are playing. I can still hear if it rings but it won’t be catastrophic if I’m not replying to text messages within five minutes. If someone really needs me, they can call. I’ve also been better about consolidating the number of times I check social media, email, news sites, etc. in a day, so that has also been instrumental in working toward this goal.
- Take a summer vacation as a family. It’s already July, and we really need to get on this! I’d love to go to Colorado again in August but am willing to explore some new territory as well. Anyone have ideas for a less than nine-hour road trip with a destination that is toddler friendly?
- Travel more – at least one trip as a couple and one with Nora. We were really fortunate to be able to go to Hawaii and Las Vegas in the winter and spring, but we still need to plan a trip with Nora, which will probably be our summer family vacation.
CAREER:
- Experiment with new-to-me social media platforms, specifically SnapChat and/or Periscope. I finally got the hang of SnapChat (my username is molhof) so that’s been fun to experiment with. As far as Periscope goes, it sounds like Facebook Live is turning out to be the front runner in live video streaming these days, so I’m probably going to shift my focus there for my marketing and blogging businesses. I have yet to do a live broadcast because I always feel like I never having anything important enough to say (I know it’s not true, but I’m still getting used to being so transparent on social media) and I need to do my hair and wear make-up more often first if I’m going to be on camera (I wish I were kidding). 🙂
- Help at least one of my Molly Marketing clients exceed their sales goals by mid-year. At the time I wrote this, I hadn’t yet developed a marketing plan for my clients for 2016. Some of them wanted to focus on other metrics that determined what they consider successful. So without getting too detailed, I can say that many of them have been able to acquire new customers this year which was a big priority for them.
- Read 10 professional development books throughout the year and contact authors for interview requests. I’m plugging away on the personal development books this year. The fact that I’m a self-help book junkie makes it pretty easy. But contacting the authors of my fave books is still on my to-do list. If you have a favorite non-fiction book and/or author, please don’t hesitate to send a suggestion my way.
- Write two blog posts per week no matter the topic. I’m pretty surprised that I’ve managed to stick to this for the most part. The first quarter of the year it wasn’t happening but I renewed the commitment to myself in April, and with the exception of the latter half of May, I’ve been pretty darn good about twice-weekly posts.
- Start making serious plans for my first podcast. Time to make good on this goal. I’ve tucked away some industry info from other podcasters with tutorials on how to get a podcast started but haven’t dove in yet. I think I’m waiting for the “perfect” interviewee (someone that everyone will enjoy listening to), but I’m never going to please everyone so I need to pick a person and just START (usually half the battle in anything I do).
PERSONAL:
- Plan at least one to two play dates each week with friends and their kids. Before summer came along, I was pretty consistent about this. But between everyone’s travel, activity schedules, kiddo naptimes, and holidays, it’s been difficult to find the time. Hoping to resume these after this shortened holiday week and simultaneously cross off some bucket list items!
- Host at least one couple or family each month for dinner. Again, I was better with this goal in the winter months for some reason. Scheduling conflicts are making it close to impossible, but there’s no reason we can’t fit this in on a weeknight (with a little more planning and preparation on my part) if weekends are busy for everyone.
- Go to bed by 10:30 PM each night. Major fail…HUGE fail. Does anyone have tips for adhering to an “early” bedtime? I find myself hitting the afternoon slump most days and looking forward to heading to bed at a decent hour only for my energy to rev up again in the early evening. Then I get lost in a TV show, or worse – social media – and before I know it, it’s 11:30. Then I can’t wake up in the morning. Help!
- Get in a solid workout 3-4 days per week with a focus on strength training and stretching. As I’ve mentioned previously, I struggle with low back issues that crop up more frequently than they did in the past. Medical professionals have never been completely straight with me about whether exercise exacerbates the issue or not, so sometimes it’s easy to talk myself out of a workout. But whether it’s a home workout video (like 21 Day Fix), walking, or going to Jazzercise, I’ve usually averaged three days a week. I’d really like to start incorporating more yoga into my exercise routine to help with flexibility and injury prevention.
- Drink more water, eat less sugar, eat more protein/produce. Overall, I’ve been pretty mindful of this multi-faceted goal. I do strive to get some form of protein and produce in each meal, and I’m drinking more water than I used to (but could stand to drink way more). Eating less sugar….well, drinking Shakeology has done a lot to curb most of my sweet cravings, but I have a heck of a time giving up ice cream. I could pretty much live without anything else, but the creamy, cold sweet treat – it’s my kryptonite.
How are your 2016 goals/resolutions coming along? Are you struggling or succeeding, or a little of both like me?
