This year’s goals were a little bit late as I wanted to take some time to really think about what I wanted to achieve this year. Last year was pretty groundbreaking for me, in that I came across a couple of goals that I felt were truly life changing, and I felt a click in my goal setting process. I realized, more so than ever, that goals are a work in progress. While I like to set goals at the beginning of the new year, I don’t set out to change right on January 1st. Instead, I tend to view my goals as a gradual change in lifestyle that I’d like to achieve by the end of the year.

This year, I set goals in 5 broad categories. I've included the categories below, along with the specific goals in each category.

STRENGTH & POSTURE

Goal #1: Establish a gym routine and go to the gym 2-3 times per week

In 2016, I’d like to establish a gym routine so that it becomes almost second nature by the end of the year. Some weeks are busier than others so I felt that 2-3 times per week would be a good balance.

2016 review

Increasing my physical activity is something I really want for myself but alas I did not accomplish this particular goal. I’m rather embarrassed to say that I probably went to the gym fewer than a dozen times in the entire year! That being said, physical activity is more of my focus (versus the more specific goal that I set of going to the gym), so I think there was a bit of a goal design issue. Overall, I feel that I have been more active since getting an Apple Watch. I’ll need to think about what type of physical exercise I love and can sustainably integrate into my routine going forward.

Goal #2: Take a ballet class

In recent years, I’ve noticed that my posture has suffered tremendously from all the hours spent at my 9-to-5 job. I’m at a desk all day and I often forget to get up, stretch, or go for a walk. I was trying to think of ways I could improve my posture and I thought a ballet class might be a fun activity to try. Ballet dancers have amazing posture and they carry themselves so gracefully. I’d love just a wee bit of that! This is going to be a beginner’s class for adults and I don’t intend to move forward with ballet beyond this one class. Instead, I’m simply hoping it will help me develop better posture.

2016 review

I took a ballet class! I did an introductory class for adults that was a short series of two classes. In the process, I learned that ballet isn’t for me — but it was still a fun class, and I think it might have helped ever so slightly with my posture. At the very least, I’m more mindful when I’m slouching and I make more of an effort to do a quick stretch and sit up straight.

Goal #3: Stretch for at least 10 minutes every day

This is another goal that I’m hoping will help with my posture. I tested this goal out a couple of times before the new year, just to see if it were something I’d enjoy implementing in 2016, and it worked out really well. I felt great after stretching and I think this goal would help relieve the tension I often feel in my muscles. When I was testing out this goal, I used a couple of apps on my phone that provide a series of timed stretching exercises. Ten minutes flew by, so hopefully I can easily integrate this practice into my routine by the end of the year as well.

2016 review

Ten minutes of stretching is so easy and feels so good, but I was only able to motivate myself to do this around 50% of the time. I’m a bit disappointed in myself and incorporating physical activity into my daily routine is definitely a puzzle I have yet to figure out.

Goal #4: Go for a massage 8x per year

I enjoyed this goal so much last year that I decided to roll it over to 2016. Massages make me feel good both physically and mentally — with the added bonus that my mind associates other healthy habits with massage (e.g., drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, taking Epsom salt baths, sleeping early, reading books, etc.). Getting a massage always puts me in a self-care frame of mind.

2016 review

Time got away from me in 2016, and I ended up going for six massages during the year… but I squeeeeezed two of them in at the end of the year, which means that I only went for four massages in the first 11 months of the year. Overall, I didn’t do great with this goal even though my end result wasn’t too far off.

PERSONAL CARE OR "ME TIME"

Goal #5: Take better care of my hands & feet

I’ve noticed that my hands and feet have been really really dry lately. While I’m setting this goal in the winter time, I’ve noticed that the dryness extends to the summer months as well. I’d like to take better care of my hands and feet my remembering to moisturize every night before going to bed.

2016 review

I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to integrate this goal into my daily routine, and I feel that my hands and feet are less dry as a result of this new habit. While this won’t be a specific goal next year, I’ll definitely be continuing this habit in 2017.

Goal #6: Wake up at least 1.5 hours before work

This was one of my life changing goals from last year. In 2015, I discovered how good I feel when I wake up at least one hour before leaving for work. I had time to relax, get ready slowly, spend time with Truffle and Lulu, have a tea, and even do some cleaning. Some days, I woke up even earlier — 1.5 hours before leaving for work — and I found that was my sweet spot.

With the shorter number of daylight hours, I’ve been finding it difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed lately, as it’s still dark when I wake up… but I’m still going to try to develop a routine this year to wake up 1.5 hours before leaving for work. If I can do this, I’ll have even more “me time” before work, and perhaps I can add my 10 minutes of stretching to my morning routine.

2016 review

Yes yes yes! I loved this goal so much and I’m super excited that this is part of my new routine. I now wake up at around 6:30am and leave for work at around 8am. I’m particularly proud of myself for developing this habit as I’ve never thought of myself as a morning person. I used to feel anxious when I had morning meetings because I feared not being able to wake up. Achieving this goal empowers me and makes me feel incredibly happy.

Goal #7: Turn off the computer by 9:30pm if I have to work the next day

This goal was designed based on the assumption that it would help me with some of my other goals. Waking up earlier means I have to sleep earlier, but when I’m on the computer, I find I push my bedtime later and later. It’s easy to get distracted on the Internet! Having a set time to shut down the computer (I’m aiming for 9:30pm) will help me get to bed by 10:30-11pm.

2016 review

This goal was a success! It was difficult on some nights to bring myself to shut down but having the time threshold helped tremendously. It was also great that I only had to do this on nights when I had to work the next day. That allowed me to indulge a bit more in computer time on weekends, which felt like a nice treat (even though I’d usually be working on YouTube videos!).

HOME

I’ve been doing really well with decluttering so I don’t think I need more goals with this. While I still do have a few outstanding things I’d like to do in the decluttering category, I’m going to be tracking them using my 101 in 1001 list. My home goals for the year will instead relate more with curbing shopping, as well as continuing to make my home more comfy and cozy.

Goal #8: Be more mindful with clothing purchases

I’d like to be more mindful with my clothing purchases going forward. In recent years, I’ve been buying a lot over the Internet and often from shops where it can be a bit of a hassle to return an item. As a result, I feel like I’m stuck with something that doesn’t fit well, or isn’t the best quality in real life, or doesn’t match the images online, or any number of other issues that result in buyer’s remorse. This year, I’m going to try to implement three strategies before making clothing purchases: (1) try on as much as possible, (2) review at return policies, and (3) look at clothing labels for fabric & care instructions.

2016 review

I didn’t follow this goal exactly but I did try to be more mindful with my clothing purchases — more so, just making sure that I wanted the item before making the purchase.

Goal #9: Finalize & complete my list of home tasks

In my planner, I keep a list of things I want to do in my home, and this list currently consists of around 20-25 tasks. These are mostly little home tasks that I either forget to do or am too lazy to do. I’d like to check all of these off this year!

2016 review

While we didn’t complete all the items on this list, we did make some progress. We completed approximately half of the tasks.

FINANCES

Goal #10: Meet my annual savings goal

This is a recurring goal where I set an amount of savings I’d like to achieve by the end of the year.

2016 review

I met my savings goal this year! I didn’t set a stretch goal this year, but instead set one that was relatively easy to meet.

Goal #11: Meet my budget in specific categories

I usually only set an annual savings goal, but I’d like to try something different this year where I also pay attention to specific budget categories. In previous years, I didn’t worry too much about the categories as long as I met my savings goal; however, I noticed that we were 78% above budget in the food category in 2015 — this is the category where I track restaurant, delivery, and takeaway meals. I wasn’t too happy about blowing my budget in this area so I’m going to try to pay more attention to this in 2016. For food specifically, I’m going to increase our budget a bit but not to last year’s level of spending.

2016 review

This goal ended up having some unintended consequences that I didn’t love. I started overvaluing the importance of sticking to my budget and this would make me feel bad about certain purchases. For example, if hubby and I wanted to go to a nice dinner, in the back of my mind, I’d be thinking about whether or not the meal would put us over budget in the food category. I didn’t love this mindset, so I decided to change this goal partway through the year. Instead of meeting my budget in specific categories, I’d try meeting my budget on an overall basis.

At the end of the year, I found that I had completely blown my budget! This was mainly due to the gifts category — I didn’t budget properly for my husband’s milestone birthday trip, which is next year, but I ended up paying for a lot of the travel expenses this year. That being said, if I meet my savings goal, I’m not too fussed about meeting my budget. I’m also pleased to report that I did a little better with the food category compared to last year — I did the eat at home challenge in November, which helped tremendously.

DOCUMENT LIFE

I’ve realized that I prefer to document versus doing something uber creative. I don’t want to over-document but rather in a smarter and more efficient way.

Goal #12: Continue with my photo-a-day project of my hubby & me and reduce # of days missed versus 2015

This is the same goal as last year. I love this one. :)

2016 review

I missed 13 photos in 2016, compared to 18 last year.

Goal #13: Take annual family portraits with my side of the family and my in-laws

This is also the same goal as last year.

2016 review

YES! I’m soooooo happy I did this. It feels wonderful to have these sweet keepsakes.