If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail

Over the last few weeks, I have talked with some of my girlfriends about making New Year’s resolutions and almost all of them said that they hate making resolutions. The more we chatted, the more we decided that it is not the making of resolutions that we hate, it is the reflection on resolutions not kept that we hate. So, with that in mind, I have decided to approach my resolutions for 2010 a little bit differently this year than I have in the past.

I began writing my 2010 resolutions and was reminded of something that I heard at a lecture on organization a few years ago - you can not reach a goal if you don’t have a plan to get there, hence the title of this post. I came away from that lecture with the acronym SMART which helped drive my resolutions for 2010. As part of being SMART, you should not list many goals – instead focus on only three to five main areas that you want to change and give specific steps you will take to achieve your goals.

You can make your resolutions SMART by making them...

Specific – try not to make your resolutions to broad.
Measurable – make your goals measurable so you can judge your success. For example, a goal might be to read twelve books over the next year or I am going to work out three days each week.
Accountable – tell others about your resolutions so they can support you and help hold you accountable. Better yet, share your resolutions with the Girlfriends With Grace gals – I am!!
Realistic – your goal should be attainable. For example, I am going to lose one pound each week vs. I am going to lose ten pounds each week.
Time – make a time line for yourself to complete your goals. This will help hold you accountable and will give you time to adjust your goal or your strategy for achieving your goal.

After reflecting on the SMART acronym, I decided that while I have many areas of my life that could use some improvement, I am going to stick to just five areas in which to make resolutions - or at least only five that I will be sharing with ya'll! Without further ado...

Personal Goals
1 – I am going to lose thirty pounds. Yikes! That sounds like a lot!! I am going to dust off my weight watchers books, start eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, stop eating sugar, white flour, and watch my carb intake. I will also start exercising four times a week. I have discussed my goals with a friend who is also try to lose some weight, and we have decided that if we don't feel like we are moving in the right direction by February 1, we will rejoin weight watchers for more accountability and support.
2 – I am going to improve my overall health. I don’t exercise at all and as we all know, that is not good for overall health. So, I am going to start exercising four times each week. I have three new DVD’s to use at home along with an exercise ball, strength bands, and some light hand weights. I also have printed off an exercise checklist so I can keep track of the days that I exercise. Lastly, I have also shared my goal with my dh so he can encourage me and sometimes join me.

Marriage & Family Goals
1 – I am going to have one monthly date night with my husband. I have set up a kid-swap with another family in our neighborhood who would also like a date night each month. We will watch their kids once a month in exchange for them watching our kids. This will remove the ‘we don’t have any money for a sitter’ excuse.
2 – I am going to spend more time with my kids. I spend a lot of time with my kids, but being in the same room with my children is not quality time. I am going to wait until they are in bed to do work when at all possible and plan to spend one-on-one time with each of them every day.

Home Goals
1 – I want to garden plant a garden and grow my own fresh vegetables. I have already discussed with my husband what I would like and my Mother’s Day present this year will be some gardening beds. I think this is a good goal because it promotes family togetherness, teaches my little sweeties about where food comes from, and will promote healthier eating habits.
2 – I want to recycle more. We do some recycling, but not nearly enought. My husband and I have been talking about setting up a recycling center in our garage and this will be our first step to increasing the amount we recycle. This will be an on-going goal for the whole year.

Financial Goals
1 – To shop with cash only. Our household has moved to a cash only system, but I am not always the best about following the plan. I tend to leave the house without cash and when I ‘stumble’ on something I want to purchase, I charge it. No more. I must pay with cash, I must pay with cash, I must pay with cash. (An added bonus - this will also make the dh very happy and you know what they say, happy spouse, happy house!)

Relationship Goals
1 – I want to invite my parents over for dinner more often. This is so easy and so doable – I just need to do it.

So now you know my resolutions. Why not comment on your goals for 2010 and let a few of your Girlfriends With Grace support you along the way?

Michelle