2017 Resolutions Recap

This year has been the most goal-oriented and productive year I think I've ever had.  If you've read my blog for any length of time you know why:  PowerSheets.  I'll spare you the sales pitch, especially because I think they're already sold out, but they are definitely the main reason behind my progress.  

I didn't do them perfectly (a couple of months I skipped completely!), but when I did take the time to "work the system", it paid off in big and small ways. 

As a reminder, here were my 8 "Big Picture" goals for the year:

1.  Spiritual Growth 
2.  Marriage Growth  
3.  Continue to stay on track with health and fitness (more races)
4.  Declutter (goal of room-by-room, closet-by-closet, drawer-by-drawer)
5.  Have some adventures (travel, try new things locally)
6.  Improve money management 
7.  Love and serve others well individually and as a family
8.  Reflect and celebrate more (specific events planned, blog more, stay on top of photo albums)

Each of those came with much more detailed goals and action steps.  Some of them are too personal for me to dive into, but I will share a few small victories along with areas I'm still working on:  

1.  Spiritual Growth - I read more of the Bible this year than ever before (as in, reading the actual Word, not Bible studies) and loved it.  What still needs improvement:  consistency, memorization.  

2.  Marriage Growth  - David and I did pretty well with date nights, we took a trip together, and we did a marriage small group study that gave us a few new communication tools.  What still needs improvement:  devotionals together.

3.  Continue to stay on track with health and fitness:  I did very well with workouts this year.  I trained for and completed two more triathlons, including my first terrifying open water swim.  I also discovered some really delicious healthy food choices like hummus and kale chips.  What still needs improvement:  This time of year, my diet does!  It's unfair, but it doesn't matter one bit that you're killing it with workouts if you're still eating dessert three times a day.  

4.  Declutter - I did a complete room-by-room, closet-by-closet, drawer-by-drawer decluttering of the entire house.  It. Was.  AWESOME.  What still needs improvement:  Several spaces I did at the beginning of last year need redoing again already.  

5.  Have some adventures - We traveled a bunch (Savannah, Chattanooga, Greenville, Callaway Gardens, Boston, New Smyrna Beach) and did some really cool things locally (hiked Tallulah Gorge, canoed down a new part of the Chattahoochee, tried new restaurants, and attended some local events.)  What still needs improvement:  Nothing!  More of the same, please!

6.  Improve money management - We met a few goals.  What still needs improvement:  detailed tracking.

7.  Love and serve others well - We continued serving at church through leading small group and greeting, did another year of the Timber Trek, and I took on a new role with the PTA Board as Community Outreach Co-chair.  We did several projects as a family, which was really cool.  I also attempted to do a better job of showing up for friends in tangible ways (providing a meal, sending encouraging notes, etc.), but that is definitely what still needs improvement.

8.  Reflect and celebrate more - We hosted a big anniversary party and two baby showers, I blogged more (barely...but more), and I mostly stayed on top of photo albums.  What needs improvement:  maybe all of the above, but I don't think it's going to happen.  

It's been a year of great goal progress, for sure.  If I'm being completely honest, it's also been too hectic of a year, and I need to make some adjustments.  But I'll get into that a little more when I share my 2018 list later.

Remember, if you don't have PowerSheets, you can look into Lara Casey's or Gretchen Rubin's sites to find plenty of useful tools to help you get started.  Good luck and Happy New Year!