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Following in Elsie’s footsteps, I decided to post four simple goals that I will be dedicating myself to for the remainder of the year.
1. Spruce A Space once a week: We are a typical family with typical “piles” in unsightly places and little non-beautiful messes. I would like to take time once a week to clean at least one little nook of dust and randomness. If I really want to impress myself, I might even add something beautiful in its place (a scented candle, a picture? We’ll see). *Reward for finishing: one small Etsy print purchase
2. Find Balance (in my checkbook): This is a boring one, but one I constantly struggle with and wish to overcome. Because, you see, my wellbeing depends on a balanced checkbook. When I have handfuls of receipts poking out of nooks in my purse and have that uneasy feeling of not quite knowing where we’re at, I feel unnerved. Even though its boring, this goal is dedicated to my personal happiness. I’ll sleep better, believe me. *Reward for finishing: a new checkbook cover
3. MOVE: I have a desk job and I often find myself coming to the realization that I haven’t moved from the time I punch in until lunchtime, except to take a bathroom break (oh, that sluggish feeling!). I need to get up at least once an hour to rest my eyes and move some blood around. This is a simple goal that I know I can do, I just need a silly written commitment like this to make it happen. *Reward for finishing: a new tea flavor
4. Art Journal Date: I signed up for Art Journal All Year, one of Elsie’s classes, at the beginning of the year and have yet to finish more than, um, three pages. I don’t want this to become a chore, so I’m changing the curriculum a little bit and making my art journal more of a dream journal where I make lists of things I want to accomplish and ways to bring them to fruition. The thing is, the process of journaling my dreams and making pretty pages is cathartic, stress-reducing, and productive. I also believe the process of dream planning leads to good things. It’s funny how those things you love the most get pushed to the side first.
*Reward for finishing: a new roll of washi tape
I am not only posting these goals here and submitting them to A Beautiful Mess, but I am also tracking them on DailyFeats, along with a few other achievable goals. The site encourages you to make healthy habits stick by creating little goal “triggers” like “after I brush my teeth, I will drink one cup of water.” They also offer a built-in rewards system for each feat that you accomplish every day/week. Tangible prizes like $5 off coupons make really good incentives to make your life a little better. Hopefully these rewards will coincide with the rewards listed above (i.e. a $5 coupon to buy a new checkbook cover).
I encourage you to take Elsie’s challenge or just dedicate a little time to some “Daily Feats” that you’d like to accomplish. Being stagnant is suffocating. Taking action will transform your life.
I’ll meet you back here to follow up as I achieve these goals.
I have alarms set on my phone to go off twice a day while I'm at work to remind me to get up and move. Specifically I go to the stairwell and walk up and down a few times, do some squats and lunges, some dips, etc. I feel so much better when I do it and it keeps me from getting headaches from eyestrain.
Good luck meeting your goals!
Thanks Rachel. I'm guilty of doing squats in the bathroom. LOL. I walk/ride bike to/from work and walk at lunch, but I need to work on the in-between times. Good idea, setting a phone timer.
Thank you for sharing your list, Jessica. I'm trying to set time aside to do art journalling myself. It's so therapeutic to write down and elaborate on goals! It's just finding the time. But really, when it comes to goals and dreams just putting them on paper is a start to making them happen 🙂 xo L
I love it–"making them happen." You're so right. Sometimes getting caught up in elaborate artwork can actually detract from making progress on other goals. Just some simple ideas and sketches with pen and ink is powerful.