January Goals | 2022

I love the changing of a season! Nothing motivates me more than a clean slate. This is what January represents for me. Even though it’s warm and cozy, it is full of fresh beginnings! One of the things I love to do is reset in a variety of areas of my life. Mainly because I figure I might as well channel the energy I receive from seeing January 1 on my calendar, and use it to be productive! But also with a whole year ahead of me, I like to create goals for the year and align our commitments accordingly to support those dreams/goals. I also use it as a time to tweak any habits that would help the flow of my day be less stressful and allow for more JOY!

I created a list of goals, which is actually more of a to-do list for the month of January. I’m excited to see the momentum of this list get our family off to a good start for 2022!

Here is my list of January goals…

1. Set goals with each kid. As our kids get older, the more commitments they want to sign up for. Which means the more running around I do and the more divide-and-conquering it requires of Ryan and I. It’s a high priority for us to have dinner together around the table, as well as have a day of rest on the weekend. So we are always very selective with what we commit to, as we know that too much on our schedule not only exhausts Ryan and I, but it effects our family connection. Sitting down with each child and setting goals helps them to think through what dreams they want to chase down this year, put it on paper and research the “next steps” needed to make it happen. This in turn, allows me to know what to sign them up for in order to achieve their goal. It’s basically an exercise of intentionality and boundaries. We know what to say “no” to, in order to say “yes” to the right things for each child for the year, and in turn, our family life feels less chaotic and more focused.

2. Make a list of cold weather activities. The kids always enjoy having something to look forward to, especially during the winter months when it’s cold and dreary outside. While I could sit and read with a cozy blanket all winter long, that’s not very fun for my kids. Making a bucket list of sorts helps me to be intentional to engage with my kids and create memories. Some thoughts are ice skating, making a trip to the library, making winter crafts, finish a puzzle, watch a winter-y movie and build a snowman. I need some fresh ideas!

3. Clean out our junk drawer. I am always surprised by the peace that organizing an area of our home brings. The sense of accomplishment is also a high motivator to tackle other areas of the house! You can find me going back to that organized space just to take a look and relish in the satisfaction of a job well done. The peace of mind is well worth it! I thought I’d start small and clean out the highly used space of our junk drawer (which is where we store all of our pens, pencils, tape, stapler, keys, etc.).

4. Create a monthly movie night list. We are not huge television watchers. I grew up on TV (I vividly remember watching “Jem and the Holograms” before school every morning and “Looney Tunes” in the afternoons). However, my husband did not. Growing up on a remote island will limit certain things like that. So we’ve adapted to Ryan’s lifestyle of little to no television for the most part, which makes movie nights all the more special around the Grossman house. We do it up and make homemade popcorn, bring every blanket we own into the living room, and it usually ends up in a family slumber party in our bedroom. Aiming for one movie a month seems doable, because honestly, it feels like family-friendly movies (that are good) are hard to come by. I am shocked by what my dad was letting me watch as a kid, because it’s a strong “no” for some of the movies from my childhood! Ha! We lean more on the conservative side as to what we let our kids watch, so that probably plays into the struggle of finding movies worthwhile to watch for the age range of kids we have. The struggle is real with also finding a movie that caters to the different ages/genders of our kids! So having a movie plan is helpful to avoid the ninety hours it usually takes our kids to search and watch endless trailers for, and finally agree on a movie. I swear it’s 10 o’clock by the time they actually get to starting the movie!

5. Intermittent Fast on Mondays. I have explored and experimented fasting for different reasons in the past – spiritual and health. It is always a good experience, albeit psychologically painful at first. Recently, Ryan has researched and experimented with long-term fasting (seven days of only water), and has done a lot of research as to the health benefits of doing so. I’m not sold yet, because the thought of it makes me envision a lot of hangry moments that will be taken out on my kids. However, I do enjoy the “break” my body gets from short-term fasting, not having to work so hard to digest food (especially the wrong foods for my body), as well as the mental clarity that comes. It’s astonishing to me the focus and energy that comes from any kind of fasting. I’m choosing to do the 16:8 IF, which means I stop eating on Sunday at 8pm and fast until Monday at noon. Then I have a normal lunch at noon, snack in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening. Overall, I’ll try to aim for 8pm being a stopping point for all food consumption on any given day. I appreciate the practice of discipline, even if for one small part of my week. I also like the idea of fasting on Mondays, in order to reset my week and get off to a great start with good choices for my body and more importantly, my mind! I am always looking for ways to cultivate and protect my energy, because I am very sensitive to things depleting my energy quickly. I love having a good challenge to look forward to, and I am constantly on the lookout for giving my brain what it needs to function optimally. (Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor do I assume to know what is best for your body. Please do not attempt to follow my advice, but rather seek a professional and/or do your own research on this topic).

6. Reset: Workout and Laundry Habits. Can you see the theme running throughout this list? Reset, reset, reset! That is what January is all about for me. The train I fall off the most throughout the year is laundry. I dread laundry. It’s my least favorite household chore. I don’t mind throwing in and switching laundry over, but the folding and putting away part is the death of me. But it is amazing how cluttered and disorganized our home can feel when laundry is not done consistently. It has such a snowball effect. I realized last year that if I post on a public forum that I’m doing a challenge, it holds me accountable. And the encouragement I received from people on the comment section was so helpful and just what I needed to keep going! So I’m recommitting to a 28-day plan to workout and do one full load of laundry. The rules of this 28-day challenge as it pertains to the workout portion, are to workout every day for 28 days straight. It can be a ride on the peleton bike, a long run outside, a gym strength training class, a yoga class on the peleton app, stretching, kicking the soccer ball around with my kids, or a 10-minute walk just to get outside. The point is to move my body and get outside as much as possible. As for the laundry portion of this challenge, the same goes, do one load of laundry (start to finish) for 28 days straight. Why I picked 28 days? It comes from a book I read way-back-when about habits, where studies showed it takes approximately 28 days for a new habit to become routine. I also learned that one of the best ways to add a new habit is to attach it to an already existing one. For working out, I do better accomplishing it in the early morning (I come up with more excuses as the day goes on), so squeezing a workout in after my quiet time and before my kids get up, is best for me. Starting a load of laundry is best attached to my morning routine of getting ready and making my bed. Switching over the load right after lunch, and then folding/putting away laundry sometime before my kids get home from school. We’ll see how this 28-day challenge goes this second time around. Wish me luck and cheer me on!

What are you doing this January? I’d love to hear! Comment and let me know, I’d love new ideas! Check back on Friday, I’ll be sharing a peek inside one of my favorite everyday life routines! Happy Wednesday! xoxo