2021 is the third year (and second in a row) that I’m using PowerSheets to help me define and track my goals for the year. I love love love how they help you break down what’s most important to you and lay out realistic, achievable goals that are close to your heart. I definitely did not achieve all of my 2020 goals, but I know that my year was better for having them. I’m a few weeks late in sharing my goals for the year. I know that most people have already stopped thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, and that we’re already creeping up on the date when most resolutions fail entirely. But I’m still feeling so pumped and energized about my 2021 goals, so I thought I’d share them here.

My 2021 Goals

This year, instead of having specific, actionable goals for the entire year, I’m making them a little more broad and giving myself the opportunity to figure them out as I go. I think this will work better for me as I tend to rebel against too much structure–even if it’s self-imposed. This way I can be a little bit ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ but also have purpose and meaning in my year.

1. Make nourishing my body well a natural + enjoyable part of life.

Over the years, and last year in particular, I’ve come to realize that the way I nourish myself directly affects my mood, energy, and ability to pursue the things that matter to me. If I skip breakfast, I inevitably get hangry and irritable by mid-afternoon and have trouble working up the energy to cook dinner. I’ve never been a huge fan of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but I’m realizing that my health and the health of my family will depend on just that. So rather than continue to avoid it as much as possible, I want to make cooking nourishing foods often enjoyable and natural. I don’t know how this will look all year, but I’m excited to find out! I’m also delighted to discover that this mindset shift has already helped make me less miserable in the kitchen!

2. Cultivate our local community

We’ve now officially lived in the DC area for two full years! 2020 was unexpected and tough to make new connections. We were so thankful for the friends we had already made here, as the year would have been so much harder and less joyful without them. This year my goal is to continue to pour into those relationships and cultivate even more new friendships in a safe + healthy way. I’m still not sure what that will look like in the midst of the pandemic, but that will make each month new and exciting, amiright?

3. Make our home functional, comfortable, and beautiful

Buying a condo in 2020 was incredibly unexpected, but we are sooo thankful for the gift it is! I love all things home and want to be a good steward by making it a place we (and others) love to be. Part of that will include focusing time and money on making it beautiful and comfortable. But I also want to make it functional. This will include things like getting closets organized, cleaning supplies in easy-to-reach places, and (hopefully) our closet door expanded to french doors. We’ve already started the year off strong by painting the bathroom and kitchen backsplash and adding some kitchen shelves to the bathroom + kitchen. It feels good! Excited to see what else my brain can come up with between now and December 2021!

4. Write

I’ve always loved words and writing, but have not been disciplined at making this happen. I’m pretty sure I make this a goal every single year, so why give up in 2021? Again, not sure exactly how this goal will play out throughout the whole year, but I definitely want to focus time in this arena.

5. Nourish our marriage

Apparently, sometimes I have really specific goals and sometimes I have broad goals that could mean a lot of different things. I don’t have anything specific mapped out for this goal yet. I just know I want it to be a priority. For the first month, that involves making sure we go through our marriage journal every week.

6. Prioritize memory keeping

This is a goal that I set last year and didn’t finish. It still is really close to my heart, so I’m rolling it over to 2021. Last year I bought and went through half of this course, which is fantastic. I want to finish culling and sorting all of my digital photos and then start printing photo albums.

7. Prioritize spiritual nourishment

Here’s another broad goal that I haven’t mapped out for the entire year yet. I have a few ideas, but overall I plan to play this by ear and set goals based on what I feel like is missing at the beginning of each month or quarter.

8. Foster our financial health

Last year I was terrible about making us go over our budget month after month. Apparently buying a new home can do that to you. This year I want to be more disciplined and intentional about our finances.