I’ve been writing down monthly intentions or goals to help me focus in on what is important. Many of the things listed are daily habits I’m seeking to maintain or grow in. The goal is not to obtain perfection, but to make steady progress…and months when there isn’t any progress, to give myself grace and start again the next month. That is my hope for you too as you strive to implement daily/weekly/monthly habits.

Recap of Intentions in January

Things that were challenging in January: working in the basement with my husband (I know – is that ever going to happen?), daily movement on days when I was off, 1:1 dates with my sons, and my morning routine (I did roughly half of this month).

Things that went well in January: Tracking expenses (this is a first for months, if ever)!!! Also, getting at least 6 hours of sleep at night, making our bed, meal planning, and going out with my friends.

Drift…

Last month I wrote that I wasn’t sure if I had any goals, aside from maintaining the habits that I’m always trying to maintain every month. I’ve changed my mind though. One of the biggest reasons? Michael Hyatt’s story about snorkeling with this wife in Maui.

I heard him on a podcast describe how he and his wife were snorkeling, and so enthralled, that they didn’t realize they were caught in a riptide and had drifted more than a mile out to sea. He writes, “Many people experience this with their life. They look up and find themselves far away from where they thought they would be at this point in their lives.”

That really convicted me. It also inspired me to write down the goals I know I already have, and to dream about future goals. I don’t want to drift anymore. I feel like I’ve been drifting for too long.

One of my things that was challenging last month was making my 1:1 dates with my sons happen. These dates are important to me, but unless I schedule the time on the calendar, they won’t happen.

I think our natural inclination is to drift. Being intentional is quite unnatural for most of us. I know my parents never sat me down to explain how to set goals for my life. I know they had aspirations for themselves and hopes for their children, but they rarely spoke explicitly about them.

I’m 44 years old and I feel like I don’t have a whole lot of time to waste. But as Michael Hyatt also encourages – it’s never too late to start. It’s only when we map out our desires/goals/intentions that we can make slow but steady progress towards accomplishing them.

January’s Top 3 List:

As part of these monthly recaps and goals, I’m sharing the top 3 posts and top 3 things I was grateful for this past month.

TOP 3 POSTS IN JANUARY:

1. Stress Free Meal Planning for Beginners: Finding what Works for You
2. 10 Lessons Learned After a Year of Decluttering
3. Meal Planning for Beginners

TOP 3 THINGS I WAS GRATEFUL FOR IN JANUARY:

1. My youngest son being accepted into the two private schools we were looking at. We’ve also secured one scholarship for him!
2. Finally making it to a PCP. Although I have been going annually to the birth center I had my sons at for annual well woman visits, I hadn’t been to my primary care for years. I thought it was finally time to get any other tests done that a 40 year old might need. Turns out I’m in excellent health and really don’t need anything PCP specific until I turn 50. I really wasn’t happy with this new PCP and will probably end up going back to the birth center for annual exams!
3. Realizing that I do have goals, writing them down, and taking small steps to make them a reality.

Top 3 Posts and Top 3 Things I was grateful for in January #gratitude #top3 Click To Tweet

Monthly Intentions for February:

SPIRITUAL:

• Daily bible reading from The Daily Message. 
• Pray for my husband, children, and loved ones daily using the scripture God has given me.
• Take at least 3 slow, deep breaths in the morning. Silent prayer and meditation for 12 minutes.

PERSONAL:

• Finish reading David Bach’s 2 books: Start Late, Finish Rich and Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner (I’m hoping my husband and I will read this one together).
• Going out with friends at least once a month.
• Intentional movement 5 days of the week (running or HIIT video at least 2 of those days).
  • I know I’ll be less and less motivated to run as the weather turns wet, cold, and maybe snowy soon, so I’m going back to quick but effective High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) videos. There are some great ones on my Pinterest board Fitness Workouts if you want to check it out. Also, back in this post, I list some of my go to  YouTube fitness channels.
• Be in bed by 11pm. Sleep at least 6 hours a night, with 7 hours being ideal.
• Write down 3 things I’m grateful for daily each evening.

HOUSEHOLD:

• Meal Plan dinner for the weeknights
• Go through my sons’ clothes and donate or consign items they aren’t wearing.
• Move my sons up to our room and move us down to a smaller bedroom. They boys want to be in one room together so we’re going to give up our larger bedroom and put them all in one room.
• Work at least 15 minutes in the basement (with or without) hubby on Sunday evenings when I put in a load of laundry.
• Budget and track daily expenses using the free EveryDollar app. Meet weekly with my husband and get on the same page with out money! We did it once last month and we’re communicating a lot more through the month too. We’re hoping to make this a weekly thing!

WRITING & BLOGGING:

• Elite Blog Academy has been my main blogging course that I’ve been going through all year. It’s been instrumental in giving me direction and guidance every step of the way. The course opens for a short time February 27-March 3. If you’re at all interested in blogging – sign up for her wait list TODAY! She has awesome FREE content:
  • 7 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Blog Income eBook
  • the EBA Blog Assessment . I just took the assessment and found 3 different areas that I can be improving.
  • the Goal Setting Workbook for Bloggers
  • a FREE training (Don’t miss this!) Blogging Made Simple
• Post at least once a week (ideally twice) on my blog for February
• Write 500 words at least 3 times a week (daily is too much for me right now!)
• Write one guest post for February, featuring ideas from my eBook
• Figure out FB ads to let more people know about my FREE 7 Day Decluttering eCourse.
• Contribute an old post on Huffington Post. I was so excited to become a contributor to Huffington Post. You can find my entries so far here.

What are your monthly goals for February? #goals #intentions Click To Tweet

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Monthly Goals:

• Date night with hubby- this may even become a twice a month thing now that we can use my oldest son as the babysitter! We’ve also starting streaming $1 movies through VidAngel . We used to use Redbox, but the convenience of not having to go out of the house to return the movie, is awesome.

• One on one outings with each son.

What are some monthly intentions that you have for February?

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