Why I’m Not Setting Goals This Year

I’m not setting goals this year. Okay, I am going to set goals but I’m going about it in a completely different way.

I’ve always been an overachiever who loved the fresh start of January and starts every new year with big goals and bigger dreams. Very few of my goals were riveting enough to hold me all year.

Eventually I learned to pair down my goals to a small handful of goals that were the most important to me. Reading goals. Saving goals. Family goals. Blogging goals. I tried to focus on a goal on the areas that were most important. That’s how I did it in 2021 but it just didn’t work for me as it did in previous years.

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After reading my friend Kalyn’s new book this year about how she sets goals every 6 weeks in what she calls a “6 Week Sprint”, I was intrigued. It makes so much sense to be hyper focused on only one goal for 6 weeks – and then move onto the next one. Here’s an example of how she used the 6 Week Sprint to open her Etsy shop.

As I started thinking about this upcoming year, I wanted to try using that format more. Still, I know there are some things that I DO want to work on all year. The 6 Week Sprint framework makes perfect sense for projects but I can’t reach my big savings goals in just six weeks. I wish I could! I’m definitely want to use the 6 Week Sprint with working on digital photo albums…that I never got to this past year.

Then it came to me. I need to reframe everything.

I’m going to choose a word for my year.

Have you heard of this before? It’s very popular in some circles. The idea is that you choose a word to focus on all year. It applies to your goals and life and projects and relationships – everything! I’ve been intrigued by this idea for years but have never tried it before. That changes now.

2022 is my year to be INTENTIONAL.

I was thinking about everything I want to do and be this year and I realized it all came down to this. Intention.

I want to be intentional with my time.

I want to choose wisely how I am spending it. I want to make reading a daily priority because I have so many books I want to read! I want to spend more time in Scripture and be intentional with my devotions. I don’t want to waste time on social media. I want to use my time wisely. (168 Hours is my re-read for this topic.)

I want to be intentional in our home.

This is where our life is lived and I want my family to love being at home. I want to love being at home. I need to be intentional about decluttering, streamlining systems and making sure our home serves our family. (I’m reading a library copy of Declutter Like a Mother right now. Very good, mild language aside. Decluttering might be one of my first 6 Week Sprints.) I want to spend more time on people than on chores.

I want to be intentional with my health.

I’m turning 40 this year and realized I need to focus on myself, yes, even in the midst of everything else that is going on. I want to walk more, take vitamins consistently and eat healthier. I love chocolate but it’s time for me to do an intentional reset diet and health wise.

I want to be intentional with our kids.

I need to work at putting down my phone and looking at them and really listening when they talk. (I’m rereading Hands Free Mama to start the year.) It’s those little things as well as continuing to read together every single day, hugging more and treasuring the days we are living right now. I constantly feel the reality that the days are long but the years are short.

I want to be intentional in my marriage.

Andy is always busy at school but this year is even busier than most. I don’t know how it is possible but it is true. I want to help him as much as I can, and also be intentional about making time for the two of us to recharge together. Even when it’s simply talking late at night before watching a show together, I want us to stay focused on being us. It’s our 13th anniversary this summer so we’re no longer newlyweds and I don’t ever want us to take each other for granted.

I want to be intentional with our money.

We depleted several savings accounts with big purchases last year, especially when paying cash for our new-to-us suburban. We had to replace the transmission in our van as well and since the van continues to act up, it has prioritized the need to save for a new van sooner rather than later. We need to be intentional about building our savings again – even as I continue building our stockpile. I’m being intentional with our grocery shopping to stretch that budget as well.

I want to be intentional with my blog.

It was a great year of growth this past year and I want to continue growing. I need to intentionally focus on the areas that bring me the best rate of return. It is too easy to get bogged down by all the countless should do blogging activities, and I need to focus on what is truly important for me in this online space. I have several ideas for 6 Week Sprint Ideas in this area including time spent on my Etsy shop and updating older content (especially recipes) as well as launching a new custom Christian children’s book. There is so much I want to do blog wise that I need to be intentional and choose my priorities wisely.

As you can see, all my goals and hopes and projects all come down to being intentional.

My goal is to frame everything in this perspective this year and be intentional with whatever I am doing.

So that’s why I’m not setting goals like I usually do.

I simply want to be intentional with whatever I do.

Have you set some goals for this year? Or have you chosen a word for your year? I’d love to hear what you are planning for the upcoming year!