- Walk 500 miles this year
This is a must have on my 2021 goals list. After having my back surgery almost 6 years ago, I asked the doctor what I could do to prevent future problems and he said I was going to have to walk at least two miles most days of the week and do strengthen exercises weekly. So you know what….I have!! Nothing is worth going back to suffering through nonstop muscle spasms. **The sad thing is the doctor admitted that he tells every patient this and then they come back within 6 months hurting all over again. So if you have back pain and you want to avoid surgery….get moving!
2. Yoga/meditation 2x week
Yes, I have been pretty active over the past few years, but my muscles are so tight that my flexibility is really poor. To remedy this, I decided that yoga would probably be a great way to keep my joints flexible and strengthen my back at the same time. **I decided to include the meditation part because I find if I meditate while doing yoga I feel amazing afterwards, so it becomes a mental health break as well.
3. Read more nonfiction books
I decided to repeat this goal for 2021 because I love reading and lately fiction has been so hard to get into. Apparently I am not alone, I’ve heard countless people say that the pandemic has messed with their minds and their attention spans. Lately, nonfiction and reading aloud to my children have been the only way my mind can follow a story.
4. Keep a gratitude journal
We all need to keep a gratitude journal. I’ve read countless studies that tell us again and again that being thankful is almost a sure bet to increase your happiness level (or contentment level at least) So this year, I am going to list at least one thing each day that I am grateful for and then, try and remember to look back over my blessings when life starts getting me down.
5. Try one new recipe each week
Like so many people the idea of takeout is growing more and more appealing as we continue to suffer with decision fatigue and the general feeling of overwhelmed-ness (this probable isn’t a real word, but it is a real feeling!) that the pandemic brings to our lives. To combat this, I am going to try and make one new recipe each week. I’ve had a couple of fails lately, but at least they were not boring meals:)
6. Do more things as a family
We have spent more time together this year then any other year I can remember and I am happy to say that we still like each other! We love hiking, playing games, and going on short day trips in our area so hopefully we can keep that up this year again.
7. Buy more used items
I love buying used items because I can: A) Save money and B) Help keep things out of the landfills. So this year I will once again be keeping a tally of how much money I saved by buying items used.
8. Take my children on monthly outings by themselves
My kids have asked to resurrect this goal from 2019. Both of my kids love having quality time with me and my husband alone. So hopefully each month we will find little things to do with each kid by themselves and continue making precious memories that they can look back on for years to come.
9. Finish my 2019 NaNoWriMo novel
I did not finish my 2019 novel last year, so this goal got rolled over (once again) to this year. I just know that if I do not hold myself accountable, it will fall to the wayside and I will never get to find out what happens to Maggie and Anna in this newest installment. I think I am going to go back and restructure a few of the scenes before I add more chapters. My last readthrough got a little boring at the end, so hopefully I can jazz it up a bit before moving on.
**If you would like to check out my last novel, Murder at Kelsey Hall, its available to purchase on Amazon as an eBook (or if you have Kindle Unlimited, it is currently free to read with your subscription)
10. Volunteer more
Another thing that I want to do more of this year is to volunteer more. Due to Covid, a lot of our volunteering activities dried up last year, but I think with a little planning we can start finding things to do or people to help in 2021 once again. Even if its just picking up trash or doing random acts of kindness once a week, that will be great in my book and better than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves.
Are you making goals for 2021? Its never too late to start on your journey to having a more intentional and awesome year!
The Thrifty Educator 