There are 65 days until 2020! It seems like as I get older, the faster time flies, and it's kind of jarring. We have so many exciting things planned for 2020 that I have been thinking of 2019 as a prologue. The prologue of a novel really sets up the story, and so, I'd really like the rest of this year to set up the next in the best way possible. In fact, the post I shared on January 1, 2018 was all about doing something today, that you will thank yourself for tomorrow.
I still feel very strongly about that life strategy. What better way to set up next year, than starting right now? There are 3 areas of my life that I am going to focus on, and doing so will really help me finish the year strong. Those areas are Health, Wealth and Self.
Health
I started dieting this summer, and actually lost about a dozen pounds. Admittedly, I got off track when we went on our big trip to Europe, and had my subsequent wisdom tooth surgery. I gained a little bit back on our trip, and then lost it all again after not being able to eat much following my surgery. In fact it was so hard to eat, that I was struggling to get enough food- so the diet went out the window. Since I've recovered though, I've maintained the exact same weight for months. Minor fluctuations of course, but I'd really like to get back to losing.
My goal is to lose about 10 more pounds, even though I'd be thrilled with just 5. Mostly, I loved how I was feeling when I was sticking to the plan 100%. Additionally, I've been running for about 6 weeks consistently, and I'm really happy with the progress there. My goal is to continue that schedule and balance eating right with it too.
Wealth
Budgeting has been on my mind for a few months now, but so far it's just been a big experiment. I think our budget is just so new that we keep making mistakes and miscalculations. Unexpected bills (like our entire plumbing system getting clogged.) or bills we forgot about (like dog-sitting) have come up and we did not have those on the list. It's a learning curve.
In the last two months of the year I'd really like to nail down the budget and get it right. I'd also like to get better at my grocery bill. The goal was to keep it around $80 a week, but so far I've been right at $100 a week. It'd be nice to do a little more budget friendly meal plan and see if that helps. Additionally, I want to really cut back on extras and see if we can save a lot more that we are currently. I've read assigning specific numbers help more than just saying "I want to save more." so I will be doing that.
Self
My two biggest goals right now involve my health and my self control when it comes to the budget, so the 'self' category stumped me at first. However, it didn't take long for me to think of several things that I want to improve.
Being Less Critical.
I come by this honestly. It's genetic. It's my natural personality. It has always been hard for me to see people not being their best selves. Improvement is something I'm constantly striving for, so it has never made sense to me why others wouldn't do the same. I actually wrote about this same subject in 2015, so I obviously haven't changed much. I'm going to apply my own advice and give others the benefit of the doubt, and stop other critical conversations when I hear them.
Consume Less Social Media
Gah, social media is such a blessing and a curse. I know I am spending WAY too much time on my phone and computer. Most of it is simply boredom. I truly wonder how much productivity I'm missing out on because of wasting time on social platforms. I wrote a post last year on how to do a social media free weekend, and I'd love to start doing those again. It was a challenge!!
Talk About Myself Less.
Have you noticed most of the sentences in this post start with "I". Now that I've pointed it out you will. This is my blog, so I guess I get to talk about myself here. It's just that I have noticed I talk about myself in real life too. It's incredibly selfish to think I'm that interesting, haha. My goal going forward is to mention my own life less and ask people more questions about theirs. It's also important to me that I remember things about people, so I'm working on that too.
Alright, the countdown is on. The end of the year is flying towards us. It's my hope to make the rest of 2019 really count, and to set myself up for an amazing 2020 (I'm planning on it!). Please leave me a comment below and tell me how you are planning to end the year! Are you hoping for a fresh start next year, or are you already working towards something?
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