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I think we can all agree that the last two years have been……ridiculous. I want this New Year to be different.

I struggled a lot with major, crippling anxiety through most of 2021, and have worked so hard to get back to some sort of normality in my life. Now that I feel much more stable, I want to continue to better and improve myself.

It’s been really hard to find motivation to do daily tasks like cleaning, organizing, cooking even – which I love doing! Ok, let’s be honest, I’ve always sucked at organizing!

But it’s a New Year, What Now?

Time To Get Up

One thing I’ve been doing to get myself up and going, is watching cleaning and organizing videos on YouTube! Now, laugh if you must & it probably sounds lame, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get off the couch and get moving with your day!

After browsing YouTube one day, I happened upon a video with a title that caught my eye – ‘Cleaning Your House While Living With Anxiety and Depression’. What??? Two of the very things I was struggling with, rolled up in one video???

As I watched, tears started welling up in my eyes as she talked. I could relate to everything she was saying, and her motivation gave me the motivation I was so lacking.

Now in the mornings I’ve added watching a cleaning/organizing/meal prep video to my daily routine. I also love watching Kimberly on The Wads – she’s so upbeat but not annoyingly so, not pretentious at all, and she’s hilarious. It’s a really fun & lighthearted thing to incorporate in the start of my day.

Time To Get Organized

This year I decided to get an official planner and really try to get my daily life down on paper and organized. Some people like to use their phones, tablets, online calendars to keep track of their lives, but I’ve learned over the years that I do MUCH better if I actually write stuff down.

So a couple weeks before the New Year, I scoured the vast black hole that is Planners on the internet. Then I got overwhelmed and quit. Then I tried it the next day….and the next day…..and the next……day…….Until I happened upon the brand The Happy Planner. I really liked the designs and layouts, so I kept digging until I found their Recovery Planner . It was exactly what I was looking for! It’s not specific on what you’re ‘recovering’ from, which I liked, but has a ton of encouraging messages, thoughtful prompts and spaces to write down what you’re dealing with.

Then I saw that you can get coordinating stickers……..but did I need them? I went back and forth with spending money on a pack of stickers, but after watching a couple YouTube videos (yep. Again.) on using planners, I decided if beautifying my planner pages helped me achieve my goals and stick with planning, then it was worth it. #Treatyoself

The goals I’ve settled on range from basic to more in depth/harder – I think it’s a good idea to have a range of different types of goals so that you don’t get discouraged and quit. Which I would.

A couple of the goals I have on my list are:

  • Drink more water – this one strongly relates to the amount of headaches I get, and the fact that I’m probably perpetually dehydrated. See said Headache post.
  • Start to Meal Plan
  • Figure out a Cleaning Schedule so my house isn’t such a pit
  • Go back to Mom’s group once or twice a month – I miss having friends
  • Be more consistent with blog post writing
  • 1 Date night/month
  • Read 6 books in 2022 – I’m sure I could do more cuz I’m a fast reader, but I also have a really fast toddler
  • Be more intentional with making time for Gunnar’s learning at home. Out of my excitement, I’ve amassed quite the collection of preschool books over the past year or so. Unfortunately, Gunnar doesn’t share that excitement most of the time. So I’m always trying to figure out new ways to teach him. Luckily, he’s obsessed with numbers, letters, shapes, & colors, so it’s more about being creative and putting in the time.

He loves this educational word spelling game !

So far I’m only doing good with drinking water, meal planning, and cleaning…….hahaha!

Tips For Growing in The New Year

  • Decide on what you want to improve upon – pick things you’re passionate about!
  • Figure out the steps to get you to those goals – be specific!
  • Write them down – I’m personally trying to be on my phone less, plus I remember things better if I physically write them down.
  • Set deadlines for your goals, whether they be weekly, monthly, quarterly…..you get it.
  • Be realistic with where you’re at mentally, how busy you are, and if your goal fits into your life currently. If not, move stuff around or postpone it till you can fit it in!
  • Keep your goals in front of you! I have several places I keep my goals – wall calendar, planner, and my new meal planning dry erase board that is on our fridge
  • Don’t be afraid to dream BIG! Let me tell you, I have some BIG dreams and goals for certain things in my life this year, and it’s SCARY. But the possibility of not even trying is scarier. One thing I’m trying to remember that I heard from Pastor Steven Furtick, is just because you’ve experienced failure, does not mean that YOU are a failure. What you’ve experienced does not have to define you!

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

Albert Einstein
  • Change it up! If after a month or so you’re finding that some of your goals aren’t working with your schedule, reassess things. There’s nothing that says these things are set in stone!
  • And lastly – don’t be so hard on yourself. If you don’t make some of your goals – it’s ok! It may not feel like it, and you’ll probably get discouraged, but keep going! Try again! Reset! Like Thomas Edison said – ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work!’ What a great perspective to have! I definitely don’t have that most of the time!

What are some goals you’re working on in 2022? Any tips that work great for you? Tell me in the comments!