2010 Goals - Better Late Than Never, Right?

I've never been a New Year's Resolution maker. Sure, I've made the traditional ones...exercise more, eat less, be nicer, be more spiritual, etc. Have I ever stuck w/ those? Yeah, right!!! This year, I'm trying something different. My dear college friend, Lawgirl, wrote up a great post on her blog about making resolutions/goals for the new year. After reading it, I realized why I'd never been able to stay w/ mine...they were too general. She mentioned the SMART acronym:

S = specific, significant, stretching

M = measureable, motivating, meaningful, memorable

A = attainable, accountability, achievable

R = relevant, realistic, reasonable, rewarding

T = timebound, tangible, thoughtful

All of these are common sense, which apparently I'd been lacking for a while - LOL. So, in an effort to better myself in this new year, I sat down w/ a spiral notebook. On page one, I wrote my goals in general form. Page two is the SMART acronym. The third page is a list of possible focus words for the year. I've seen this mentioned on several blogs & thought I might add a word or phrase to help me focus for the year. I'm still trying to find the right one for me. I'm leaning toward "REVIVE" but I'm not sure yet.

On the pages following, I listed each individual goal more specifically, including dates by which I want to accomplish the goals. Notice I'm using the word "Goals", rather than "Resolutions". It makes them more real in my mind. My list is still not complete. Knowing me, I'm sure I'll be adding & subtracting things from it most of the year. But, at least I have something down on paper.

In an effort to hold myself more accountable, here are my general goals w/ some of the specific breakdowns. I'm hoping to revisit this throughout the year here on my blog. Perhaps knowing that I've let others in on my goals, I'll be more motivated to follow through on at least some of them!

1) EAT BETTER (more fruits, veggies, & whole grains; less sugar & desserts; more water)

2) EXERCISE (walking; stretching exercises I found in a magazine; buy a Wii Fit - & use it!)

3) DECLUTTER / ORGANIZE THE WHOLE HOUSE (regular cleaning schedule; go room by room to declutter; organize files & recipes; make family binder; update family medical files)

4) BUDGET / FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION (get back on track w/ Dave Ramsey's plan; make & stick to a budget; pay off bills & start saving more; use an envelope system for cash)

5) FAMILY (make a weekly family night; more family meals even if Daddy's not home from work; catch up w/ & stay on track for school; less yelling & more encouragement; chore chart for all)

6) PERSONAL (more spiritual time; start day earlier; get back to my creative outlets of scrapbooking & stamping)

So there you have it...my six big goals for the year 2010. Some may only take a short time; some may take ALL. YEAR. LONG! Some are easy; some are very challenging, but doable if I really put my mind to it.

Thank you Lawgirl for your tips & inspiration!

And to all my readers...Have a wonderful New Year!