I can't believe it's already February!! January absolutely flew by! I meant to post at least a couple more times before January was over, but time got away from me.
Since I failed to mention what goal I was focusing on in January in my post on goals, I'll start with that.
In January, I chose to focus on my goal of reading through the Old Testament in a year. I started around mid-January or so, and so far I've made in through Genesis chapter 18. I try to read about three chapters a day, but that's not always possible. I'm trying to make sure that I actually comprehend and get something out of what I read, rather than just reading it to get through it. Some days I find myself spending quite a bit of time on just a small section of verses, reading and rereading them, finding new truths in passages that I've read many, many times.
I think I'm going to quite enjoy this goal. Even though it's off to a slow start right now, I'm sure once I move out of Genesis it will pick up pace. Genesis just has so many of my favorite Bible stories that I tend to take a long time to get through just one chapter.
The goal that I've chosen to focus on in February is getting into better shape. I live within ten minutes of our local YMCA, so I am planning on getting a membership there. In order to do this without hurting my goals of paying off my credit card and saving more money, I'm going to cancel my cable. A membership at the Y is actually $14 less than what I pay for cable, so I plan on putting that extra $14 towards my credit card bill until it is payed off. Once I get it payed off, that money will go into savings. I plan to call tomorrow to cancel the cable, and then hopefully going to the YMCA on Friday to become a member and start working out.
I've been blessed with a wonderful Y that has plenty of amenities and equipment. They have two indoor pools, an outdoor pool, two gymnasiums, a walking/jogging track, a huge strength training center, an aerobic studio, racquetball courts, multipurpose courts, sports fields, and a bike path. The things that I see myself using the most are the pool, the track, the strength training center, and the aerobic studio. In addition to these, they have tons of fitness classes, such as zumba, cycling, and water exercise. Unfortunately, due to working night shift, I probably won't be able to attend these, but we'll see. They open early enough that I can stop there on my way home from work, and they stay open late as well, so I could even stop on my way too work if I wanted.
I hope to do a post soon about how I read through/study the New Testament. It's something that I just started this year, but I've found it very helpful. Hopefully I can get that written and up before this month is over. I'm excited about it!
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
2012 Goals
Since I shared with you all my "One Word" resolution for 2012, I thought I'd share my goals for this year as well. So, here they are:
1. Pay off my credit card-while I use my credit card mainly just for gas to help me build credit, I've had to fall back on it a few times when we've been slow at work in order to pay bills. So I've built up a bit of a balance and haven't been able to pay it off just yet. My tax return is going towards this, and I plan on putting a little money aside each pay day specifically for paying it off.
2. Save more money-I'll admit, I was really bad about saving money last year. I didn't put very much into savings each pay day, not as much as I should have. Some weeks I neglected to put anything into savings...not good, I know. My goal is to put at least $50 a week into savings. (I get paid weekly.) If I can afford to, I'll put more in. This isn't including what I'll be setting aside to pay off my credit card. I'm hoping to be able to save enough that I won't have to fall back on my credit card during slow periods at work so I'll be able to keep it payed off.
3. Stick to my budget-When I first got my own place I did really well at sticking to my budget. After a while, though, I started to stray from my budget and spent more money than I should have. If something that I want is more than I budgeted for, then I'll have to wait and save up for it or go without. I plan on sticking to a strict budget on everything that I can. Bills like water and electric, which are different amounts every month, are harder to budget for, but I plan on sitting down this weekend & averaging out what they were each month last year. I've been here for almost seven months now, so it should be pretty close to accurate.
4. Read through the Old Testament in a year-I want to read through the entire Old Testament this year.I'll admit, I've never read all the way through it before, mainly because some of the books are just plain difficult to get through. So I'm making it a goal to read through it this year. I know, most people choose to read through the entire Bible in a year, rather than just the Old or New Testament, but my format for reading the New Testament (which I'll explain sometime) is a bit different, so I won't get through the entire Bible this year.
5. Get into better shape-I really, really want to get into better shape. Since I've moved out on my own I've found myself eating more, most of the time simply because I'm bored. I live on a dead end street which is off of another dead end street. Since neither road gets much traffic, they're ideal for walking. So once it's gets warm out again, I plan to start walking each evening before I go to work. I'd also like to try to walk in the mornings once I get home from work, but we'll see. I'll just start off slow for now.
6. Start school-My biggest goal for 2012 is to start school. I was hoping to start this summer, but now it's looking like I may not be able to start until this fall. I'm not ruling out starting this summer, however, because I know that God can work miracles. If it's His will, then He will provide a way for me to start this summer. If not, then I'll be patient and just trust that it wasn't His will for me to start them. There's a whole bunch of little goals that fall under this one, such as applying for financial aid, figuring out what courses I want/need to take and when I'll take them, and registering for classes (I've already applied and been accepted to Liberty University). So this goal is really a whole bunch of little goals, just like most of my other goals are.
Well, there you go. Those are my goals for this year. I chose six because that gives me two months to really focus on each one. One month to focus on getting it started and really working hard at it, and another month to revisit it and see what I've accomplished towards it and any ways I can improve what I'm doing. Granted, most of them, such as reading through the Old Testament and sticking to my budget, are things that can't be accomplished in just two months, but I can use those two months to really focus on the goal so that I will hopefully be able to accomplish it.
At the beginning of every month I will post the goal that I'm focusing on for that month, and at the end of the month I'll give an update on what I've accomplished towards that goal. I also plan to, if I have time, break that month's goal down into smaller weekly goals to make it easier to accomplish. I'm excited about what this year has in store for me!
1. Pay off my credit card-while I use my credit card mainly just for gas to help me build credit, I've had to fall back on it a few times when we've been slow at work in order to pay bills. So I've built up a bit of a balance and haven't been able to pay it off just yet. My tax return is going towards this, and I plan on putting a little money aside each pay day specifically for paying it off.
2. Save more money-I'll admit, I was really bad about saving money last year. I didn't put very much into savings each pay day, not as much as I should have. Some weeks I neglected to put anything into savings...not good, I know. My goal is to put at least $50 a week into savings. (I get paid weekly.) If I can afford to, I'll put more in. This isn't including what I'll be setting aside to pay off my credit card. I'm hoping to be able to save enough that I won't have to fall back on my credit card during slow periods at work so I'll be able to keep it payed off.
3. Stick to my budget-When I first got my own place I did really well at sticking to my budget. After a while, though, I started to stray from my budget and spent more money than I should have. If something that I want is more than I budgeted for, then I'll have to wait and save up for it or go without. I plan on sticking to a strict budget on everything that I can. Bills like water and electric, which are different amounts every month, are harder to budget for, but I plan on sitting down this weekend & averaging out what they were each month last year. I've been here for almost seven months now, so it should be pretty close to accurate.
4. Read through the Old Testament in a year-I want to read through the entire Old Testament this year.I'll admit, I've never read all the way through it before, mainly because some of the books are just plain difficult to get through. So I'm making it a goal to read through it this year. I know, most people choose to read through the entire Bible in a year, rather than just the Old or New Testament, but my format for reading the New Testament (which I'll explain sometime) is a bit different, so I won't get through the entire Bible this year.
5. Get into better shape-I really, really want to get into better shape. Since I've moved out on my own I've found myself eating more, most of the time simply because I'm bored. I live on a dead end street which is off of another dead end street. Since neither road gets much traffic, they're ideal for walking. So once it's gets warm out again, I plan to start walking each evening before I go to work. I'd also like to try to walk in the mornings once I get home from work, but we'll see. I'll just start off slow for now.
6. Start school-My biggest goal for 2012 is to start school. I was hoping to start this summer, but now it's looking like I may not be able to start until this fall. I'm not ruling out starting this summer, however, because I know that God can work miracles. If it's His will, then He will provide a way for me to start this summer. If not, then I'll be patient and just trust that it wasn't His will for me to start them. There's a whole bunch of little goals that fall under this one, such as applying for financial aid, figuring out what courses I want/need to take and when I'll take them, and registering for classes (I've already applied and been accepted to Liberty University). So this goal is really a whole bunch of little goals, just like most of my other goals are.
Well, there you go. Those are my goals for this year. I chose six because that gives me two months to really focus on each one. One month to focus on getting it started and really working hard at it, and another month to revisit it and see what I've accomplished towards it and any ways I can improve what I'm doing. Granted, most of them, such as reading through the Old Testament and sticking to my budget, are things that can't be accomplished in just two months, but I can use those two months to really focus on the goal so that I will hopefully be able to accomplish it.
At the beginning of every month I will post the goal that I'm focusing on for that month, and at the end of the month I'll give an update on what I've accomplished towards that goal. I also plan to, if I have time, break that month's goal down into smaller weekly goals to make it easier to accomplish. I'm excited about what this year has in store for me!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
52 Weeks of Orgainizing
I just recently started reading The Organizing Junkie blog and love it so far!! This year she is doing a 52 weeks of organizing challenge, and I've decided to join up. Any of you who know me well know that I am not the most organized person in the world, and that I need all the help I can get! I'm hoping that this challenge will help me get (and stay!) motivated.
The Organizing Junkie has even made it easy for you to get started! She's created a pdf list so that you can write down what you want to accomplish each week. It makes it easy to stay on track and motivated because you see exactly what you want to accomplish broken down by week. It doesn't seem quite so overwhelming this way! I haven't finished my list yet, but here's what I have so far:
- Organize my closets/sort through my clothes
- Organize my dressers/finish sorting through clothes
- Unpack my spring/summer clothes & pack away my winter clothes
- Organize my desk area
- Organize my bed/nightstand area
- Organize my decorations/seasonal items
- Organize my books
- Figure out better storage for items in my room
- Organize my car
- Organize the guest bedroom
- Organize my scrapbooking materials
- Organize my electronics & photography equipment
- Organize Mom's sewing room
- Organize the workshop
- Organize the catch-all room in the basement (what used to be the play room)
- Organize the game room
- Organize the living room
- Organize the kitchen (with Mom!)
- Organize the laundry room
- Organize the family room (with Mom & Dad!)
I'll be tackling my first project this coming week, and will post before and after pictures...be prepared, though, the before pictures will probably be a little scary!
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