On Resolutions.
I hope you love reading big blocks of text!
Oooh ooh ooh goals! One of my favorite things. I’ve never been stuck on resolutions, because I love setting goals all the time, any time. In the middle of a random month, on a Tuesday afternoon, or even January 22nd. You know, whenever.
Last year, I didn’t set any goals other than surviving life with a newborn. Max was only two weeks old come 2015 and I wanted to take the time to ease into our new life. I knew I was lucky enough to spend time at home with him and enjoy him and snuggle the heck out of him. And that I did. I had done enough work in the fall to simply do computer work until March 2015, which was fantastic and really allowed me to bond with him. Plus the snuggles. Oh the snuggles.
After that first quarter is when I started feeling slightly back to normal, but if you ever read my baby updates, you’ll know that I didn’t REALLY feel back to myself until just recently. Um, and I mean like last week. I’m not joking.
And it’s definitely my NEW self. Not the old self. So – new goals!
I always break down my goals (professional, relationships, family, big dreams, etc) and have done so since getting my first Day Designer a few years ago. These are just a handful of the personal ones I’m focusing on right now (like right NOW! why wait until January 1?) and figured I’d share. And maybe discuss more down the line.
SO.
The biggest one? I plan on getting back to sharing more here on the blog – specifically on crumbs, more personal stuff, more photos, more thoughts, more than just my annoying tuesday rambles. I don’t know why, but sometimes I end up shutting myself down and censoring. This past year it’s truly just been lack of time, and then more time would pass and then I’d be super busy with something else and it would be put on the back burner. No more, no more! That’s why I started the blog and it’s perhaps the BIGGEST reason I adore blogging so much.
Hold me to it!
I want, wait no… scratch that. I NEED to journal more. I am absolutely obsessed with the journaling prompts by life captured inc and I feel like they have changed my life. I’ve journaled and randomly written all my life, but would randomly drop off on days that it felt there wasn’t much to write about. I love that this prompts you so everyday, there is SOMETHING to write about, something to guide you.
This is also where I think I’ll use my bullet journal the most – for actual, well… journaling! Along with lists and goals and all that jazz so we no longer have random scraps of paper all over our house.
Seriously, Eddie wants to lose it.
On top of the journaling, and another thing I’m planning on using the bullet journal for, is a daily gratitude list. Just a few words, a sentence or two. Since Max was born, I’ve had this one line a day book but haven’t been consistent. Gratiture journal, here I come.
[p.s. if you are interested in more bullet journal and inspiration, you have to check out boho berry! obsessed.]
Next? More yoga! Or should I say, just yoga in general. Ooomph. Long gone are the days that I used to spend two hours, six days a week doing hot yoga (thoooose were the days!) because now my time is a bit more precious and I have more things to fit in. For me, yoga is a mental health thing just as much as a physical health thing, and I need it to feel good. My body and mind crave it. I feel ten billion times better all around, mentally, physically and emotionally when I get that session in.
It’s a tricky commitment for me to make because like everyone else, nap time is when I need to get a million things done, so I must pick and choose. Luckily, Max is pretty cool when I want to work out (turbofire is still my workout of choice, along with some free weights!) and will play near me, but meditating yoga poses on the floor are a whole other story.
My game plan is to try to get in three or four videos (from Adriene!) a week plus one studio visit if I can. I’ve only heard awesome things about her yoga videos and think it’s manageable since it’s on the internets and stuff. Can’t I just build my own hot yoga studio? Steam shower studio, maybe?
Finally, in what is one of the more ridiculous sounding goals from someone who has been blogging for seven years, I want to step up my photography game. Not food photography – if you’ve been following along then you know that is my least favorite part of this process! – but life and personal everyday photography. I want to be more intentional with my camera and capturing everyday moments of Max, without feeling like I’m stuck behind a camera the entire time. You know? How do I do that? Telllll me.
And I want to print some of those photos and do something with them, like something other than keep them shoved in a shutterfly box that’s been sitting on my dresser for five months. Real life. (Maybe more life captured inc projects here?!)
I’m not a scrapbook girl but I want to easily be able to access photos and have Max access them too, tangible, hold-in-your-hands pics. For sure.
Annnd that’s a wrap. What are your goals for 2016 or just any goals in general that you are focusing on right now? Let’s talk about it!
32 Comments on “On Resolutions.”
A goal in incorporate more yoga into your life is a great one and Yoga with Adrienne is one of my favs! Cheers to a new year ahead, filled with lots of joy, love, happiness and yoga!
I love everything about this. and btw I love the blog theme update (its so cute! I love all of it). I also bought a day designer last year (you call yourself a marketers dream but I literally buy everything you tell me to… makeup, pens, hand sanitizer, COLORING BOOKS. you name it, I buy it <- literally) and this year I'm trying out the new mini version (so exciting!) tonight i'll sit down and write out goals/"resolutions" and I can't wait! Happy new year, you're the best.
P.S. what pens do you use in your day designer? I wanted to use le pens, but I feel like they run through the paper and last year I used the one whitney suggests. but really I wanna be just like you… also, I’d LOVE it if you did a post on how you use your planner – I’m obsessed with making it perfect (cue: gold dotted/striped/blocked washi tape that looks like glitter) and I’m super interested in how you lay yours out! (cause I’m ridiculous)
I LOVE yoga with Adriene! She’s hilarious and the videos are legit. You’ll love it!
Also, I totally made my garage a hot yoga studio in the summer…just add a humidifier close by.
I am going to work on finding peace time for me. Not a lot but I feel like I go, go, go until I crash. Its all good things but slowing downing and adding me time is super important to me in the New Year.
I alternate btw Adrienne, and Leslie Fightmaster (“Fightmaster Yoga” on YouTube). Both are awesome.
A good list of resolutions for the year! My list also includes more yoga, and I’ve been considering doing the journal thing. I’m more of a digital guy, so I’m looking at the Day One app. I want to read more too :) Happy New Year Jessica!!
I love how you broke down your resolutions like this. Very to the point, but all important and all hold such meaning. Happy New Year!
I know I could use more yoga, too. I love this list.
Not sure if this solves your physical-photo problem, but it’s an idea… My aunt has done a thing since my first cousin was born where she takes all the pictures from a year of their lives and turns it into a Shutterfly book. Each book is a story of one of the kids’ lives, but it wouldn’t have to be structured that way. It’s always a birthday or Christmas present for them. It lets you have some of your favorite pictures in one place without the mess of physical scrapbooking or a pile of physical photos. Finding the time to do it is still a challenge, of course! Sorry for the ramble! Happy New Year, Jessica!
I love your goal of doing something with pictures! I loveeee pictures and used to scrapbook every year (6th grade through college…ay ya yay), but post college it didn’t really make sense anymore so now I do a shutterfly book every year and keep them on my coffee table-just the 8×8 20 pager to have some semblance of what we did that year-and since I have this fear of not having any printed photos, I print the photos too and put them in an album (overkill? Yes. Do I care? Nah)–just throwing that out because it works for me!
Are you using both the Day Designer and bullet journaling now? I’m a new mom, about to go back to work, and know I need to get better organized. Both are intriguing, but I feel like I need to pick one or I’ll spend all my time planning! (Or, let’s be honest, attempt and abandon both.) is be curious for your thoughts comparing the two and, if you’re still using both, what different purposes each serves for you.
Happy New Year!
For photos – Project Life changed my life! I used to want to scrapbook, bought hundreds of $ worth of papers, embellishments, stickers, etc… and I think over the course of 2-3 years I scrapbooked maybe 10 pages? Hard work, not worth it! But I started a Project Life album in 2014 and it’s so easy to sit down and smash out a bunch of pages in an evening. Yep, I’ve got a 3-month-old and I can still keep on top of it. It’s quick and easy, and I love the way it looks. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, but you should totally consider it! I love looking through my 2014 album and remembering all the little things that made the year. I can’t wait to finish my 2015 album!
I look forward to reading more of your posts this year! Your blog and recipes are my favorite. (I just can’t wait to get back to the US to start trying more!)
I really want to try bullet journaling but I don’t even have a day planner. Would you suggest one over the other? I’ve thought about using the downloadable PDFs from Day Designer to test a day planner out but maybe I should just get a notebook?
Happy New Year!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Love all of the organizational journals! And I’m on the same page with wanting to increase my yoga practice again, I love this site: http://www.doyouyoga.com/courses/ especially the courses by Erin Motz!
I love Yoga with Adrienne! She is lovely to listen to, and it’s so nice that she is on YouTube. I also really like the yoga routines from Tone it Up, they are on YouTube as well. Yoga is so soothing, I really need to do it more this year. :) Maybe that should be part of my resolution?
Do you have any tips for creating a bullet journal?? I am really intrigued by it, but there are so many different ways to do it.
I way prefer goals to resolutions too :) this year one of my goals is to ditch 500 things from my home in an effort to simplify. I’m calling the project #Ditch500 because I’m #supercreative. I’m hoping others will jump on the bandwagon too!!
I love it! I’m a bit of a pack rat so I know my boyfriend would LOVE if I got rid of 500 things. FIVE HUNDRED seems so daunting though! Maybe it would be easier for me to get rid of 3 things per day..
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I just wanted to say I love this post, I love your wordy posts, life posts, goal posts, baby posts.. Excited that there will be more to come! And as far as photos .. just buy albums! And stick the pics in there when you get them so they’ll be chronological-ish. Also, what about just sticking your camera on a tripod and setting it to go off intermittently and then you can snap candid photos of him and choose and pick the ones you like!
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Love it! More yoga is on my new years resolution list too! I really enjoy the videos by Jen Hilman, especially the relaxation one. Gets me in the mood for some zzz’s.
we made an artifacts uprising book for my dad for christmas- it turned out great, the quality is AMAZING (the books are cloth-bound with a dust jacket and just look really nice), and it wasn’t too expensive. and you can add text, etc. to document. i remember young house love doing a family “yearbook” each year with their photos. i loved that idea and definitely want to re-create when i have kids…. or now. i love old pictures of my mom and dad, so i should probably start now, huh?
Thanks for sharing your goals with us. I personally LOVE your Crumbs section as much as your recipes. So I’m thrilled for that goal. Good luck to you and thanks for including us readers in your life!
love this. i am super into goals to and my boyfriend just laughs and says im setting myself up for failure but i dont see it like that. t he more goals the more its ok if i dont meet a few…thats my thought at least !
love love love the sharing of more life!! also, when you learn about the capturing moments but not constantly behind a camera, let me know. i want to be able to do that when torin gets here! first i need to get my photography skills up!
I agree… I like to make and adjust goals any time at all, but I do love to reevaluate with a fresh new year!!! There’s just something rejuvenating about a new year. I SOOO want you to share more from your personal life. I love your food and recipes because I die over your creativity. Your flavor combos are perfection, but I also just love connecting with bloggers on a personal level too, and you’re so good at that, and at being relatable. I truly haven’t thought about my goals all that much yet, but I did pick a focus word for the year, and it’s going to be “gratitude.” I don’t feel like I’m not a grateful person, but I definitely want to make sure I’m reeeeally stopping to appreciate what I have, and not focusing on have-nots. Know what I mean? Happy New Year!!!
Happy new year Jessica!!
Turbofire is my soul mate workouttttttt! Ah, I love it. I do it for fun sow thing. Boring day? Turbofire! Tired? Turbofire! Grumpy ? Turbofire!
Photos. . . I am on baby #3, and it is very true what they say: each kid gets fewer photos. It’s sad. But I learned something from sorting through tons of first baby, lots of second baby, and plenty of third baby photos: quantity isn’t as big of a deal as how intentional you are about what you do with the photos, how you help yourself remember the moments. It’s not strictly quantity – volume is so easy with digital – it’s how intentional you are. So every couple weeks, take a moment and scroll through those photos – start using them to remember, and perhaps even use them as an opportunity to jot done memories and emotions and thoughts.
Just a suggestion. ;)
you really, really, really should look into Project Life for creating hold in your hand albums. It’s a hybrid of scrapbooking and general photo albums. It’s perfect!
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