Every year, I love to sit down and craft out my goals and plans for the new year.

In the past I’ve made ridiculously long and complicated goal lists, with more goals than I could ever possibly accomplish. (If you don’t believe me, then just take a look at this post and prepare to be amused!).

This year was a little different.  Just a few weeks before the new year, I finally made the leap and purchased the 2019 PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner by Lara Casey. I had been wanting to try this planner for a long time and I am so glad I finally did!

All the prep work in my PowerSheets really helped me dig deep and figure out my most important goals and priorities for this season of my life. In the end, I narrowed everything down into just six “big picture goals”. For me, this is amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had such a simplified goal list.

Because I spent so much time figuring out my goals and priorities with my PowerSheets, I feel especially excited and capable of tackling my six “big picture goals” for 2019.

I am so excited to share these goals with you, so let’s just jump right in.

My Goals for 2019

1. Strengthen My Daily Walk with God

This is my #1 goal for this year.

Why? Because this is the most important thing I could possibly cultivate. This one thing alone will have the biggest impact on my life, my relationships, my emotions, and on and on the list could go.

This is a pretty general goal, so let me explain the three main ways I plan to work on this goal in 2019 (my PowerSheets helped with figure this out too!):

• Read my Bible every day, no exceptions. As much as possible, my time with God must come first.
• Write out my prayers each day. Writing my prayers down on paper is such a huge help to me. It helps me organize my thoughts, desires, and requests before the Lord. Writing just a one or two page prayer each day has already been a huge help to me and I’ve noticed myself praying more throughout the day as a result.
• Consistently take sermon notes. I’ve been very inconsistent with this in the past (usually because I forget my notebook at home). To fix this, I’ve added a cute journal to my purse so it’s with me every time we go to church.

Goal #1 is to strengthen my walk with the Lord this year!

2. Cultivate Life-Giving Relationships with Others

For the past several years, I’ve been feeding myself the lie that I don’t “really need” close relationships with other people.  My thinking was that as long as I have my husband, my family, and my best friend I’m totally fine.

It’s taken me awhile to realize how damaging this mindset has been. Not only is this idea entirely false (I really do need other people) it’s also incredibly selfish because other people need me. 

This year I want to focus more on other people and cultivating life-giving relationships, not just for me, but for them. Yes, I need friends and people who will encourage me in the Lord, but other people need me as well. I have so much that I can give if I take my mind and attention off of myself and on others.

So what is my action plan for this big picture goal? Here’s what I plan to do:

• Actually TALK to people at church. This sounds incredibly simple, but you have no idea how hard it can be for me to get up out of my seat and go talk to someone.  By nature I’m an extroverted person, but in many ways I have taught myself how to be an introvert. It’s time to undo those bad habits!
• Invite people into our home. My husband and I really enjoy hosting, so we hope to continue this in 2019. We are already in the process of scheduling some dinner dates with friends and I can’t wait!
• Stay in touch with friends via phone. Some of my dearest friends live miles away. I love a good phone chat with a friend, it’s just hard to work around busy schedules. It’s time to work on that and make a greater effort to talk more often.

Goal #2 this year is to cultivate life-giving relationships with others.

>>> Related Post: 100 Little Ways to Bless Others

3. Take Care of My Body

I’m the kind of person that gets too busy during the day and then “forgets” to take care of herself. Skipped meals, sitting down to read or blog all day, and forgetting to get up and move my body… yup, that’s me. Unfortunately, these bad habits are starting to catch up to me with lack of energy, blood sugar crashes and more. It’s time to stop and actually take care of and nourish my body. Here’s my game plan for that:

• Eat regularly! I’ve been told that I should eat every three hours to keep my blood sugar from getting too low, but this is easier said then done. It takes intentional effort for me to pack more food in my lunch, take a break, and eat a healthy meal. However, this is something I need to do in order to properly care for my body.
• Exercise three times a week. I am still trying to figure out how to add more activity into my day. Being a nanny, a blogger, and an avid reader doesn’t exactly lend itself to lots of exercise. My best plan right now is making good use of our stairs each day and carving out extra time on the weekend to do some workout videos from YouTube. Something is better than nothing!
• Cut back on sugar and processed foods. My husband and I eat fairly healthy already – but it’s been hard to cut out the extra sugar and processed food in our diet (especially since the holidays). We are talking about trying The Daniel Plan or The Whole 30 to help us reset our diets. It will be really good for us. 🙂

Goal #3 for 2019 is to take care of my body!

4. Build My Blog and Business

I love blogging. It’s one of my favorite hobbies and something I’m increasingly passionate about. My blog grew in a lot of new ways last year and I’m excited to see how it will grow this year. Here’s how I plan to build my blog and business in 2019:

• Get ahead in blog posts. I have some really great content in the making, but there are other big projects I would like to work on in 2019. I’ve been struggling to stay on top of my blog these past few months so this is one of the most important “tasks” on my list for the next few months.
• Increase my blogging income. Last year I actually reached my financial blogging goals (and got really close to others!). I’m excited to explore and further these efforts in 2019!
• Create new products for the shop. I have a bunch of ideas floating around in my head for new shop products. I just need to get all my thoughts figured out and get ahead in blog posts so I can set aside time for these projects. 🙂

Goal #4 for 2019 is to grow my blog and business. 

>>> Are you interested in starting a blog this year? Be sure to check out this post on How to Start a Blog (Step by Step).

5. Grow Personally

In order to stay inspired and brimming with creative ideas, I need to make time for personal growth. I love learning and my favorite ways to do this are reading and listening to podcasts (two things that are easy to fit in to my schedule!). Here are the ways I hope to grow personally in 2019:

• Read 60 books. You can view my 2019 Book List right here. I am so excited to dig into all these books this year!
• Make time to journal once a week. I used to write in my journal a lot – however, I struggled with this last year.
• Continue using my PowerSheets! I cannot believe how much my PowerSheets have helped me (honestly, I didn’t think I would like them THIS much!). Each month there are reflection questions and space to write out my most important goals and priorities for the month ahead.

Goal #5 for 2019 is building my blog and business.

6. Add Sabbath Rest and Margin Into My Days and Weeks 

We are planning on a full and busy 2019. I am excited for all the adventures we have ahead of us, but at the same time… I want to make sure there are times of rest and margin in our weeks and days. If I keep going and going, I will eventually crash and it’s never pretty. I need to time to relax and rest. Here is how I plan to add rest and margin into my days and weeks:

• Continue to set boundaries on our evenings. My husband and I are really careful how we spend our evenings. We try not to go away from home more than two or three nights a week. We also start winding down a good hour or two before we plan to go to bed – that way we make time for reading good books, watching a movie, or playing a game.
• Prep ahead for Sundays. Some Sundays, I feel rushed and frazzled because I didn’t prep ahead the day before. In order to truly rest and enjoy a Sabbath day during my week, I need to prep some things ahead of time – such as tidying up the house and prepping our church outfits the night before.

Goal #6 (and the final one) for 2019 is to add Sabbath rest and margin to my days and weeks!

Final Thoughts

Well, those are my goals for 2019! I didn’t plan on making this post so long, but I always enjoy talking about goals and goal setting. I hope my own goal list will inspire you to set some intentional goals for yourself this year!

Want to Read More? 

Here are some other blog posts and resources that you might find helpful:

• My 2019 Book List – these are all the books I hope to read in 2019!
• 100 Words to Help You Choose Your One Word – Have you chosen a word for the year? This post will help you find one!
• 2019 PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner by Lara Casey – She also has a sixth month undated planner and other helpful resources in the Cultivate What Matters Shop.
• 5 Goals for Every Newlywed Wife – Are you newly married? Then you should check out this post!

I Would Love To Know

What are some of YOUR goals for 2019? I would love to hear what your goals and plans are for 2019. Let me know in the comments below! ♥