November 2014 Goals

I was home most of the month of October. My doctor hadn't cleared me to exercise so I took that as license to eat tons of candy and cereal. (I seriously have a Lucky Charms problem!) Despite being confined to the couch, I was able to do a lot a of "when I am well" planning.  I started my 101 in 1001 list last month. Here is a quick recap of last month's goal progress and what I hope to accomplish next month. 

October Goals Recap:

1. Pray daily
2. Purposefully encourage 5 people daily
3. Finish Skillshare class (Instead of worrying about my logo, I decided my time could be better spent pattern making.)
4. Make a plan for starting my fashion line
5. Get closer to my goal weight (I gained a few pounds while I was recuperating at home.)

November Goals:

1. Pray daily
2. Stay in sync with Bible reading program
3. Save $300 towards mini emergency fund
4. Lose 10 pounds
5. Drink 8 glasses of water everyday
6. Finish Round 3 of the 21 Day Fix
7. Start Round 4 of the 21 Day Fix
8. Complete November series the "12 Handmade Days of Christmas"
9.  Launch Shopify Store

Most of my goals involve what I call the Daily Five: Prayer, Read the Bible, Exercise, Encourage Others, and Pookie Time! 

Some of my goals will require little to no effort, like sipping water all day. The rest of my goals will require a little more effort and a lot more baby steps. I will check in half way through the month in order to keep myself on track. 

I am off to work on my blog and fashion line! What are your goals for this month?

Are you trudging or skipping?

 Why trudge when you can skip?

It is nearing the end of October and we have less than a quarter of a year left. (Dang, Judith why are you bumming me out?) At this point many of you have resigned yourself that the year is over and are merely hoping to get through this one and into the next. Many of you have even started planning your 2015 resolutions because you have resigned yourself to the notion that you won't be able to get anything accomplished this year. You are trudging through these last few months with sighs of resignation.

I encourage you to unstuck yourself from the muddy build up this year has mired you in. THIS YEAR IS NOT OVER! I REPEAT THIS YEAR IS NOT OVER! If you finish this year trudging along, no matter how awesome your 2015 list is... you'll likely carry that trudging attitude into 2015 with you. 

So maybe this year wasn't perfect. So maybe you aren't where you thought you'd be with regard to your weight, career, money, relationships, etc! So maybe you are tired and beat up. The end of October isn't reason enough to stay in that condition.

Think of the last two days of October as a pause in the program. Take time to Regroup, Refresh, and Re-frame your thinking. Allow God to show himself strong in your weakness. (II Corinthians 12:9-10) Allow Him to be your strength every morning. (Isaiah 33:2) Yup, every morning He showers you in new strength. You cannot undo this year or buy yourself extra time, but you can make the most of what's left of this year.

Start skipping now. Even if you only manage to get up to a jaunty trot, it is better than trudging. End this year skipping!

What are you working to shake off? How do you plan on ending this year skipping?

No Spend Decorating: Home Decor Remix 6

 

Yay for the sixth installment of no spend decorating. My husband and I decided that one of our family goals was to start saving for a second honeymoon/vacation and for my fashion business. I searched around for some saving funds crafts. I saw some really cute ideas on Pinterest for a honeymoon fund, but that would require me to buy a shadowbox frame and metallic sharpie.

Instead of spending money to create cute jars to save money, my husband and I searched around the house. This craft took less than five minutes and helped me maintain my pact with myself to not spend any money on home decor this month. 

 Items Used:

1. Scrapbook paper

2. Spaghetti Sauce Jars (Hint: Let the spaghetti sauce jar air out for a few days before you use it.)

3. $4 Dollars

The star jar is the honeymoon fund and the polka dot jar is for my fashion business fund. We didn't have much cash on hand. If the money is left in our savings account, I can access it online. If I can access it online, I can transfer it. If I can transfer it, I can spend it. Thus, I will lose the tiny amounts of interest I can gain in a traditional savings account and actually save the money in these cute jars.

What are you saving for?

October 2014 Goals

This is one of the idea boards from my sewing room. I love pinterest, but there is something about being able to touch paper that makes me feel happy and inspired!

I am off work on medical leave until October 24th so most of my plans must be achievable from my favorite living room chair. My goals for this month are:

1. Pray everyday.
2. Purposefully encourage 5 people daily.
3.  Finish this Skillshare class: Beyond the Logo
4. Make a plan for starting my fashion line
5. Get closer to my goal weight.

For each goal, I like to write baby steps to getting the bigger tasked accomplished. I also think it is wise to set what the ideal for getting my goal accomplished looks like, as well as setting up a backup plan in case the ideal doesn't work out. (And it usually doesn't!)

Baby steps to getting each of these accomplished:
1. Pray Everyday
Ideal: Pray immediately after I have my morning potty break. I like to get this in early to ensure that it gets done.
Backup Plan: Pray before I fall asleep

2. Purposefully Encourage 5 People Daily
Ideal: Text and/or call friends and family after my morning prayer
Backup Plan: Spread out the texts/calls throughout the day as people pop into my mind.

3. Finish the Skillshare Class
Ideal: Watch the videos after lunch and spend nad hour a day on the projects for the course
Backup Plan: Watch the videos all at once on a Saturday afternoon

4. Fashion Line Plan
Ideal: 1 hour day. Preferably an hour before my husband gets home so I can talk about it with him. I like the way his brain works and like to have his input on things.
Backup Plan: I can dedicate a Saturday afternoon to getting a rough draft down.

5.Get Closer to My Goal Weight
Ideal: I would like to lose at least 10 pounds this month. I am not allowed to exercise so this will be a matter of 95% of the weight loss work in the kitchen and 5% of mini walks.
Backup Plan: Progress makes progress. Even if I cannot lose 10 pounds, even a few ounces closer to my goal weight is progress!

What are you working on this month?

February 2014 Goals

January 2014 Sunset| Plucky Gumption Copyright 2014

 I was able to work on each of my January goals a little bit each day. I am proud to be able to strike through my initial list. The real test will be whether I keep going past the January enthusiasm. If “January is for dreamers, and February is for doers,” then I hope I cross over into the latter category.

JANUARY GOALS

1. Start the Nike Training Club Get Lean Beginner Program  

2. Lose 4 pounds.  I was able to lose 3.4 pounds! Yay! 

3. Start a family garden.  Pookie (my husband) and I started carrots, tomatoes, basil, peanuts, tangelos, and strawberries. We started everything, but the strawberries, from seed. More posts to come on our gardening adventures!

4. Revamp the Blog.  Thank you 17thAvenue Designs for the beautiful template.

5. Revamp Etsy Shop. New banner! New tags! Just a little freshening up made me feel better about my shop. Check out the GATON Etsy shop.

FEBRUARY GOALS

1. Nike Training Club Get Lean Intermediate Program

2. Lose 4 pounds

3. Sew the clothing for the spring 2014 collection 

4. Host a spring boutique party at my home for other artists, designers, and home based sellers that I know.

5. Finish redecorating "the side room"

What are your February goals? Did you survive the initial January resolution activity burst?

Day Five: Prioritzing

Today’s post is about prioritizing your goals and dreams.

You are not expected, nor are you required to be superwomen or supermen. We only have so much time allotted to us each day and only so much time allotted to us in life. This is often where I get stuck. I look at my crazy list, get overwhelmed, and my list will stay nothing more than a list. Let's push past this inclination!

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you evaluate where you should start first:

Is there anything on my list that needs to be done?

Is there anything on my list that should get done? 

Is there anything on my list that I want to get done?

Is there anything that will take little time or effort to accomplish?

Is there anything that will involve several steps to get accomplished?

What are the high, medium, and low priority items?

Are there any thematic categories that require my attention? Do yo

need to reach a health goal? Do you need to make your finances a number one on your list? 

The key is to determine what is most important to you. Let me give you an example of what I have done to prioritize and categorize my lists of goals and dreams. 

Step One: I made a list of 50 goals and dreams. They run the gamut from lofty dreams to simple goals.

Step Two: My first method of organizing was along thematic lines: spiritual, health & beauty, financial, career, artistic endeavors, and home decorating.

Step Three: Once I had my themes, I prioritized my themes. I felt the spiritual goals, praying everyday and reading at least a chapter in the Bible a day would have a positive effect on achieving the other items on my list. So not only is that category a priority, it does not take a lot of effort or time to accomplish, and I personally believe it is something I need to do daily.

Step Four: I then addressed each thematic category and the items in the category one by one.  Within each category what is most important to me, what needs to be done, what should be done, and what I want to get done. Put it another way, what is a high, medium, and low priority?

Step Five: Once I look at the items priority level, I then look at time constraints. Is there anything here that I can accomplish in the next week, month, three months? Is there anything I can do to get my encouragement up? What will have to be broken down into further little baby bite sized pieces?

Tomorrow we will talk about the baby bite-sized pieces. Today prioritize the items. Do not evaluate the merit or worth of your goals. This is not that kind of prioritizing!  The goal here is to make your list manageable so that we can go from Dreaming to Planning  and eventually to Doing.
  
To Read 31 Days of Dream. Plan. Do. from the beginning click here.

Day Two: Freedom to Dream

Write absolutely every Dream and Goal you have. Today is the day to pour your hopes  onto paper.

Personally, there is nothing quite as beautiful to me as a fresh notebook and clean page. (I also have a thing for brand new books that creak when you open them.) I prefer to actually hand write my lists. So grab a new notebook, a new sketch pad if you like to draw things out, or even type it on whatever electronic device you will actually go back and review later. 

Please do not edit yourself. Please do not let that little nagging voice in the back of your head prevent you from writing something down. Write it all down!! You are not required to share your list with anybody. Don’t write something because you are secretly thinking of a certain person(s) and hoping for their approval. This isn’t a test and there will not be a test at the end of these 31 days. There will not be anyone to red-pen your ideas and goals. This is all you baby! So go ‘head write it all down. I’m cheering you on and doing a happy dance for you all at the same time!!  

:: Doing the Cabbage Patch while saying 

“Go You, Go You, Go You” ::

Yeah, I’m goofy like that.

Tomorrow you and I will meet back here to sort it all out. 

For now, be free to dream.

To Read 31 Days of Dream. Plan. Do. from the beginning click here.

31 Days of Dream. Plan. Do.

Welcome to 31 Days of Dream. Plan. Do.

1. Day One: Fast and Pray 
2. Day Two: Freedom to Dream 
3. Day Three: Organizing and Categorizing
4. Day Four: Motivational Music Mix 
5. Day Five: Prioritizing 
6. Day Six: Stop and Take a Big Deep Breath
7. Day Seven: Realistic Timelines 
8. Day Eight: Bite-Sized Manageable Pieces 
9. Day Nine: Defining Success and Achievement 
10. Day Ten: Doing the Hard Tasks First 
11. Day Eleven: God Bless My Egg Timer
12. Day Twelve: Talking Too Much 
13. Day Thirteen: Over-thinking Paralysis 
14. Day Fourteen: Motivation Check No. 1 Guilt
15. Day Fifteen: Motivation Check No. 2: Fear 
16. Day Sixteen: Motivation Check No. 3 Revenge 
17. Day Seventeen: Motivation Check No. 4 Self-Deprecation
18. Day Eighteen: Motivation Check No. 5 Selfishness 
19. Day 19, 20 and 21: Starting Fresh Again and Again and Again
20. Day 22: Accountability Buddy
21. Day Twenty Three: If You Don't Know How...