Mapping Out a New Year


This week’s journal entry:

What are your plans for 2019? This can be a list of things you’d like to accomplish, such as goals or new year’s resolutions, or it can just be a list of what you hope to happen within the next year.

By Laura Black

Happy New Year to you! I hope your holidays were enjoyable and spent with the ones you love. I know for me that’s one of my favorite things about the holidays being able to spend quality time with family and friends. I know for many the holidays can be stressful, and they can’t wait for them to be over and for a new year to arrive and start anew.

Although I am one who’s always sad to see the holidays come to an end, I’m always happy to start mapping out my new year ahead. I say mapping out because I don’t really believe in new year’s resolutions. I’ve always felt like that’s a setup for failure. You make these crazy resolutions that seem near impossible to achieve within one year. Most of these resolutions take time and should be broken down into smaller goals. I bet that would make most resolutions more plausible and more achievable.

So, what do you have mapped out for your year ahead? For me, I have a list of things I’d like to accomplish or do. Yes, some of them are large goals, and some are small and simple. However, for me, they will all be somewhat of a challenge. I’m always up for a challenge, so I’m ready to take on the new year.

In order for me to take on the new year, I always need to write everything out on what I’d like to accomplish. I like it written down because I feel it makes me more accountable for my actions, and I also like that I have it all there to view at any given time. I always write them in my planner as a place I can view them on a daily basis if needed.

I absolutely LOVE organization. I love to have a planner and write everything down. I’m obsessed with most things to do with writing in general. I love making lists before going shopping; I must write down everything in my planner from appointments to lists of things I need to complete within any given day. I love to be able to check off items on my list to show a sign of completion. Sometimes I have more to do than I have time in the day to do it. By making my lists and writing everything in my planner, it helps to keep me on task as well as keeps me moving forward with my mapped out plans throughout the year.

Normally, I write out my overall goals to achieve for the entire year, then I write out my plans for each day. This year I went a step further with my planner. I planned out per month what I would like to achieve within each month that moves me closer to my year-end goals. For example, by the end of February, I want specific goals completed as well as make time to do other goals throughout the month and continue them throughout the year. I’m also going to build a schedule for each day of the week to make the time needed to stay on track for each goal. This will definitely be a challenge, but I’m going to try my hardest to meet each goal.

So…here’s my list of goals I have mapped out for the year:
1.    Write in my journal at least once a week but try to write daily
2.    Finish the novel I started writing years ago and try to get it published
3.    Create a journaling website (Currently, this is a free blog, so I would like to create a website that is all my own)
4.    Draw more
5.    Work on journaling project (If you read through the other pages of my blog, you will get an idea of how I feel about journaling. I want to create classes for others to take that pertain to journaling – how to get started, types of journals, the benefits of journaling, and starting to create your own journal(s))
6.    Work on other writing ideas including possible freelance work
7.    Pay down debt
8.    Eat healthier and create a sensible diet plan (I’ve never been one to stick to any particular diet, so creating a plan that’s sensible is more manageable for me.)
9.    Practice yoga and get in shape
10. Spend time with family and friends
11. Pay more attention to people and less to my phone

So…what’s your mapped out plan for 2019? Feel free to share. 

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