Happy New Year! I am so excited for a fresh start. I love getting the opportunity to reset and begin with a clean slate.
Instead of making resolutions for the whole year, I find it more manageable to set month-to-month goals. I did this last year, and I think it helped me to stay on track. I didn’t do so great with goals in October, November and December, but I am ready to get back into the swing of things.
Here are my goals for January:
- No alcoholic beverages until my half-marathon on January 15th.
- This one is going to be extremely hard for me, but I need to do this. I am trying to find a better balance with drinking, so I am hoping that taking a couple of weeks off makes me realize how much I don’t need it.
- Spending Freeze
- We have been spending money like crazy lately, so I am going to use this month to say no to things we don’t need. No wine purchases, no clothes, no unnecessary Amazon purchases, etc.
- We are trying to save up for a pool and that won’t be possible unless we do this!
- Eating out at most 2 times per week
- This goes alongside the alcohol and the spending goals. We spend WAY too much money eating out. We are at happy hours about half of the week. Even though some of them are super cheap, it would be cheaper to stay in and cook.
- Work-Out 5x per week (minimum of 30 minutes)
- Even though I am training for my half marathon, I have found myself still slacking on working out. I am typically running 3-4 times per week with training, but it doesn’t seem like enough for me. I don’t want to take more than 2 rest days per week.
- I want to do more weights and HIIT work-outs. I am thinking of doing the Kayla Itsines program – BBG.
- Stretch for 15 minutes per day
- I don’t place enough emphasis on stretching. I keep getting injured while running and it is mainly because I am forgetting to stretch.
- Read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”
- I have this book, but haven’t finished it yet. I want to re-read the whole thing and put this to practice. Physical clutter is mental clutter, so I am always looking to get rid of more stuff.
- De-Clutter and Organize Closet/Clothes
- I am always donating items from my closet, but I haven’t actually done an entire closet overhaul since we moved-in. I am planning on going all out this time.
- I want to literally take everything out of my closet, try on the clothes that I haven’t worn or am on the fence about and decide whether or not to keep them. There are so many items that I don’t wear so it is ridiculous that they are taking up space in my closet.
That’s it for January! I am also going to focus on eating healthy, but I wasn’t sure how to quantify that. Maybe count calories? I am already planning on doing Whole30 in February, so stay tuned for that!
If you want to check out some of my past goals, you can find them here:
What are some of your goals and resolutions? I am always looking for new ideas for goal-setting, so let me know in the comments down below.
Let’s make 2017 our best year yet!
-Catheryn
I think you will notice a difference on running when you decrease the alcohol. If I have a few drinks I always get out of breath way easier the next day! When I’m running a lot I also find I don’t do any other workouts so adding variety is a big goal for me as well!
Restraining spending and eating out also makes a HUGE difference on what I’ve been able to save but it’s not always easy. This is reinspiring me to work harder at it!
I would love to do the whole30 soon too. I’ve never committed fully to it just done it a few days or so at a time.
Your goals are inspiring me! Good luck on everything you will accomplish this month!!
Thanks for the comment Melissa! I am exciting to see how my running improves – I am hoping the no alcohol helps!
I love running, but I am trying to mix in more HIIT work-outs and stuff. I noticed that I was losing a lot of tone with just running. I was rocking the cardio aspect, but my arms and legs aren’t as toned as when I was doing barre+spinning daily!