2016 was an amazing year! I have so much to look back on and be grateful for and I’m really excited about the fresh start in 2017!
But let me be clear: there were days I felt like a legit, 100% hot mess. And unfortunately, those days felt like they were happening more and more frequently.
Part of that is because I have a hard time saying ‘no’ to things, and it’s something I really need to work on. I pride myself on being a great multi-tasker. But, between my day job, full-time blogging, and working another ten hours a week for another blogger, things got out of hand in a hurry by the end of the year and the stress was starting to take it’s toll.
With all that being said, one of my goals is to really simplify and remove the “clutter” this year. Clutter, in my mind, can mean so many things. From a mind that won’t rest, to the literal clutter lying around the house. Today I thought I’d share some of the ways I plan to do so, in hopes in can help some of you!
In this post, I’m going to share some of my personal goals for 2017 and I have a second post also today with our home goals for 2017. I figured it might be a little long to lump them all into one post.
The image below is the perfect representation of the vibe goals for 2017. Calm, serene, peaceful!
A Place For Everything
Deadlines come up and I completely abandon projects at about the 80% mark. Which means I then also abandon the old decor in a pile in the corner or somewhere it actually shouldn’t be. I have a major goal this year of putting things away immediately in a it’s dedicated space. I’ve mentioned before that I’m working on reconfiguring the craft room to still function as my sewing room and workout room, but also to store decor I’m not currently using. I have a lot of decor that I still love but, being a blogger, things shift around seasonally so I can share fresh new looks with you frequently. Once my storage unit arrives, I’m going to really evaluate what I want to keep, what will be sold/donated, and then have a place for everything when not in use. No more random piles all throughout our house. No more clothes that are cleaned and stacked on the dresser (but never put away). No more clutter!
Re-Evaluate Your Spaces
As you pack away the holiday decor, I find it’s the perfect time to evaluate your spaces for the new year. It’s so much easier to identify your goals and what you want to change when you truly have a blank canvas! For me, it helps me evaluate specific pieces of furniture, including tones and color. In our living room, I’ve known for years that our dark coffee table needs to go, but I still love it. Do I paint it, sand it, sell it? When the room is clear of accessories, it helps me make better decisions about what needs to happen!
Managing Email Subscriptions
I finally visited unroll.me for the first time a few weeks ago. It found my Yahoo! account had 87 subscriptions, and I ended up unsubscribing from 44 email lists. To unsubscribe from more than 5 addresses, you do have to share on Facebook or Tweet (which is what I did) and then it will let you manage all that you have. It is a huge relief to stop some of the emails coming in that I haven’t wanted for years but was too lazy to deal with! In lieu of unsubscribing, you can also add the emails to one “roll-up” list and just get one summary email a day if you prefer. Regardless, it’s an easy way to deal with a bursting inbox and I feel like a weight has been lifted!
Social Media Distractions
This is a big one for me. Social media is an obsession of mine, but I really need to start limiting my use, as it becomes too easy of a distraction. There are a bunch of really great Facebook groups for bloggers I was a part of. The sense of community is great and they are a great resource for so many things, but it is constant ‘noise’ and makes it even easier for me to get distracted. I’ve decided this year that I need to leave most of these groups and help turn off that noise. I also need to spend less time perusing my Instagram feed, Facebook wall, etc. and focus on ‘real’ life!
Tackle the Tasks You’ve Been Avoiding
If you’re like me, you have fairly easy tasks that you continue to avoid because they aren’t fun or you just don’t know where to start. I seem to have 20 of these tasks at any given point. It seems like rather than investing the 10-20 minutes it would take to complete them, I spend more time thinking “oh, I should do xyz.” And then I have that thought no less than 50 times before I actually do said task. I want to make it a priority to tackle these random items much more quickly, so I have much less mental drain. It will also help me feel much more accomplished even if the task is menial.
Know When To Seek Help
There just aren’t enough hours in any given day to do everything we want to do. And that’s okay. With my blog, in order to truly get it where I would love to have it someday, there are so many time-consuming behind-the-scenes task that seem to always need to be worked on. I won’t go into all the details, since I this isn’t a blogging blog, but I may end up hiring a virtual assistant to help me with things like getting my images on Pinterest, etc. This will free up more time for me to work on creating new and better content to share with all of you! But, if you’re not a blogger, this could be making the decision to hire a babysitter once a week to work on your to-do list. Or, hiring someone to clean your house weekly/monthly. It could also be something as simple as asking your spouse to pitch in on something you need their help with. The more you can clear off your to-do list, the more at peace you’ll feel and there will be less mental clutter.
Making Time for Me
This is a big one for all of us! Very likely, we spend most of our days doing things for others, our job, etc. But we leave little time for ourselves! In the new year, I have to start working out again and I want to make more time for reading. I find that when I can lay in bed at night for 30-45 minutes reading a book, I can unwind so much easier and I sleep better. Unless my book is too good and I can’t stop reading. 😉 But, I need to make more time for priorities that are “me” focused so that I can perform better in all those other areas of my life!
What personal goals do you have for the new year?
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Denise says
I have a couple of pretty big tasks that sooo need to be done that I just keep avoiding. Mostly because I know they aren’t going to be fun. 🙂 I really need to just get it done!
Nanette says
I completely agree with you about social media. I gave up FB and do not miss it!
Kinsey says
These sound like my goals!