2015 Goals & The Whole Balancing Thing
I've been seeing posts on a lot of my favorite blogs with their goals and plans for 2015, and I've been mulling over what I want to post. But I'm still kind of struggling with my resolutions since...well, I have so many goals and a lot of them are conflicting! Career goals, blog goals, personal goals...I'm not quite sure yet how they'll all fit together, or which ones I'll have to let go of. But anyways, since I probably won't "figure it all out" anytime soon, I decided to just share everything I'd like to accomplish this year, and then as the year shakes out I'm guessing some of these will prove to be more important than others. For that reason, I'm purposely calling these goals and not resolutions, because I already know I won't be able to do it all. In an ideal world, I'd actually do my hair and makeup in the morning, have a full and productive day at work, work out, cook a delicious dinner, work on the blog, spend some quality time with Ben AND still get to bed at a decent hour. But let's be real, that never (ever) happens. So this year, my actual resolution is to figure out a balance of work/blog/life that feels right for me. Which will include some (but probably not all) of these.
Photo from my Instagram…isn’t Ben’s hat stylish?! haha.
1. Do more DIYs and personal posts. I haven't been posting every single day since a few months ago, and I feel okay with that (hopefully you are too). But I want the posts that I do publish to be better. I want to push myself to do more DIYs and share more photos of my life and my home. And maybe even get comfortable with being in front of the camera myself!
2. Less screen time, more face time. This is a big one for me, and one that I want to focus on for sure. I have a really hard time putting my phone away, even if there's nothing urgent I need to check on, and even if I'm with friends and family. Seriously, I can't go an hour without checking my phone! I've been feeling really guilty about it lately, and just plain sick and tired of the constant checking and scrolling (for no good reason). I want the time I spend with people to be about them and put my phone AWAY for that time. Along with that, I want Ben and I to spend less time together looking at a screen. We already look at our laptops plenty with our jobs. Sure, it's relaxing to end the night with a show (or two), but we've wasted so much time on that! And we're not really building memories by watching TV. Instead, I want us to spend more of our time together on off-screen activities like going for a walk, playing a game with just the two of us, going on dates outside of the house, etc.
3. Figure out my plan for my job and this blog. Right now, I’m working around 60 hours a week between my job and At Home in Love (sometimes quite a bit more). It’s too much, but I’m not ready to give any of it up yet. Part of me thinks I should try to turn this blog into a real business (like, a real-life, grown up, full-time thing), but another part of me likes the stability of having a day job...and to be honest, my current job is actually pretty fun. I feel like I’ll probably keep trying to balance the two for at least a little while longer, but eventually I might need to make some decisions if I don’t want to get burned out. So this year, I’d like to at least explore what it would take to turn blogging into a career. Who knows if I’ll actually take the leap, but I’d like for it to be within the realm of possibility.
4. Start thinking about kids. When I was younger, I always pictured myself having my first baby when I was 25. Then I turned 25 and I was like, “whoa, definitely don’t feel ready for that yet!” But throughout this last year, a lot of my friends have had babies or gotten pregnant…and I don't know, it doesn’t scare me as much. I wouldn’t say that "my clock is ticking” yet per say, but I’m definitely more open to the idea. I’m not saying we’re going to get pregnant this year or anything (let’s be honest, that’s somewhat out of my control anyways), but who knows. We might at least think about it. Maybe.
5. Break out of my neutrals rut, both for clothes and beauty. I talked a little bit here about how I want to start dressing in a way that feels more true to my style…bright colors, cheerful patterns, and all that. I also want to apply that to beauty! Now that I’m working at a company that produces beauty products, I’m realizing just how little I know about makeup…and how much of a scaredy cat I am when it comes to trying things. My comfort zone is Chapstick, mascara, and a little bit of blush. But that’s like the beauty equivalent of a black top and dark jeans…safe and boring. This year, I want to start wearing lipstick (I already got a few) and learn how to put on eye makeup, too. That’s always been a struggle for me with my Asian eyes…but I’m going to try and learn!
6. Get healthy and back down to the weight I was at our wedding. Is that the classic New Year’s resolution or what? I know, I know, it's so basic. But it’s also so necessary. This whole last year, I put in no effort whatsoever to fitness or health. I just ate junk food, barely ever worked out, and sat at my desk snacking all day. GROSS! No wonder I gained weight. This year, I’m going to make my health a priority. I recently started this thing where I'm not eating after 7:00 pm and it’s already been helping a LOT (that’s when I would usually pull out the ice cream or popcorn or candy). I probably won’t keep it up all year long, but I don’t do very well with restrictive diets or cleanses or any of that, so this feels like something I can stick to, where I can enjoy good food throughout the day but still make a significant difference. And I’m also trying to work out regularly. Right now, I’m doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred at least two or three times a week. Let’s hope it all pays off!
7. Read at least one book per month, just for fun. I find reading to be more fun and rewarding than watching TV or movies…but for some reason, it’s harder to actually do it it on a regular basis. I think it's because when you read, you can’t really do anything else on the side. I almost feel guilty sometimes when I just sit and read for fun, like I should be doing something productive with my time. See, whenever I watch TV, I multitask. I paint my nails, write a blog post, or fold the laundry to justify that time. But this year, I would like to making reading a regular part of my life, guilt-free!
8. Save enough money for a down payment on a house. I’m not going to say “buy a house” because who knows how long it will take to actually find a house that we love and can afford (housing prices in the Seattle area keep going up, dangit). But we’ve been doing our best to save, and this year I want to do an even better job…whether that’s by bringing in more extra income or by tightening up our spending.
9. Cook at least two big meals a week. This goes along with the whole saving money thing. We’ve noticed that a big area we could cut back on is eating out. It’s so convenient, and we get home from work pretty late…so we’ve gotten into a terrible habit of eating out almost every night--and sometimes for lunch too. Ai yi yi. We’re going to try to cook two big meals a week, where each meal makes enough for leftovers and some lunches. We already go to Ben’s parents’ house for dinner at least once a week, so we’re hoping between that and the meals we cook, we’ll only have eat out once a week (or even less, if we can). Along with that, I want to try a few new recipes so it doesn’t get too boring. Send me any recommendations you have! I also really want to buy all the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks...I adore her, and every recipe of hers that I’ve tried has been delish.
10. Travel more. This goal is not just for 2015, but for our future in general. I saw a quote once that said “the world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only a page.” I thought that was so inspiring…I want to see more of this beautiful world that we live in! Whether it’s small trips around the US or big trips like our Europe vacation that we’re planning, I think it’s worth setting money aside for travel. I’ve never once regretted the money I spent on a trip.
So there you have it! My main goals for 2015. We’ll see how many of these I can actually accomplish! If you have any thoughts or opinions on any of these, I’d love to hear them. And if you want to share some of your goals with me, that would be awesome too!
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