We’re already almost a week into December and sitting down to write my goals for the month has been nearly impossible. But – good news – I just finished up all the Black Friday pre-order ornament dolls and I think I am done sewing FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! I’ve been working insanely hard this week to try and get them done so I can get them out of the way (and my mind) before my big Favorite Things party tomorrow night. And I did it! I just haven’t had time to do basically anything else.
My goals are pretty low key and fun this month. It doesn’t make sense to try and actually be productive in December. It’s more about slowing down, managing stress, and enjoying the people around me.
1 – Read only happy books
I usually devote December to reading lighthearted Christmas romances. Unless I get tired of them, which can definitely happen, and then I’ll switch it up. The point is that I don’t want to read anything that’ll bring me down (like the sexual abuse against children book I was reading over Thanksgiving – bad idea). I’m hoping now that I’m (probably) done working for the month and after my party tomorrow, I can finally slow down a little bit and justify spending more time each day reading. I can’t wait!
2 – Treadmill OR walk outside 6 days a week
Last month I set a goal of walking on the treadmill every single day. I found that I was avoiding walking Annie outside on the nicer days because I needed to get my treadmill time in. Given the choice, I’d always like to prioritize walking outside because it’s good for her too – plus fresh air and sunshine for me. I’m sure the treadmill is a better actual workout, but the point is that I’m moving and it shouldn’t matter which location I’m doing it in. While there’s no snow or ice on the ground, I should be choosing to go outside a lot more often before I’m trapped in here for months at a time. I also want to give myself one day off without the guilt. I felt so much guilt every day that I skipped in November, no matter how justified my reason for doing it.
3 – Make SOMETHING on my Cricut
I had such grand plans to make everyone a Christmas present using my new Cricut skills. And then I went over a month without even touching it. I’m sure the two weeks between now and Christmas festivities will still fly by very quickly and be filled with other things to do, but I want to make sure I give myself a little freedom to be creative with it and learn a few new skills.
4 – Take two weeks of “vacation”
I was planning on making a few more dolls after I finished up these ornaments. But honestly, this week has been so incredibly stressful. Plus I made a lot more money over the big weekend than I was anticipating, so I feel like it’s okay to call it. I usually don’t work much in December anyway because I want to preserve my sanity! But I also tend to really miss it after some time away, so if the mood strikes I’ll make a few, but I think I’m going to save them for January to sell. I’m almost completely sold out of inventory, so I’ll probably put the shop on vacation mode in about a week and then reopen in the new year once I have a bunch of fresh dolls to showcase.
5 – Prioritize cooking
So I’ve been going through a cookbook this week written by a woman who lost 125 pounds in a year, simply by making all the same diet changes that I’m making right now. At first, I found it encouraging. And then I realized that if I want to have the same kind of success (or even remotely similar – I have no expectations to be THAT successful that quickly!), it’s going to mean devoting SO much time to making almost all the food I want to eat from scratch. Honestly, it feels like it’s going to be a full time job. A job I really don’t want. But apparently a job that’s unavoidable if I want to get us all on a healthier path. There are definitely nights I love making dinner. But there are many nights when I feel very resentful and stressed out that the responsibility is always on me when there are always SO many other things I’d rather be doing. My goal in December is to shift my mindset to focus on how WORTH IT doing all this extra work will be. I want to go through all the cookbooks I have laying around and be filled with new inspiration. I want to make better meal plans and grocery lists and carve out whatever time is necessary to make those meals happen. I want to try and make myself become addicted to the high of creating wholesome and delicious meals day after day. It’s really important. More important than most everything else.
6 – Be present
I’m noticing more and more often how much my own personal agenda gets in the way of actually connecting with people. On one hand, there are ALWAYS so many things that need to get done. Things that need to get done BY ME. On the other hand, my kids are rapidly growing up and I spend very little extra time with them. Usually almost none in the evenings because I’m so busy doing all the things I didn’t have time to do during the day when I was forcing myself to be responsible and actually work during work hours. This month I want to be better about saying yes when Greg asks me if I want to watch something with them. I want to think of ways to connect with my kids on my own. I want to stop planning out every minute of my every night and weekend, so I have more freedom and desire to spend time with them instead. It’s just….hard. I don’t know how to be less busy when I’m always behind on something. But I’m going to try.
