It is December 17th and I am a bit stressed about the number of things that need to get done in the next few weeks. Most of these things are writing-related, but some of them are other things that are becoming more and more urgent, such as dealing with some back-end blog stuff (my least favorite activity EVER!) or ordering holiday cards (not 100% necessary but we do like to send New Years’ Cards and pretty soon they will be Happy Mid-January Cards. Which would be okay, but not ideal!)
This morning I compiled it all into one list for the time frame and while I feel slightly better, I am still anxious because . . . well, it’s just a lot of things. But I *think* it’s doable. My last day of clinic is Friday so at least there will be a rest from that side of work. I’m anticipating/hoping for some very productive plane flights to and from Montana!
2025 Goals: Overview
I recorded my annual goals ep with Laura and am about to do an equally detailed one for Best Laid Plans — so I am feeling more committed to my goals for 2025! I have decided I will do a series here where I go into each of them in detail. Today I’ll share the framework/list that I will be drawing from.
Do I have a lot of goals? YES! I always do. I don’t always meet them all, and for me this is expected. If I aim high and reach even 50-60% of what I’m working towards, it’s great (which I would definitely say holds true for 2024).
My Hobonichi Weeks is starting to fill up with these ideas and it feels like I’m ready.
Note: I had a few people ask for the link of my Planner Stack YouTube, as it wasn’t in my initial post. It’s here!
PERSONAL
FITNESS: Strength, aging well, injury prevention, and body comp in my 40s
FITNESS: Running fast and creating an enjoyable running calendar for our climate
WARDROBE/CLOSET: Editing, organizing, and style
READING: A Process Habit Approach
MEDIA: Curation, tracking, music / TV / movies
INVISALIGN: Okay, this is an add-on, but I’m considering it. I had braces for many years but college/20s me was unfortuntely inconsistent with my retainer. I dislike how my bottom teeth look and even feel. (If anyone has seen My Old Ass there is a humorous reference of this phenomenon!)
WORK
BOOK PROJECT: Enjoying the process (as much as possible!)
SHUTDOWN: Cracking down on a hard stop and adequate processing rituals on my creative work days
SUMMER: Treat summer like something different – craft a summer sabbatical of sorts
RELATIONSHIPS
REPEAT GOAL: Embrace 1:1 opportunities (their sports events / solo excursions / 7 year old trip somewhere with G)
DATE NIGHTS: Fun restaurant quest + 2 short trips with Josh
NEIGHBORHOOD: Revive book club + have casual neighborhood hang in the winter
SEEK OUT FRIEND TIME: Meetups with college + other friends in the works!
HOUSEHOLD
ORGANIZING FOR REAL THIS TIME: Eliminating the excess room by room (!) – hoping 2025 is the year this comes to fruition!
READING: Cultivate a reading routine in our house on weekend afternoons before screens
REPEAT GOAL: Sunday dinners + discussion of the week ahead with kids
Will go through each of these (1-2 at a time) as we lead up to 2025!
17 Comments
I always appreciate you sharing your goals as they serve as inspiration. May I ask, where do these goals live (your Apple Notes, your Hobonichi Weeks)? Also, do you fulfill these tasks before 5pm before you get back home?
Hi!! Which tasks are you talking about, specifically? Writing I usually do on my nonclinical days plus often on weekends. Reading I usually do before bed and in the early AM. Exercise usually early AM (before work + driving kids) or lunchtime/afternoon on work from home days.
And this year they are in my Weeks (Annual and Seasonal) but I also take a pic and throw it in Notes for safe keeping š
Thank you Sarah
(For some reason I do not see a link to reply to your actual post so apologies for the nesting!)
I always appreciate your lists! It does seem ambitious but also balanced across areas of life.
I took your planning course this time last year and am eager to look back at those initial thoughts vs what actually landed in my calendar and on my weekly to do lists. In general I am much h better at managing work related tasks than personal ones (leaning toward obliger tendency )
Strength training was a big one for me last year, but I had a major shoulder injury in March that derailed everything. But I’ve been in PT for months, which is its own version of that goal.
Looking forward to hearing more!!
Love all these and am tempted to just basically copy you. š š jk. Also YES on the bottom teeth thing… I know we’ve talked about this before, but I have same issue. I also can feel it and it’s yuck. I don’t think this will be the year though yet for me- we currently have 3 of 4 of our household in braces! So I will probably wait until a couple people cycle out…
Do the Invisalign! I did not have braces as a kid (single mom, not in the cards financially). At 27 I decided to get braces for myself. However, my bite was too bad for Invisalign and metal didn’t bother me. And I also had a retained baby canine. The adult tooth was up in my palate and an oral surgeon opened it up, attached a chain, and it was slowly pulled into place with the orthodontia. Unfortunately I ended up with 3 rounds of braces from age 27 to age 39 due to continued shifting with my terrible crossbite, but the third time finally took. They’ve stayed where they were put for 3 years now! My friend did Invisalign in our 30s and had a great result. I’m sure you would too since you’re not starting from scratch (and she was).
Love that you share your goals here- Iām just about ready to write mine down for 2025. I also write a lot and Iām happy if I progress a big chunk, but not all. What layouts do you use in the Hobonichi Weeks for your goals and lists? Iām curious because it sounds like a weekly planner?
Iāve also got crooked bottom teeth after not using my retainer enough as a teenager. Iād never considered envisalign, will be interested to hear if you decide to go ahead!
I did Invisalign in 2021 (during the pandemic – perfect time for this!) I also had braces when I was younger, but stopped wearing my retainer after a while. I was noticing my teeth looked noticeably crooked in pictures compared to other people and just wanted to look more āput togetherā.
Itās a pain, but worth it!
I like your other goals, too. Organizing (for real) and incorporating consistent strength training into my routine are my key goals. And Iām starting a graduate school program in January (while working full-time). I might be crazy for doing this at 42, but I also want to do something new š And I know is can be done (thanks to you + LV!) even if it does require some deprioritizing and/or outsourcing.
I love seeing others goals even though I donāt set any goals for myself! Itās fun to see what others are looking to achieve in 2025! I am debating doing 25 in 25 this year and making it mostly fun things and nothing too taxing. Work continues to challenge me to my limits and my RA isnāt great to if I feel like a list of fun things will be good to reference throughout the year, especially now that the kids are getting to more manageable stages.
I did Invisalign in 2021 to straighten my bottom teeth and they look much better now. Two things: 1) they glue nubbins to your teeth to help straighten them (which I didnāt know about), 2) and it took about a year for a minor adjustment. Still worth it, but I live in perpetual fear of a retainer breaking and my teeth moving again before I can get a replacement lol. That last one may be a me problem though haha!
love this framework! Will start thinking about my 2025 goal list too.
Great goals! And I love how you say that you don’t always expect to meet them all, but it’s good to have goals. 100%! I am still trying to figure out a planner for the new year… I bought a cheap one at Home Goods the other day. It’s simple and might work but I am still looking for THE ONE. Looking forward to reading more about your system for 2025.
I’m really simplifying my goals this year – I feel like a lot of things are on autopilot now – I’ve got my volunteer commitments, I’m happy with my level of exercise, I read a lot of books, don’t have a ton of bad habits. My work goals are set on the academic year, based on when our annual review is. So the focus is on some small routines, and a big focus on our space, indoor and otudoor.
Small routines – I want to do some sort of strength training, host 12x, play 100 games as a family (2x a week), see if I can get through the year buying no new items (sneakers and undies excepted).
Space focus –
– Make a big snag list of all the things that need sorted in the house
– Identify all the cheap / DIY things and work through them
– Make a plan for the rest (we’ve got to renew our mortgage this year and our interest rate will go from 2 to 5% so no Ā£ for big house projects)
– Get all the artwork framed and hung up
– Take everything out and sort/purge – the shed, closets, utility room
– Clean out room by room, with the aim of reducing stuff by at least 10%
– Do a big kid book sort at the end of the school year (to donate to the school library)
– Do a big toy sort ahead of our town’s big zero waste festival
– Work on patio – repot the big plants to create a shade screen
– Plant ground cover to reduce weeding
I feel like all the programmes are expensive/assume a much bigger and more complicated house (1000 square feet over here) so I’m hoping with a big list, we can just work through it ourselves.
Ditto on a big thank you for sharing your goals in such granularity! It is super helpful as I start to think about what I want in 2025.
Okay, you’re inspiring me. Also you mentioned the episode of About Progress where she talks about goal setting for 2025. I listened to that and downloaded her “Did Something” project, which is to help you look back on 2024 and then set goals for 2025. I’m excited to do this- now I just have to find the time. : )
Like many others here, I got Invisalign a few years ago after having braces when I was young. When I’d see photos or video of myself talking, those bottom teeth bugged me. The orthodontist’s office told me half of their patients were my age (I’m 44 now) because apparently our mouths get crowded and teeth move a lot between 35 & 40. Who knew! Always love to read about your goals!