Since I’m in the final year of my 101 in 1001 challenge, I’ve decided that I’m going to focus on completing as many items as possible off of that list in lieu of separate 2013 goals. I’ll also be continuing with the daily goal system I implemented in 2012!

As you may recall, I introduced the concept last January, and though I briefly reported in with progress in February, we never touched on it again! I’m happy to say that the system worked marvelously for me.

To recap, I made a list of ten daily practices that I wanted to become habits by the end of 2012. They included: wake up at or before 8am, go to sleep by 11pm, go for a walk, floss, read the Bible, eat breakfast, do the dinner dishes before I go to bed, and make the bed in the morning, among other things.

In January, February, and March, I promised myself I’d do at least four of the practices every day. In April, May, and June, six. In July, August, and September, eight. In October, November, and December, ten.

The thing I loved — and still love — most about this system is that it didn’t expect me to do everything every day, or all at once. I was able to gradually incorporate the changes into my life over a year, and if I slipped up a few times, that was alright. Grace not perfection was definitely applicable here!

So here we are after 12 months, and I’m ready for another set! I can confidently say that four of the ten practices I outlined have become complete habits, so I will no longer be tracking them every day in 2013 (but still doing them, of course — they are habits, after all!). I did well with an additional four, but feel I still need a reminder to complete them, so they’ll stay on the list (with some modification and condensing). The remaining two (ahem — everything having to do with sleep) definitely still need to stay on the list.

For 2013, my daily goals are as follows:

1. Get out of bed by 8am
2. Make bed
3. Go out of my way to encourage or check in with someone
4. Eat at least one “power food”*
5. Finish two tumblers of water
6. Take a midday walk around the block at work
7. Do something physically active
8. Stand up until John comes home**
9. Write in faith journal***
10. Lights out by 11pm

I’m shooting for three practices every day in January, February, and March; five in April, May, and June; seven in July, August, and September; and nine in October, November, and December.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in trying yourself, a few recommendations:

1. I bought this goal log at the beginning of 2012 and it has been extremely helpful with keeping track of everything. In fact, it seems designed for this exact system! At $15 (or $5 a year), it’s a no-brainer. I keep my log on my bedside table and fill it in every night before I go to bed.
2. Travel definitely complicated the system. Since it took me out of my normal routine, some of the practices became impossible to complete, which threw off my daily totals. I eventually decided to not tally days I was traveling, though I still tried to complete as many practices as was feasible.
3. When you’re brainstorming daily practices to include, spend some time picturing what your ideal day would look like. Would you eat healthy food? Would you have a close relationship with God? Would you arrive polished and poised at work every morning? Walk through the whole day in your head, then line it up with what your current day looks like. THEN, figure out how you can break the difference between the two down into bite-size, concrete pieces.

This system has been marvelous for me, and I hope it might be helpful for some of you, as well! If you’ve posted about your 2013 goals, I’d love for you to leave a comment with the link so I can come check them out! I’ll be back tomorrow with an update on my 101 in 1001 challenge and a breakdown of how I plan to accomplish as many of the remaining goals as possible.

*Still researching what should go on this list, but I’m thinking things like spinach, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, flaxseed, edamame, etc. Suggestions welcome!
**This one sounds nutty, doesn’t it?? My understanding, though, is that it is generally not good at all for our bodies to sit for most of the day, and that is definitely what my body currently does. Since John works later than me, I generally am on the computer in the early evening before he gets home (replying to email, working on the blog, etc.), and I’m going to try and stand while I do this instead of sit.
***I added this to directly combat one of the things that didn’t work for me in 2012, and I’m hoping it will make both my prayer time and reading of the Bible more meaningful and effective! If you keep something similar, I’d love to hear what you include in yours or use yours for!