2024 mid-year goals review

These mid-year goal reviews might be some of the most boring posts for y’all to read (hopefully not!), but — selfishly — they’re good accountability for me and a welcome opportunity to honestly reflect on what has and hasn’t been accomplished since the beginning of the year — and to regroup for the second half!

I set nine goals in my PowerSheets in January. Here’s how they’ve gone so far…

GOAL No. 1: Recover the armchairs

Progress I’ve made: Our cream armchairs were looking a bit worse for wear after five years. While I loved the idea of a lighter aesthetic, I decided reupholstering them in a darker tone and a performance velvet fabric would help us all feel more comfortable living in our main space while in our young kids era.

After carefully sifting through fabric samples and finding an upholsterer, the work was completed earlier this year. The change has done what I hoped it would — I’m far less uptight about how they get used — but I do wish the fabric had less of a sheen. While it’s hard to swallow a less-than-ideal result because of the cost involved, I’m reminding myself that the purpose of our home isn’t to look perfect: it’s to functionally shelter our family in a cozy and welcoming way, and this change definitely helps do that.

The next six months: All set here!

GOAL NO. 2: Read through The Bible Recap’s yearly reading plan

Progress I’ve made: John and I are following this chronological plan together, and we’re chugging along! We’re currently about three weeks behind, but I feel very nonchalant about it :) I am really enjoying listening to each day’s reading and the recap as I get ready for bed each night. So far, we’ve read through 18 books of the Bible, including many I’ve never spent much time in. I’m taking in far more scripture than in a typical year and absorbing more of it thanks to Tara’s commentary. Grateful!

The next six months: More of the same (+ the New Testament!)

GOAL NO. 3: Read through and apply Outlive

Progress I’ve made: We’re about halfway through the year and have made it about halfway through this (extremely large and dense) book! Key to our progress was realizing that it’s included with our Spotify Premium subscription; ever since, we’ve been listening together on our evening walks. This way, we move through it at the same pace, and can easily pause the book and discuss as needed.

For all that we’ve learned about the diseases of aging that kill most people (heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes), the first half of the book hasn’t been particularly actionable. The biggest change we’ve made is to consistently ruck 3-4 times a week. (And I’ve jotted down a few notes about testing we might want to have done in the future.)

The next six months: I do think the second half of the book will be much more action-oriented, and I am both excited and nervous about this, ha!

GOAL NO. 4: Launch The Connected Family’s audio course

Progress I’ve made: Progress has been slow and, if I’m being honest, not even particularly steady. While it’s true to say that the work of getting the TCF Substack up and running has edged out time to work on the course, that’s not the whole story. I am proud of the work I’ve accomplished on Substack (I’ve delivered a newsletter each week to a community that now tops 1,500 (!)), and it has taken more time that I expected, but fear has played a role, as well. I only want to add something to the world if it’s needed, helpful, and original, and I haven’t felt confident I can accomplish that.

The next six months: The best way I’ve found to fight the fear is to set a timer and work on the course for at least one hour each week. I’ve been inconsistent this summer, but plan to get back to it in the fall. My next step is to turn my outline over to John for his notes, and perhaps to a few other friends. Then, I just need to start writing. While I no longer think I’ll be able to launch the course this year, an early January launch might be possible. We shall see!

GOAL NO. 5: Log 1,000 hours of deep work

Progress I’ve made: In an effort to protect my attention span, I’ve been tracking my hours spent thinking, writing, brainstorming, or researching over the last few months. So far, I’ve logged 281 hours. While it’s easy to feel discouraged and compare where I am to where I “should” be (about 542 hours in at this point), I’m choosing to see each hour of undivided focus in the pursuit of meaningful work as a win. (I wrote more about this goal here!)

The next six months: More of the same! Hoping to hit at least 500 by the end of the year :)

GOAL NO. 6: Take the Birds & Bees course with John

Progress I’ve made: We took the course! We watched it together earlier this year. (It’s less than two hours.) As a parent, I’m glad we did it and it was helpful, though some of their better-known ideas were familiar to me from hearing Megan on podcasts and talking with friends who had already taken the course.

One of my favorite modules, though, was one I hadn’t heard anything about: lesson 7, Continuing the Conversation. In it, Mary Flo gives ideas for planning a time away with each child a year or so before they hit puberty. I loved what she had to say and am tucking the ideas away for our family’s future!

Finally, as a future course creator, the whole experience was eye-opening and gave me much to think about, especially around the simplicity of their curriculum.

The next six months: All set here, but I love that we have lifetime access to the course to brush up whenever needed!

GOAL NO. 7: Gut the loft

Progress I’ve made: While gutting has not happened, I did do a more rigorous than usual sweep of the space earlier this year – mostly clearing out toys that are no longer needed.

The next six months: I think my next step is to set up small shelves in the attic crawl space right off the loft. While I generally resist the idea that better organization is the solution to most home problems (in my experience, the solution is usually getting rid of stuff), I do think that being able to move some of my crafting and entertaining items out of the play area – and therefore making it more of a single-use room – will help it feel more orderly and useful.

GOAL NO. 8: Invite friends over for 12 Sunday night pizza hangs

Progress I’ve made: While I initially envisioned inviting different families over each month, this goal has unfolded in a different direction: we’ve landed on a back-and-forth tradition with just one other family (we go to their house one month, then they come to ours the next). This has been beautiful, and I wouldn’t change it, but we have traded breadth for depth.

The next six months: As we transition into fall, my hope is to continue this tradition and also invite another family over on the months we’re being hosted!

GOAL NO. 9: Explore the idea of renovating our home

Progress I’ve made: As longtime readers know, the vision for our future where I have felt the most unclear is whether we’ll stay in our home or move (locally). One outcome we’d never really considered was renovating our current home, but it popped onto our radar at the end of last year and quickly became something we were interested in exploring.

Earlier this year, we did explore it – we had a contractor we’d heard great things about out to our home, and spent a good amount of time with him discussing possibilities and measuring and walking our space. We liked him a lot. He followed up with estimates for the length of the project and the expense. The expense was actually less than we were expecting (though I’m sure we would be on the higher end of the range he offered, ha), but the length was longer – he estimated 5-7 months out of our home. John, particularly, felt that would be too disruptive for our family (on top of the considerable expense of renting for that time).

The next six months: In the midst of our renovation discussions, a home in our neighborhood came up for sale that we were very interested in. We hustled to confirm a realtor and get pre-approved for a mortgage, and while we ultimately decided not to put in an offer, it was a clarifying experience that helped us hone in on what we’re willing to move for. We’ll continue to keep an eye on listings in the two neighborhoods we’re interested in, and if the right place comes up, we’ll be ready — but will be totally fine (and perhaps would consider it ideal) if a move doesn’t happen for 1-3 years. Renovating plans are off the table for now.

Finally, here’s a little bonus update from last year, when I set a goal to work through trouble spots in our home, month by month. I just did an inventory, and of the 12 spots I worked through, I’d say we’ve been able to maintain the progress I made in nine of the spots. The other three are in need of a reboot a year or so out. Just thought that would be fun to share!

And there you have it! A very robust update on my 2024 goals. If you set your own goals for the year, or even if you didn’t, I’d love for you to share a win in the comments from the first six months! I can’t wait to cheer you on :)