2022 Goals

6 January 2022

After the angst of last year, this year’s goals came clearly and quickly, and I’m really excited about them! As always, I set my 2022 goals with the help of my PowerSheets – they remind me what really matters to me and then help me make those things a priority. Sharing my goals here, year after year and month after month, is quite possibly the most potent factor in any progress I’ve made, so thank you, as always, for being kind, listening ears! :)

Photo by Graham from Annie’s newborn session

1. Return to in-person worship. My understanding of Jesus’s vision for a life of faith centers around learning, growing, and loving in a local community. Like many, we have worshipped from home since churches closed at the beginning of the pandemic, and that has been good in many ways, but I have felt strong confirmation that it is time for our family to open ourselves back up to the discipline and delight of in-person worship. This is not as simple as walking back through the doors (hence why it’s a goal), but it’s also very tender, so this is probably not a goal you’ll be hearing much more about right now. But it’s number one for a reason :)

2. Bury the word of God in our hearts. If I want to invite my children into a life of faith, the most powerful thing I can do is to live one myself – and let my children see me living it. The word of God needs to be on MY tongue if I want to teach it to them. The fruit of the Spirit needs to be in ME if I want to encourage it in them. The life of a believer needs to look like the best, most true and joyful and free life if I want them to say – I want THAT. This goal will initially focus on building a morning quiet time for myself and memorizing scripture as a family, but I’m open to where it takes me!

3. Complete my outstanding creative projects quarter by quarter. Last year, I had two goals related to creative projects and memory keeping, and while they all inched forward a bit, I didn’t move any of my many projects across the finish line. This year, to lend urgency, I’m assigning my projects to quarters and will only focus on one at a time.

Q1: 2010-2014 family photo album
Q2: First 10 years of EFM book
Q3: Kid memorabilia and memory keeping (baby books up to date, etc.)
Q4: Advent calendar

4. Make my fitness a priority and have fun doing it. Fitness was 100% not a priority in 2021 – being a healthy pregnant person and a cozy post-partum person was, and that was perfect for that season of life. And 2022 is a new season! I have several goals under this umbrella: complete a diastasis recti program (any recommendations?), compete with our siblings in a Peloton challenge in Q1 (and probably Q4), add Annie into our life as a bike-riding family and get back out on the trails (starting in Q2!), and complete an MS75 ride in September with John and hopefully our brother- and sister-in-law!

5. Celebrate our marriage with joy! This one gets an exclamation point :) We are celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary this year, and that is a milestone worthy of celebration! There’s not a lot I want to *do* for this goal; I mostly just want to make it a focus to praise the Lord for all He has done and continues to do in our marriage. We’ll continue with our monthly date nights and celebrate big-time with our anniversary trip in September. On that trip, I’d also like to incorporate some “marriage summit”-type activities and vision casting for the next decade, which will take some intentional pre-planning.

6. Refresh our home one quarter at a time. We have a few projects already in the works, and like goal no. 3, I’m going to try to focus on these one by one.

Q1: Refresh our kitchen (and possibly our mantel)
Q2: Tweak our loft into a true play room
Q3: Refresh our powder room
Q4: Probably nothing – enjoy the holidays :)

7. Establish new rhythms for our family. I am so grateful that many things are running smoothly and joyfully in our family. I also know that our family is always changing, and so upgrading and fine-tuning our ways of life will always be one of my most important roles (alongside John!). The five of us are held together and built up by rhythms, routines, and traditions, and so it’s worth spending time tinkering. I need to do a little more mapping on this goal, but there are a few rhythms I’m considering implementing, codifying, or deepening: Sunday dinners, Sunday mornings (see goal no. 1!), family meetings with learning topics (oh yes), once-a-month friend lunches, Write the Word Sundays with June, family hikes, and baking together.

8. Make meals easier. This is by far the simplest goal! I have focused on various aspects of getting food on the table in my goals for the last few years, and I have seen HUGE strides in making this part of our family life run more smoothly. This year, this goal is basically about buying a secondary fridge/small chest freezer and developing a rhythm of doubling and freezing meals and incorporating frozen meals into my weekly meal planning. I also want to build out 1-2 “brainless” weeks of menus for each season that I can copy and paste when I’m short on time. That’s it! :)

As always, each of these goals will be broken down and lived out through my monthly goals. A little time at the beginning of each month and week picking out a few tasks that will help me move these goals forward goes a long way!

On that note, I’ll be back with my January goals post and my 2022 book list soon, but in the meantime, I’d love to hear what you have planned for 2022. Have you set goals yet? I’d truly love to hear, so please drop a note in the comments! I can’t wait to cheer you on.

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Rhi
January 6, 2022 7:02 am

I’ve been waiting waiting waiting for this post and it did not disappoint! What a wonderfully clear vision for this new year and one that will add up in big ways towards your big picture, Em! I’m here cheering you on every step of the way and excited to hear more about your progress over the coming months.

Brianna
January 6, 2022 7:16 am

I have Diastasis Recti after the birth of my twins in 2021 and I’m currently working through the Expecting and Empowered postpartum guide. It’s created by a woman’s health physical therapist, so I’m confident she knows what she’s talking about! Even if you don’t purchase the program, the Instagram has tons of good, free info!

Katrina
January 6, 2022 8:05 am

I love following along with your goals so much – thank you for so generously sharing!

I am very curious to hear about the family meetings with learning topics!! Cheering you on through all of these – what an exciting year!

I am working to rebuild my morning routine – I’m 4 years out of college & totally abandoned my routine with the pandemic. While it was a good choice at the time (I was prioritizing time w/ siblings & fam over routine!) it’s time to get back at it! I start a new job this month that has a 7:30 (!!!) start time instead of my current 9.
I also have a “find exercise I love” and incorporate it daily goal & a meal planning goal to look specifically at my spending & food waste!

Kelly C
January 6, 2022 8:51 am

Well I had my goals all set before Christmas, then we got engaged! Currently bookmarking all your lovely posts, and re-reading every SW mag that I scooped up before the shop closed. *Side note, that planner is saving my bacon!* My goals this year were to spend more time with my family, delight in all the small things, be well (health goals), and make strides toward my financial goals.

Emily
January 6, 2022 9:05 am

Thank you so much for sharing your 2022 goals, Em! I love that they focus on what you value and that they already incorporate so much of who you are. It shows that building little by little each year truly does add up over time. One reason I enjoy your goal setting posts is to see your approach to implementing the goals that you set in daily life. Love the idea of quarterly focus in some areas. Wishing you and your family a wonderful year ahead!

Jewel
January 6, 2022 9:50 am

Wow, we share many of the same 2022 priorities. My main goal this year is to move our family from survival mode- to thrival (?) mode. My daughter is 15 months old, so the mood of our days hasn’t been dependent on how much sleep she gets for a while now (thank God). Now to figure out how to live our daily life in a more proactive way, and less reactive to whatever the baby does.

Christine
January 6, 2022 9:51 am

Thanks for sharing your goals and articulating why they matter to you. Our family has also been working to hide God’s Word in our hearts and one of the biggest helps has been Slugs and Bugs! Our whole family has been learning scripture thanks to these catchy tunes. I can’t recommend them enough! They are all excellent albums but their most recent, Volume 4 has ones I think you would really like. I

Pressley
January 6, 2022 11:36 am

Would love to hear your thinking behind setting goals based on quarters versus monthly or weekly. I really like that idea and am curious if you had a larger reasoning behind it!

LBB
January 6, 2022 11:48 am

Strong Like a Mother (SLAM) is an amazing postpartum recovery program and you can go full on or just do their core basics, or just follow her on IG for free tips and see improvement. I barely dipped my toes in (before getting pregnant again) and it was still so helpful.

Hales
January 6, 2022 11:58 am

Lots of change is heading our way in 2022 (baby #2 is coming in March and kindergarten is coming our way in August!). Mostly I just want to spend time playing, cuddling, eating and enjoying life with my crew. There are a lot of ways I could improve how I keep a tidy home, prepare meals, etc. but I want to keep it simple as we move from the Three to the Four Musketeers and in the months leading up to the arrival of Little Sis. I asked our daughter the other day what she wanted to do before Little Sis arrives and she simply said “play” and it makes me smile every time I think about it and. So simple and sweet.
Lovely post, as always. Looking forward to cheering YOU on this year as well!

Anna
January 6, 2022 12:18 pm

Thanks for sharing these!! I’m especially interested about your scripture memory plan for your family.. I have tried to find some scripture memory cards that I can use with my kid on Etsy but it’s so overwhelming to me to find them, print and then have them cut and am laminated! I look forward to seeing what you find!! ????

Danielle
January 6, 2022 12:39 pm

our deep freezer is by far the best thing we own and helps with our meal planning so much. We use it for both freezer meals and we buy bulk meat from costco (and you definitely need the extra storage for that!) which is so nice with meal planning to always have supply on hand.

Venia
January 6, 2022 1:01 pm

Long-time reader, first-time commenter, and the thing bringing me out of the woodwork is your freezer meals goal! I just started doing a once-a-week freezer meal, and it’s been a game changer–somehow before I always thought of it as complicated and it’s taken several years to realize I already make a big batch of soup weekly and it is NO WORK AT ALL to ziploc bag two extra servings for my husband and I a few weeks down the road. And that means no meal-prep cleanup on Mondays!
You got me to try PowerSheets last year for the first time and I loved it, so a belated thank you, too!

Laura Bitler
January 6, 2022 1:04 pm

Always love reading your goals! Real Easy Weekdays from Kids Eat in Color is a good resource for the meal planning you are planning for.

January 6, 2022 3:31 pm

I love reading these posts of yours! They give me so much hope and excitement for the coming year… I love seeing what is important to others and what they’re choosing to focus on. I actually wrote about mine here: https://taylorjenkins.com/?p=607 I only have 4 this year- I pared down as we are preparing to welcome our first baby in March! I want to prepare our hearts and home for baby, create a functional and enjoyable home, love my people well, and take care of myself. Choosing to focus on what truly matters this year and save the big, earth-shattering stuff for later (:

Kelly Strawberry
January 6, 2022 4:51 pm

Just chiming in to tell you how much I loved and laughed at “family meetings with learning topics”…knowing you IRL just makes this even better :)

Sarah
January 6, 2022 6:53 pm

I always look forward to reading your annual goals post, Emily! Thank you for always being so generous and sharing your goals on EFM. Your monthly updates are so inspiring to read. I’m especially interested to see how you approach your marriage goal this year!
I set my goals just before the new year and I’m looking forward to making progress! Some of my goals include expanding our dinner repertoire with new recipes, dating my husband (aiming for one daytime outing and one evening out each month!), cultivating quality friendships, and making our house a home with a series of small but impactful refreshes.

Sarah
January 10, 2022 11:45 am
Reply to  Em

I don’t work outside the home (due to my husband being on a work visa) and he works full-time. Our daytime dates are usually on Sundays or on the Monday of a long weekend.
I paired this goal with one I’ve carried over from 2021, which was to explore our area. We visit one new to us place each month (like a park, botanic garden, museum, farmers market, or other local attraction) and pair it with trying a new local restaurant. For the first quarter of 2021, we’re planning to visit a botanical garden, attend a local arts fair (and hopefully add to our art collection) and go on a boat tour of or area’s chain of lakes!
For our evening outings, I’m leaning more towards classic “night out” activities. So far, we have tickets for a few upcoming performances like the ballet, the symphony, and a Broadway Across America production. I’m hoping it will be safe to attend these shows!

January 6, 2022 8:57 pm

Ooh yay, I’ve been looking forward to reading the goals you came up with!! I love the quarterly approach and am inspired to consider applying it to some of my goals as well (I’m still wrapping up my prep work!). I’m especially excited to follow along with the new family rhythms you establish and any-and-all tips for easier meals! I will also give a huge encouragement on goal #1–we went back to church in person weekly as soon as we were able (end of May 2020 outside, eventually and gradually transitioning to different set-ups inside), and especially after the time away, we have cherished it more than ever and it has been so fruitful!

Kaitlyn
January 6, 2022 10:24 pm

I love the MUTU program for my DR postpartum!

Victoria
January 7, 2022 10:11 am

How fun! I have not set any real goals yet this year, which is very unlike me. I do want to do something with my landscaping in the front/side yard, join a morning exercise class while my son is in preschool, take more photos with my friends, and play more pickleball.

Heather
January 7, 2022 10:27 am

I second Slugs and Bugs! Everything they do is a slam dunk. I listen even when the kids aren’t in the car. You should also check out The Story Warren and The Rabbit Room. Lots of good resources there.

I also love Nourish Move Love for all things exercise and especially post pregnancy. She is a Christian and is really good at motivating you to get stronger but yet encouraging the right values as you do it. And it’s all free!

Hannah
January 9, 2022 2:18 pm

The Every Mother app is wonderful for diastasis recti! It is simply laid out and educates about how to move safely without hurting the core.

Stephanie
January 9, 2022 4:38 pm

I liked Bodyfit by Amy’s YouTube channel when I was postpartum. She has quite a few postpartum workouts, plus specific content for diastasis recti. I like your goal to establish new family rhythms! My husband starts a new job tomorrow with a much longer commute, so our morning and evening routines will be changing. I also want to be more intentional/regular about getting together with certain friends and family. Thanks for bringing this top of mind!

Kate
January 9, 2022 5:25 pm

I like your quarterly approach to home and creative goals! Last year I tried doing a little bit of several different organizational goals each day, but this year have decided to focus on one at a time monthly. Like you, hoping this results in fully finishing a few!

January 10, 2022 12:09 pm

Looking forward to cheering you on, friend!! I‘m still finalizing mine :) But here are a few: eat vegetarian (big one, but so far much easier than I thought!), finally host family and friends from Germany again with JOY!, get better at one (or more) of my hobbies (photography, watercolor, lettering, coffee making ;)).

Meredith
January 11, 2022 10:22 am

I have seen therapists at Women In Motion PT in Charlottesville to strengthen my pelvic floor and return to running. Michelle Little is very active on IG and offers all kinds of resources, including a postpartum class to help with DR. I haven’t done those things but will say that in-person PT with her and one of her associates has been such a positive addition to my life and physical body in the last year. If you can get yourself to Cville for a consultation, it would absolutely be worth your while! If not, find her on Instagram. She’s a wealth of information and encouragement!