Happy New Year, friends! I’ve finally resigned myself to the fact that I’m in the middle of recovering from a cold, which doesn’t help with the “fresh start” feeling, but we’re laying low and making the best of it. I really enjoyed looking back at 2013 a few days ago, and now it’s time to look ahead! Y’all know I love me some goals, but let’s back up for a moment. The reason that I set goals — big goals, small goals — is to help me move closer to the person I want to be and the life I want to lead. In the past few years, I’ve used a combination of goal types in this pursuit: Daily goals. You can see my daily goals for 2013 here and 2012 here. The basic idea is that I make a list of daily practices that I want to become habits by the end of the year. In January, February, and March, I promise myself I’ll do at least three of the practices every day. In April, May, and June, five. In July, August, and September, seven. In October, November, and December, nine. The thing I love most about this system is that it doesn’t expect me to do everything every day, or all at once. I’m able to gradually incorporate the changes into my life over a year, and if I slip up a few times, that’s okay. I use this to track my daily progress. I prefer this type of system/habit building to setting one-off goals because it shifts the focus from checking things off and moving on to moving forward in a sustainable way. Monthly goals. See here or here for examples. John thinks these are more similar to “to do” lists rather than lists of goals, but

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite weeks of the year. I like setting goals, and this quiet time is perfect for looking back at what I’ve accomplished (or not) throughout the past year, and looking forward to what I hope to do and be in the coming year. I’m entering the second year of my 101 in 1001, and am continuing to check things off that list (so far, I’ve completed 14 goals, and have another 35 in progress!). Those are my more experiential, overarching, life-enriching goals. In 2012, however, I feel moved to make a second set of goals that are more quotidian. These are basic things that should already be a part of my life, but aren’t for a variety of reasons (and yes, that reason is most often laziness). That being said, I think it’s unproductive to set a goal of doing something every day when trying to establish a new habit, because if you miss one day, or even a few days in a row, it might seem like there’s no point in getting back on the train. SO. Here’s what I’m going to do instead. I’ve made a list of twelve daily practices that I want to become habits by the end of 2012. They include: 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, make the bed in the morning, and a few others. In January, February, and March, I’m going to do at least four of these practices every day. In April, May, and June, I’m going to do six. In July, August, and September, eight. In October, November, and December, ten. I’m not sure