1.06.2016

Monthly Goals, December & 2016 Intentions

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the "makeshift" Christmas tree in our Finland apartment; my grandpa legit cut down in his yard and brought it to us

I truly hope 2016 is finding you refreshed and inspired for a brand new year. Isn't it exhilarating to have the feeling of a clean slate? January may be cold and less sparkly than the month before, but I, for one, feel relieved. I have few plans and feel like I actually have time to think, and dedicate to things that were neglected all Fall (like, dusting! Organizing! All the exciting things.) I've been feeling just plain old good lately. 

Waaaay back in January 2015, I decided to take a slightly different approach to resolutions for the year. Rather than ideas that would (hopefully) stick all year, I made a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish monthly, and reviewed them monthly. You can read the years worth of reviews here, but quickly, looking back at December:


- Made my biggest trip of the year, to Finland, and saw nearly my entire family
- Focused on the one-word-motto of joy, which can be surprisingly difficult during the holidays.
- Huntee & I threw a holiday/house-warming party
- I read We Were Liars on the plane to Finland (after figuring out how to put library books on my Kindle!)
- I sent at least a Christmas card and package to my brother Sundar
- Amidst all the festivities, I didn't see any live music


That's 6/7 for December, which proved to be a pretty good mark for the year! 

I'm less interested in my overall "stats", and more into whether this format worked for me. It definitely kept things interesting, as they changed and re-set month to month. It also helped that these were mostly all enjoyable things I wanted to do. 

I went to a lot of shows, wrote a lot of letters, saw some new places, and saw a member of my family every month except January. More on this as I share some overall highlights of the year, in a different post! 

The hardest to keep? I didn't read as much as I wanted to, and though I loved the one-word-motto concept, those were a challenge. This might be a cop-out, but regardless of how well I "performed" according to my motto, I enjoyed having an intention that I knew was specifically on my mind for the month.   

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And my resolutions for 2016, if you're curious? Well, after the hard and fast structure of last year, I have goals in mind, but they are a lot more chill. By that, I don't mean "cool thoughts that I never accomplish" (like most resolutions, but that's the hard part, isn't it...) I'll share a few of them here, though it's just a skim off the top (of course I will chat in-depth, if you want!) 

I'm not even calling them resolutions. I chose the word "intention."

Intentions for 2016:
- be constantly in the middle of a book
- SPEND LESS
- save up to go to Paris
- train for and complete the San Francisco marathon in July
- develop and stick to a nightly routine, that helps me sleep better, and then,
- be on time to work
- go outside! Visit more TN State Parks than last year
- and overall, try to live simpler this year


If you've shared your 2016 resolutions or a re-cap of your 2015 goals, let me know! I'd love to check it out. 

Ok- if you made it through this post, thanks for reading! 
And thanks for making perfectly Priya a great spot to keep track of my goals. Onward! 
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6 comments

Meghan @ Hayes Days said...

These are all great thoughts to strive for in 2016. I do small goals too. Basically I consider my daily to do list small goals. I definitely have grander plans in mind, but I'm a step by step kind of person.

Unknown said...

You know, I feel like I achieved living simpler this year just through trying to do less, and I'm not sure for me it worked so well; I've written about this on my blog but I thought this year felt a lot less productive. I've really enjoyed following your blog and your goals and progress this year. I've especially really enjoyed your one word per month and I think I'm going to try something similar this year (if it's ok to steal your genius ideas!). If you get to Paris let me know!!!!! It's not so far from London, maybe we could finally hang out :) xx

Priya said...

I do have a bunch of smaller things I just need to get done, so I suppose those are my small goals too. Good luck!

Priya said...

Hmm, I can see that being an issue for me too, because I thrive on productivity! Definitely go for the one word motto. Can't wait to read yours!

That is an amazing idea! I will definitely keep you posted on my travels :)

Lauren @ Exploring My Style said...

These are such great goals Priya! Are you trying to go to Paris this year?? That's pretty exciting!

Sidenote: one of the posts being recommended to me is our swapstyle post. So funny!

Marie McGrath (The Joy of Fashion) said...

I want to congratulate you for all the incredible work you did during 2015, I love the idea of monthly goals to keep you on track. Paris sounds like So much fun, especially with your sis! I wish you a fantastic 2016 filled with so much happiness and joy.

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