Setting Goals: Simple Goal Setting Within Motherhood

Making Today Count

There are 1,440 minutes in each day. I want to make the most of each of them and make today count. Setting tiny goals will help me achieve a larger degree of success, so I have been reflecting lately on what I can do to make some simple, positive changes each day. I have been far from perfect achieving this, but I am doing my best to be consistent.

Lately, I’ve had my hand in several different things, but I’m not doing any of them well.

Now, as a mom to two tiny humans I expect this, and I am OK with that…to some extent. When I took inventory of all of the different areas of my life, I found improvements I could make. For starters, I feel that I could improve the the overall quality of my time that I spend with my two kids. So often I feel like I am playing or coloring or building with one hand, and holding my phone checking Facebook in the other. This practice spirals down into other areas–then I realize I have wasted so much time that I can’t get back. I know that I need to intentionally make better use of my time to better myself as a mom, wife, and woman.

Through this time of self-reflection, I have identified three small goals I could set:

• Be more present with my children. I know–that is such a MOM goal. We all want that. For me, I want to make my mornings about them. Right now, we spend our time watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and eating breakfast while I clean up from dinner the night before. My new goal: once the kids are in bed, instead of going right into binge watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix, I will spend 30 minutes each night tidying up my kitchen and picking up the toys. When my kitchen is in order, my house feels much more peaceful. And it is wonderful to wake up to a clean kitchen! Most importantly, it has helped make my mornings a teeny bit less busy and has given our family more time for cuddles on the couch.
•  Feed my mind. To be honest, the only thing that feeds my mind these days are my Instagram and Facebook news feeds. While we all need some downtime for mindless things, we also need to grow and develop ourselves. I am still trying to figure out how to improve in this area. But I know it needs improvement! So, I am starting by reading more. Reading for fun. Reading for personal development. Reading to help my marriage grow. Any time I read about a successful woman, I learn that reading often contributed to their success. If it works for them, I can make it work for me!
• Plan my day out. This may come naturally for some; it doesn’t so much for me. However, I LOVE day planners. I like making lists and crossing things off, but I am not overly consistent with this practice. I’ve decided to challenge myself with five goals for each day. I feel like five goals is manageable, whether they are big or small. It has helped me be intentional in reaching out to the people I need to reach out to and helped me focus on improving my home, and on daily tasks that need attention.

We all know that in motherhood we need to roll with the punches most days–some days don’t go as planned, and that’s okay. But generally speaking, I feel much more confident going into each day with a plan in place. The real bonus: I can now look back on my days and weeks and see that I have accomplished much more than I have given myself credit for.

What steps do you take that help you make the most of each day? I would love to hear your ideas!