My Goals, My Mission, and My Word of the Year for 2024

Happy New Year everyone! It has been the most wonderful, quiet, relaxing New Year’s I’ve ever had. Three days of bliss. Rest, sleep, writing, playing computer games, watching shows, and repeat. My mind has become untangled and I’m in NO HURRY to do anything. That will change in the coming days but for right now, that is the mindset.

I sat down with a pen and a fresh journal for 2024 and began writing. My goal was to list what I would like 2024 to look like, in hopes that my goals, planning, and actions will lead me in that direction.

Here’s What I’d like to see in 2024

• Peace
• Happiness
• SIMPLICITY
• Easy
• Rewards
• Love
• Joy
• Contentment
• Time with Family
• Time with Dogs
• Plan Retirement
• Healthy meals
• Great YouTube Videos
• More subscribers
• More CREATIVITY
• More Enjoyment of life
• Less Stress
• Rest More
• Walk More
• Read More
• Spiritual Leading
• Play More

My Goals for 2024

These are in no order of importance. And I do plan on redefining with measurables for each one that is not clear cut. So I know if I met my intentions or not. I think these are pretty reasonable well thought out and well intentioned goals for myself for this year! They are in line with my thoughts.

• Get a Passport
• Get the laptop to working
• Fix things/Lighten/Brighten the House
• Financial Awareness
• Use my Camera MORE
• More PLANNED Content on YT
• Improvements to Blog
• Improvements to Vlog
• Clean out my Email flags
• Photo Project (Rolled over from Last Year)
• SIMPLIFY LIFE
• Get Maddie Boarding Ready
• Research Senior Discounts
• Work on my Wardrobe – Colorful and Retirement Oriented
• Costs/Budget – Lessen expenses/watch the expenses
• Monthly Analytics comparisons – YouTube
• Resolve Root Cause/ Gut Issues
• Health/Wellness Focused Year
• Continued Focus on Household Cleaning Plan
• Continued Focus on Mom’s Care

How I did on Last Year’s Goals?

On those very specific tasks that were measurable, I gave myself 100%. The 75% category included things that I really gave a lot of time and effort on during the year. The grandmother’s journal is 75% finished so that was easy to categorize. I cannot give myself 100% on blessing my house or caring for Mom because there is ALWAYS something more to be done. Always. I don’t really look at these as grades. I started to do it that way but I like the way I laid it out here I think with more of a percent of progress toward my intentions. 

I did work pretty hard at being more frugal. There were so many times I DID NOT GO OUT TO EAT when I wanted to. There were so many times I DID NOT ORDER THAT THING From Amazon that I wanted. But there’s so much room for improvement that I felt it fell in the 50% accomplished category. 

Some of these things are just hard to define or to see the results on. Mostly that is my fault for not further defining my goals to make them measurable. 

I did make an effort to cook more this year – but it was the first half of the year for the most part. The last quarter was so busy, and we were gone much of the time, not to mention I was half way sick, so aside from holiday meals, I didn’t have time to be all domestic on the home front.

I did ok at reading but my goal was to do a book a month and with YouTube and Momma, and working FT, out of town, I don’t stand a darn chance of ever meeting that goal.  I miss reading and playing computer games. But that is ok. I worked on it some and even worked 2 puzzles. Just wait til you see my “She’s retired, 2025 goals”. lol

MY KEY WORD OF THE YEAR for 2024: TRANSITION

I have had this one picked out for a while now. I couldn’t get the word SIMPLICITY out of my mind though. But I chose the word TRANSITION for my 2024 Word of the Year. Mainly because George has just retired, and I’ll be planning my own retirement all throughout the year in my head, as it is my last full year of working FT. 

It is likely the year in which we begin to TRANSITION things for Mom and putting a plan together to fall into when the time comes. 

It’s also a year to TRANSITION budgets, planning, and our future – whether we stay in TN or move to TX.

We are also TRANSITIONING things over in the house, getting rid of things and getting ready either to downsize, move, or just rightsize our stuff, or if all else fails just morbidly doing our death clean out so no one else has to. 

Also transitioning the house into: brighter and lighter and budgets into: tighter, lol. I want to make some updates to the place whether for ourselves or to sell. Most of it is NOT major – a coat of paint here, a light fixture there, new curtains here, a repair over there.

I’m also transitioning from chaos to peace, simplicity, relax mode, and content mode. I don’t anticipate this 2024 year to be that, but the key word is transition! We are working toward it. 

Phrase of the YEAR (MY MISSION) for 2024.

Ok I admit. I knew what I wanted for my phrase of the year but I fussed for an hour over how to say it appropriately in a pleasing paragraph. So, forgive me, I asked AI to phrase it for me. And it’s perfect. 

“Embracing the art of Well-Being; Cultivating Health, Savoring Simplicity; Sparking Creativity, and Finding Restful Serenity”

AMEN.

Other Items of Interest

So I’m going to close with this and I want to say that while I am feeling better, I’m just still all stuffy in my head. Mainly going into my ears. I’ve not really felt like doing a whole lot, but we did get up our Christmas decor today and that feels good. I left anything that was woodsy, white, snowy, and earthy (pine combs, pine trees, deer, snow birds, etc.) for the month of January. I put out some white flowers in vases that looked wintery, and it looks like January winter time. In Feb, I’ll add some pinks and reds back in for Valentine’s and in March I’ll add the greens back in. I like decorating like this. It’s not overwhelming – just a little at the time.

Also we got our Amazon points orders done. I’ll hopefully remember to share what I bought with our points from the Amazon card this year. It’s hardly nothing to compared to what we spent. (Rolls eyes.)

This month is busy: Quarter End and Year End and then w-2 Reporting. I have a lot of goals of course, and I’m trying not to be overwhelmed by them so I have to remember we can take our time. Mom has her list too so we’ll be trying to come at everyone’s list as we can. I need to just enjoy this last year of working and being with coworkers and realizing that while retirement is something to look forward to, this WILL BE a very fast and challenging year but next year when it all changes, it will be over and there are people and certain aspects I’ll miss, but I’m gonna enjoy thinking about retirement EVERY DAY – ALL YEAR LONG! 

My Birthday is January 3rd. Two days away. I must have been good this year. I have several birthday gifts to open! I can’t believe it. But I’m stressing over what to do for the birthday dinners. Mom wants me to pick a place. So I’m trying to decide when and where. On the 3rd itself, I want to stay home and enjoy dinner brought in from Hibachi’s. On the meal George takes me out for, I’m thinking Italian and I can’t decide where. I don’t necessarily want expensive, but Italian is usually my favorite birthday meal. I think I heard the work girls are taking me out at work too. 

OK over and out. 

Happy New Year!