This is the time of year that a lot of us set goals for the new year. I like to do a lot of planning and goal setting during this time. With the holidays over and the colder weather on the farm, I have more time to think and plan. I am constantly tweaking these throughout the year and praying and asking for wisdom and help in attaining them.
One thing I have learned is that goals need to be measurable and attainable. I can say, “I want to exercise more”, but unless I get specific and say exactly what I’m going to do and when, I won’t know if I’m truly exercising more and getting what I want. Since every day is different, I need to think about how I can still meet my goals when things come up.
We all have different seasons of life to consider. I have a newborn and some young kids that need a lot of assistance with their school. I’m finding it easy to do a lot of school and sitting activities, so my goals are more attainable if they are geared toward activities that are easy to do while sitting.
I have personal goals and business goals. Since my focus needs to be more on taking care of my family, I have a lot more personal goals. One of my hardest personal goals this year is that I’m getting up earlier. Rather than 6:00 a.m., I’m starting my day at 5:15 a.m. Another new goal is to start my morning with Bible reading while I feed my baby. I had always done this at night, but believe I need to do both. Once this is done, I hustle to start my morning routine. By 7:45 am I have a goal to have an Epsom salt bath done and have myself ready, a healthy breakfast finished, and cream taken off the milk. I start making cheese, butter, and prepare levain (for making sourdough bread products), get my prep dishes done, and work a plan for the day, delegating some of the work to the kids.
The older kids get up at 6:00 and the little ones at 7:00. Everyone gets clean and ready for the day, rooms picked up, chores done, and as much school as possible done. Our goal here is to help develop good work habits. Since mornings are considered to be the most productive time of the day, according to studies, I believe it’s important to take advantage of it.
Our days don’t always go as planned, especially with farm animals and little ones, and that’s when we need to have grace with ourselves and others and practice the character quality of flexibility. While some people may think that having goals and schedules is enslavement, I actually find freedom in it. I’m better able to accomplish my wants and desires, help to save money, and take better care of myself and family, and that gives me a good sense of accomplishment. I share my early morning routine, because I have a lot of people that have reached out to me and are overwhelmed wondering how I get so much done. I certainly don’t do it perfectly, and I know I could do a lot better. I have learned to delegate more, and I have discovered that the more I can get done before breakfast, the better the rest of my day is.
As you can probably imagine, I have many health goals that are ongoing. Other than ketchup and mustard we make all of our food from scratch with as many nutrient dense, highly digestible ingredients from our farm as possible. How do I do this? I won’t let myself buy anything processed. If we want pizza, we make all of the ingredients. If we want French fries, we heat up the lard and wash and cut up potatoes from the garden. While this more work, it’s totally worth it!
Sleep is another priority. My goal is to be in bed by 8:00 and do my Bible reading. If I can last I then read something edifying. While this doesn’t always happen, we understand that our best sleep and recovery from the day’s stress happens before midnight, so we do our best. I’m often reminded of the quote by Benjamin Franklin, “Early to bed early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.
A new health goal this year for me is to walk at least 1 mile per day, outside, no matter what the weather is. Previously I was doing at least ½ mile. I bundle up (often with only my eyes exposed) and get going. I always feel so much better when I am able to accomplish this. I had to take a break from this recently after the birth of our ninth baby, but it’s getting easier to get outside. Unless it’s very cold, I can bundle up my baby and carry him with me. Otherwise I arrange for someone to watch him. We have a lot of kids that love to hold babies! I usually have at least one other child that goes with me, and then I can spend quality time visiting while I exercise. If you haven’t noticed, I love to multitask. 😊
My business goals are related to improving people’s lives and health as always. My goals for business this year are to be more efficient and organized, and to share at least one thing per week online to encourage, teach, or help people acquire healthy products. I have specific plans to make these goals happen.
I get a lot of questions through messenger, email, or phone calls from people that want to learn more about homesteading skills, are looking for healthy products, or want advice on different subjects. I’m thinking about doing a Q&A a couple times a month and sharing this in a post. What do you think?
When I don’t meet a goal, I ask myself why I’m not meeting it. Several years ago, I had a goal to walk on the treadmill for a certain amount of time, but the only problem was, I hated walking on it! I love walking outside, so my goal changed. Sometimes it’s a time thing, and I need to say “no” to something else. Other times my goals just aren’t reasonable and I need to give them up. With the help of the Lord, we have the opportunity to better ourselves and help others more, and I believe goal setting is a great way to do it. As you look back at 2022 and look forward to 2023 what is one goal you have?