Changes for a New Year

Happy 2019!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sitting down to write a post about my Tips to Achieve Your New Year’s Goals. Now here we are, another year under our belt. Hopefully wiser for it.

I told myself that I would be 100% honest with this post going in, so there is no turning back now. This past year has been a great one. So many special memories were made, we added four paws to our family and traveled to some of my favorite spots. I had the opportunity to grow my blog and work with so many brands I could have only dreamed of working with before. The blessings that 2018 brought make my heart so happy and so thankful and I will surely look back on this year with a smile in the years to come.

I look back on 2018 and love the way it shaped me. It brought a boldness out of the non-controversial people pleaser that I am. It gave me a chance to do something that I LOVE and pursue my dreams with abandon. I am so appreciative of the goodness this last year brought to my life.

Last year was also a year of growth for me. For learning how to balance family, a household, a new job, a new blog, and an old job. A year of having to say no. No to precious time with friends, no to obligations I would have raised my hand for in the past, no to a playdate for my daughter. That was really hard. It still is really hard. I constantly struggle with balancing my family life and work life and because I work from home, the struggle is all too real sometimes because the imbalances are evident in the home that I work/mom in.

With the struggle to balance all things, I often find myself overwhelmed with guilt. Guilt that I am not spending enough time with Lilly. Guilt that I can’t work on a blog post because I have to catch up with work instead. Guilt that I didn’t get a workout in because I was cleaning our tornado stricken house instead.

Why do I do that to myself? Why do I place this pressure to balance it all effortlessly on myself? Why is there guilt if I fail (and I always do)?

This year for me will be a year of change. And this is what I will be changing:

Shown above are a few of my favorite ways to stay organized throughout the year. I LOVE Emily Ley’s Simplified Daily Planner.

1. Remove the guilt. I can’t do it all. I need to set more attainable daily goals for myself. I need to free up my calendar more and just spend time unplugged with my family.
2. Schedule my day better. Right now I feel like I am constantly rushing out the door. Rushing Lilly to preschool so I can get home in time to work exactly three hours before I go pick her up. Rushing her to her after-school activities because I had to fit a few more hours of work in when she’s napping. I constantly feel rushed. I constantly feel like I am rushing. I am like the drill sergeant that keeps saying “Hurry up, put on your shoes! Hurry up, get in the car!” I HATE IT. The rushing has got to go…and that starts with me organizing my life and planning our weeks out ahead of time.
3. Slow down. Do you want to know what one of my favorite ways to relax is? Walking my dog. There is nothing that makes me feel better than spending time with Maggie, but a good long walk really clears my head and helps me reset. Today we took an extra long walk as a family. That small amount of time spent together means so much to me and helps me destress and stay on track. I really want to focus on spending more time focusing on myself (alone…like…completely alone) and my family.
4. Make fitness about health. For a long time fitness has represented how fast I can run, how “in-shape” I am or how much I can lift. Without sharing a sob story, I have been struggling with some minor health issues and have really changed my diet to try to help. This year my fitness and nutrition will focus more on regaining my health and creating a lifestyle that is about nurturing and helping my body. Not exhausting it.
5. Be grateful. I am very goal oriented. As soon as I achieve one goal I am already off and away striving to accomplish the next. This year I want to enjoy the journey a little bit more and find gratitude in the smallest things of my life and my business.
6. Less Presents, More Presence. If I am going to be real, I am really great at shoving things in closets, drawers, boxes, wherever. I love a good clean house but HATE going through all the STUFF. So what do I do? I shove it somewhere out of sight to be forgotten about until I need it (LIKE URGENTLY NEED IT THAT VERY SECOND) and then I can’t find it. I have been reading Emily Ley’s book, A Simplified Life, and love how she takes you through how to simplify every part of your house and your life. One thing I will be doing (starting next weekend) is going through one room of my house each weekend and decluttering it. I feel like my brain is currently cluttered from all the stuff and it truly is affecting my daily life. Goodbye stuff, hello more time to spend with loved ones.

So there you have it. My big whopper of things I want to change in 2019. Do you have any special goals for the new year? I would love to hear them. Be sure to check out my post from last year about how I stay on track with my goals from year to year. I also included the planner and family planning binder (I don’t think my family would get through the week without this family planning binder) I use every year but will be sure to link them on this post as well!

Happy 2019, lovelies! Let’s make this year the best one yet! Wishing you a year filled with blessings, health and love!

xoxo,

Kalyn