Goals for 2021
Check out my mid-year updates!
Hard to believe it’s time for new annual goals! In some ways, 2020 was the longest year ever, yet here we are. Like most of us, my 2020 goals fell completely apart in March. But, I’m ready for a new year and I’m ready to share my goals for 2021.
Travel Goals for 2021
Last year my goal was to visit 24 Indiana Counties for my Explore Indiana project. I ended up visiting 14, so didn’t meet that at all. However, considering we were in lockdown for 3 months and then travel was extremely limited for the rest of the year, I’m considering it a win to visit more than one county a month!
I’m also at the point where the only counties I have left to visit are at least two hours away, which means either a very long day with lots of driving or an overnight trip. So …
Goal #1: Visit 16 counties in 2021
June update: So far in 2021, I’ve visited 8 counties, so right on track! I’m going to try to get a few extras this summer if the weather doesn’t cooperate for me come November/December!
Obviously we love to travel, and when I look back on 2020, we actually DID go quite a few places. Before COVID, we managed a fun overnight brewery visiting trip with friends in Cincinnati as well as our annual ski trip. I also enjoyed a soccer tournament weekend out of town with my son.
Then, nothing until October when we took a leap of faith and traveled to Florida for a short visit to the beach and Disney. Aside from the airport (it’ll be a while before we all fly again), the trip was wonderful!
And, I DID learn something super helpful on that trip. For the first time ever I think, I purchased travel insurance on our flights. Well, the flight was delayed overnight due to weather and although the airline wouldn’t compensate us, I did get compensated for our hotel room, extra parking costs, and food through the insurance.
Lesson learned – many travel insurance companies cover weather delays!
Our final trip for 2020 was a short weekend getaway to Northern Michigan. We didn’t ski (not many runs open yet), but we did relax in the room, played lots of games, and ordered carryout from all our favorite spots. I even had time to read a book by the fire!
Considering the year we’ve had, although we didn’t manage our normal monthly getaways, we DID travel a decent amount. I think we’ll start out 2021 slowly with our annual ski trip, hopefully, a beach vacation in the spring and then we’ll see how summer/ fall goes.
Goal #2: Ski trip, Spring Break, Summer Vacation, Fall Break, and at least two additional weekend getaways.
June update: Ski trip, check; Spring Break, check; Summer vacation – planned; Fall break – planned, two additional weekend getaways, check – Disney and Gatlingburg!
Blog Goals for 2021
I didn’t come close to meeting my blogging goals in 2020. No excuses, let’s just move ahead!
Goal #1: Grow email list to 1000.
June update: about halfway there, so please sign up if you aren’t already on it!
If you don’t get my weekly newsletter, you are missing out – I share extra ideas for things to do, insider deals, and info on all of my favorite things! Join here and you’ll get a free copy of 5 Fun Family Experiences.
Goal #2: Launch a new online course.
June update: the outline is done, but I think I’ll be releasing in September – I want to finish Goal #1 first!
I’ve been working on a BIG course that I’m hoping to release in April. I’ve still got a bit of techy stuff to do as well as creating a solid marketing plan, but I’m very excited about it!
In 2020, I did create and release a super useful course called Find More Time for Family Fun. If one of your goals is to find more time in your already packed schedule, give it a try, I think you’ll discover you can easily find a few extra hours EVERY week! And who doesn’t want more free time?
If you are interested, use the code FINDTIME for $25 off – over a 50% savings.
My upcoming course is all about creating an entire life full of fun as a family. Who doesn’t want to be one of those fun families? Without losing your mind or spending all your free time planning? If you are interested, be sure to join my newsletter as I’ll share the details there first!
Family/ Personal Goals for 2021
Now that the kids are teens, it’s both easier and harder to spend time together as a family. We can do almost anything and have a good time, but they are super busy with their own friends, school, and sports, so we have less time when we are all free.
Time is always the catch for us!
I’ve found that the BEST way for us to enjoy family time is to plan it. With that in mind, here are my family goals:
Goal #1: Take each kid on an individual overnight or weekend getaway.
June update: done! I took my son on a weekend early in the year and my daughter and I just had a fun girls weekend in Gatlinburg!
In the last few years, I’ve combined soccer tournaments, swim meets, and just a few free days here and there into weekend getaways with myself and just one kid. With our current part-time school schedule, I think this is very doable.
Hopefully, my daughter and I can start taking some college visits too, so that will automatically equal fun weekend getaways!
In addition to traveling, we love to play games, go to shows (hopefully soon) and just spend the day together as a family. I want to continue that even as their lives get busier, so …
Goal #2: Every month spend at least one day doing something as a family and at least one evening a week.
June update: I think I’m accomplishing this, but I haven’t been tracking it, so I don’t know! New goal – start tracking!
I can’t imagine we won’t be able to do this, but it’s good to remind myself to make sure it happens!
Goal #3: Walk the dog daily.
June update: We did a terrific job with this until the last few weeks. Our dog is very anxious in the spring (lawnmowers) so he’s been refusing to go as often … we keep trying though!
We’ve done an amazing job with this since March but with winter coming it’s going to get harder. It’s good for our health and great for the dog. If there is a really bad weather day, I’ll accept a car ride instead!
Goal #4: Exercise consistently – at least 5 days a week.
June update: Aside from a few days when I had a rotten headcold, I’ve been successful!
I did a great job of walking in 2020 – 15,000 steps a day was my goal and I easily hit it 95% of the year. My other favorite exercise is daily pilates. I did okay on this one. Some months I managed every day, other months only a few days a week.
I tend to walk outside or on the treadmill but for pilates I always use the Sisterhood. Every day (Monday- Friday) there is a video on the app that I can just watch from my phone and follow along. It’s easy to enjoy the class from home or when I travel. If you are interested, check it out here.
So this year, I plan on getting back to 4-5 days a week – if nothing else, my shoulders will be happy with the extra stretching!
And that’s enough! Seven goals are totally doable – especially when they are a mix of daily habits and big goals. Even though in some ways 2020 was a bust, it was still a good year overall. However, I love a new beginning and I’m excited to see what 2021 brings!
I find that spending a little time thinking through my goals and then sharing them helps hold me accountable. I’d love to hear your goals too, so please feel free to share them in the comments!
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