How to Set Goals [2014 Goals]

It’s that time of the year! Now that I’ve done my 2013 wrap up posts, it’s time for me to share some goals with you! I’ve done this the past two years (2012, 2013) and I’m not stopping this year!

Why do I share goals on the blog?

To be accountable.

To motivate myself.

Writing things out helps me think and make sense of my life. (Am I the only one?)

To hopefully inspire you to set goals of your own!

How to Make Goals

1. Make your goals achievable.

You have to be realistic. Yes, you should set your sights high, but if you go too over-the-top you risk becoming discouraged and giving up altogether. You need to keep yourself motivated! (See The Top 10 Motivation Poisons)

2. Make your goals measurable.

You want to start running. How often? How many miles? The more specific you are in setting your goals, the more likely you will be able to achieve them.

3. Make your goals inspiring.

Your goals have to be exciting! You have to want to get up in the morning to set out to do the legwork. If you aren’t inspired by your goals, you will likely get bored and give up. (See 7 Reasons Not to Give Up on Your Dreams.)

4. Have a plan.

Break down your goals into smaller steps. Have a date you want to achieve them by. Again, be specific! You want to be able to picture your success.

5. Believe.

Yep. I went there. Believe in yourself, darnit. You can do so much more than you think!!

 

And with that, here are my goals for 2014. Believe it or not, this is the edited version for the blog. I know, right?

2014 Goals

Blog Improvement:

• Be a better blog friend!
  • Read other blogs regularly (at least twice a week in the morning)
  • Comment, encourage, share!
• More readers. (increase pageviews by 25%)
  • Better content.
  • Better photography.
  • More recipes. (post 1-2 per week)
  • More workouts. (1x per week)
  • Optimize images: pinnable images on each post, descriptions on each picture.
  • SEO improvement. (every post optimized)
  • More giveaways/reviews. (once a month)
  • Run challenges or contests. (February and November)
  • Link-ups.
• Don’t stress. (!!)
  • Write up posts the night before.
  • Don’t let other link-ups dictate what and when I want to post.
  • Quicker post times.
    • Two hours a post is the goal. Normally I spend 3-4 hours on a post with pictures. Madness.
• Obsess less over numbers and blog layout.
  • Only check numbers once a week/month.
  • Blog changes one day per week (not daily!!)
• Organize the blog
  • Re-do recipes/Recipage
    • Apparently Recipage is bad for SEO. If I want to get the best “bang for my buck” (aka make the most of my time) on each post, I need to figure out how to manage my recipes better.
  • Update pages.
    • Update family page.
    • Update As Seen On page.
    • Make a fitness page.
    • Make a running page.
    • Make a nutrition page.
• Grow/Connect.
  • Attend at least one educational conference.
  • Start twin cities blogging group.

 

 

Personal Improvements:

• Be social.
  • Be a better friend: birthday cards/Facebook messages/texts.
  • Say yes to social events.
  • Try to see people when I go back to Nebraska.
  • Find workout buddy.
• Organize.
  • Organize/prioritize my days better.
  • Get rid of clutter.
    • Kitchen.
    • Closets.
  • Major clean in January.
  • Seasonal cleaning.
  • Sunday plan day.
    • Meal planning/prep.
    • Scheduling for the week.
  • Get better at couponing.
• Read more. (1-2 books per month; read at bedtime instead of Netflix or DVDs)
• Make a twin cities/Minnesota bucket list. (help wanted for this!!)

 

 

Nutrition Related Goals:

• Learn to can food. (do this with fresh food in the summer)
• Learn to make jelly/preserves.
• Grocery shop Fridays/Saturdays.
• Meal prep on Sundays.
• New recipe/food each week.

 

Fitness Related Goals:

• Races.
  • 5K.
  • 10K.
  • Half-marathon.
• Strength train at least once a week.
• Workout at my gym at least once a week. (pack gym bag!!)
• Try one new class a month. (yoga!!)
• Try two new outdoor activities.

 

Career Related goals:

• NASM Certified.
• Internship.
• Apply for and start school.
• Take photography class.
• Obtain recipe creation job.
• Write/create something every day. (blog post, article, piece for book, journal, freelance piece, recipe, etc.)

 

I hope to be able to come back to this and update or cross things off! I’m also doing an impromptu link-up for all of your goals this year (since I have the past two years.) Link up or share in the comments what some of your 2014 goals are! 🙂

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.semihealthyblog.com/2014/01/set-goals.html" title="2014 Goals"><img src="http://www.semihealthyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014-Goals-300x420-quote-inspiration.jpg" alt="2014 Goals" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 
PS I’m all about Pinterest this year, so I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images. Just hover over the image to reveal the “pin it” button or use the handy dandy buttons at the bottom and top of each page (I know, right?). Also follow me so I can check out YOUR Pinterest account! 🙂
Follow SemiHealthNut  

 

Linking up to:

Marvelous in my Monday with Katie at Healthy Diva Life

Week in Review with Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets (Note the multiple lists, Meghan. ;))