Setting Intentions & Goals Written In Pencil

The end of a year brings reflection. But the beginning of a year brings a blank slate. 

A whole new what do I want to accomplish this year mentality. We take what we learned during our reflection and figure out where we’ll make our adjustments. Tiny tweaks or seismic shifts, depending on our perspective.

My favorite blank slate comes in the form of my new planner. This is my fourth year using the same one, and it gets better every time. Life in general and my hobbies all come with a fair amount of tracking, and I like that my planner is designed for me to log it all in one place. It’s the perfect tool for a meticulous and detail-oriented busy person with an aversion to clutter.

But after last year’s complete shift in goals one week into the year, I decided to approach my planner differently this time around. At the beginning of the month I cautiously jotted down a few goals for January. And I only wrote them on the January page. The goals for the year page toward the end of the planner? I left that blank until this week. When I finally felt confident that I could commit to a few goals for the quarter.

I’ve spent the last month thinking. About life. About priorities. And about dreams, goals, and intentions. The conclusion I’ve come to is this: I’ve had a lot of different dreams in life and countless goals over the years. Some achieved, some forgotten or tossed aside, and some misses that’ve knocked me down. But I always get back up, because you have to. And I always find something new, or the same, to pursue.

If I write most of my goals down one month at a time, it feels more like I’m pencilling them in. That’s what feels right to me. You can never be sure what the day will hold, much less the season. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what the year ahead will be for me, and the truth is that I don’t know. But do we ever?

Most of my goals are more moving target, so I’m writing them down that way. Every month is a building block. Where you lay the next brick depends on the one that came before. I can guess and make a loose plan. But I won’t know exactly where to set the brick for April until I’ve seen what I build during January, February, and March. I’d rather focus on building something stable than something that lets in too many drafts.

As much as I dislike resolutions, I do like setting intentions. And after a lot of mulling things over and boiling them down, I’ve decided on three for the year ahead. Maybe they are more priorities or themes than intentions, but I think you get the point.

Fitness & Health

I could set a mileage goal for the year. But I could also get injured, and then I’d need to scrap it. Instead I thought about why I would set a mileage goal in the first place. It’s because I like the fitness level that generally comes with a certain amount of training. It’s my happy place.

This year, my first intention is to keep prioritizing my fitness and health. Hopefully part of that is running a lot of speedy miles, but I’ll leave the flexibility in my goals just in case. I’ll also drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and keep trying my hardest to get in bed before 11pm.

Creating Space for Adventures & Seasons

There will always be a project that needs space on my priority list. Sometimes two or three. One of the current quarter projects is finishing our attic renovation. It’s been nearly a year in the making, but we are finally in the home stretch. And the home stretch is where my contributions are the largest. Project two is a work thing. It’s the kind of project that makes me proud, in a different way from the attic. Project two is still building. It’s just something less tangible.

I’m also going to try some new things for the first time. Like cross country skiing and a long distance bike trip weekend. The seasons in life are just as fickle as the seasons of the year, and I intend to embrace whatever they have in store.

Writing

My return to writing began five years ago, when I realized how much I missed it. It took a few years to take it somewhere. But three years ago I started publishing things quietly. And shortly after that, my writing became something more. But six months ago I took a break, and I’ve struggled to get back to consistency.

When it comes to writing, I have big dreams. This is the only goal written down in pen on that page toward the back of my planner. Written next to it are the first little steps I’ll need to lay down solid bricks. I’ve put this goal on pause for long enough. The only thing holding me back now, is me. Unless I commit to getting out of my own way.

Author’s note: One of my goals this year is to find my way back to consistency on this little blog of mine. Back to publishing something new every Tuesday. That didn’t happen how I pictured it would this first month of this new year. So instead, please enjoy this fourth of four days in a row of resolution(ish)-themed content to close out January. I hope to greet you again with consistency, beginning on February 7th.