Setting Goals

I think life is all about goals. Goals keep us focused, put things into perspective, and make us happier. Having felt a little overwhelmed lately with all the things I want to accomplish and do, I thought maybe blogging about, and writing down my goals would help me to stay focused. I've made a list of my three major long term goals. The first goal is a family goal, while the other two are personal goals. They are as follows...

• Become debt free
• Lose 25 pounds
• Better myself professionally

We sold our house in November and moved onto my Dad's property with one goal in mind, pay off our debt. We both accumulated some student loan debt during college, but when Adam started his masters degree it really became a huge burden. In order to meet our 5, 10, and 20 yr plans we know we have to pay off this debt. This is our first and biggest goal. My personal biggest goal is to lose 25 pounds. Since the weather has become hot, I've had a hard time maintaining my motivation to work out and eat right. There is so much to do during the summer so instead of focusing on exercise I've been focusing on having fun and enjoying myself. This often leads to eating more and while I haven't gained any weight lately, I haven't been feeling good about myself since falling behind. I know I've lost my focus and weight gain is just a matter of time and that will make me very unhappy. Another personal struggle I've been dealing with for awhile is my career, or feeling of lack there of. I'm not sure what life will be like in 5 years for us, but I've decided to do everything I can to better myself right now. I recently went through the process to become eligible for higher level jobs at UPS but now I have to wait for them to open. I've also decided that while I wait for a position to open, I'll take the Brokerage Exam and try to become a licensed broker. There are only 11,000 licensed brokers nationwide and while passing the test will not guarantee me a raise, it will put me in a much better position both at UPS and other companies. It just so happens that a study class is starting on July 9th for anyone wanting to take the October test. The class will require lots of work, but it is the best thing I can do for myself professionally at this point and time.

In an effort to keep myself accountable and stay focused on these long term goals I've decided to make short term weekly goals that I can focus on and that will ultimately help me achieve the long term goals.

To become debt free this week I am going to...
Monitor spending at least every other day. This means check Quicken (which Adam updates) and see where we stand with our monthly budget. Being aware of my spending helps me to spend less.
Pack lunch all week. It's a short 4 day week with the 4th of July and I packed my lunch today so the goal is to continue through Wednesday.
Spend $0 other than gas this week- Usually through the week I will get breakfast one morning at Panera or stop and get an ice cream for Landon and I on a hot day. Not this week.

To help me lose 25 pounds this week I am going to...
Log all food that goes into my mouth all week long. This week I'm going to focus more on the habit of logging the food than staying within my calorie count.
No fast food this week. This means no Panera Breakfast sandwich either. I cry.
Exercise every night this week. AMBER is starting a July 30 day shred challenge tomorrow. It's an exercise video I've done before and I know it's a good one. I'm going to try to keep up with her and the other bloggers.

To better myself professionally this week I am going too...
Study at least one hour a night through the week.
Complete all homework for my first class on July 9th.