Goals Before 2014: Making Things Happen (Week 1)

Time to kick this plan into action! Last week I let you in on an experiment I had in mind (and hope you'll partake in!) in an effort to turn the stress + overwhelm that comes with the end of year waaay down.

I know, I know. You're thinking, "It's only October, why the hell are you talking about 2014?!"

Let me explain: From my personal experience, I tend to start thinking about how I'm going to kick off the new year around the last couple of weeks of December. Yep, right around the time when there's 3578591 loose ends to tie up and a million more errands to run. Pair that up with the end of year chaos of holiday festivities, and you get a lot of reactive priority-shifts + actions. This is about being proactive. And we've got plenty o' time for that. (12 weeks plus a coupla days to be exact!)

You can read more about this experiment here but here's the condensed version if you're playing catch-up:

It's all about chucking obligation out the door and being led by feel good decisions through a free-form structure (That's code for you decide exactly how these next 12 weeks play out! Yes, you! The creator/ master/ commander/ expert of the good + great + awesome in and of your Universe, respectively. So much pow-ah!)

We'll be removing complication from the equation and scaling back projects + goals into smaller, actionable items LEADING TO laser-focus, clarity, and a helluva lotta productivity CREATING simplicity, ease, and joy ULTIMATELY setting ourselves up to launch 2014 on a HIGH NOTE! With fire! Pizazz! Oomph! 

SIGN. ME. UP.

Last week, I spent some time mapping through some of the goals that I'd like to make happen, giving myself a small guideline to follow but nothing too concrete that I feel obligated to follow to a T. (Too much in-depth planning tends to make me feel a wee bit claustrophobic, I need a little wiggle room for spontaneity! The spice of life! You know?)

WEEK 1: GETTING MY HOUSE IN ORDER {October 7 - 13}
While trying to get all my ducks in a row over the past few days, I've already headed up this week's goals by:

+ Getting a couple of annoying to-do's off my list - like, unsubscribing to newsletters that I'm always deleting, paperwork to renew my passport, and some banking.
+ Painting our bedroom
+ Purchasing new bedding (!!!)
+ Started creating a productive + inspiring office to work in at home
+ Downloading a zillion new audiobooks for my morning commute

However, I definitely thought I'd accomplish a lot more than I did but, you know, painting. It's the ultimate time suck. But! It was a huge item to tick off the list! (Even if we still have to finish up the accent wall, I'm still checking this one off as a major success! We've now successfully painted our entire place aside from the bathroom.)

This week I'll be focusing on more or less the same: creating sacred spaces in our home (continuing to spice up the office, making our bedroom feel cozy + relaxing), checking those other annoying things I've been neglecting off the list (the ones that keep magically reappearing), booking some much needed appointments for the future, as well as tracking my time better to boost productivity.

My hope is that at the end of this week, I'll be freeing up some serious mental space where "I'll get to that..." has been residing for too long!

How about you? Anything you'd like to smash outta the park this week? 

Image via Design Love Fest // Chillhiro

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