The last couple of weeks we have been discussing planning a lot. We’ve covered how to pick the best planner for you this year, how to plan for a year of SUCCESS, how to pick a word for your year to help you get focused, and how to get on track with your daily disciplines (with a free printable). 

Today we are taking all of these concepts one step further – how to make and set goals for your life and homemaking! I know this can sound like a boring topic at first, but hang in there, because it’s VITAL to getting things under control in your home. 

If you want to go from survival mode in your home to actually thriving, then a key piece of that is goal planning. 

Listen to the Podcast:

I also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

If I can plan out my time, set priorities, and even craft some goals for my day and life, then it’s so much easier to be diligent and effective with my time. Of course, things always come up: sick kids, you forget to put dinner in the crockpot, unexpected guests and so on. 

We can never 100% control our time, because at the end of the day, God is in control of our time and where it goes. We can plan and set goals but then hold those plans and goals loosely in our our hands and be willing and open to God changing those plans. 

Goal Setting & Our Homes

“Many times busyness is often mistakenly equated with productivity. But those words are not synonymous. Just because we’re spinning our wheels, rushing from one commitment to the next, doesn’t necessarily mean that we are doing anything worthwhile.” – Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

It’s so easy in our culture to mistake busyness with productivity. We may run from activity to activity. Our days may be bursting at the seems with stuff, but when we get to the end of a long week or a long year and look back over what we accomplished, we realize that we’ve filled it with a lot of stuff that didn’t really matter in the long run.

Getting Productive

I realize that those days that I don’t feel productive, those days that I feel busy and running around, those days where I get to the end of a long day exhausted and tired but feeling like I didn’t really accomplish much of anything…Those days were spent focusing on the wrong things. Or not really focusing at all. 

When I wake up in the morning with some clear objectives and goals (even if those goals are to get dinner on the table by 6pm and take my kids to the park for some much needed fun play time) then I feel like I can dictate where my time goes much better than if I wake up without any idea for how I want the day to go. 

And this all goes back to setting priorities and planning out goals. This topic is really much better than we could ever hope to cover in one article, but I hope to scratch the surface of it today. And I wanted to share, that for a really limited time, I have a super special New Year Bundle on sale. 

It’s a collection of my very best goal setting and planning resources to help you make the most out of this year! It includes my super popular goal setting course (a video course that walks you step by step through setting and achieving goals in your home and life), a 7 part audio series on investing in yourself (a critical lesson for every homemaker to learn), and more. Hop on over to check it out – it’s on super sale for a very limited time. 

1) Set Realistic Goals 

I am a dreamer and a doer – this can be a powerful combination for setting and achieving goals – but it can also lead me down the rabbit hole of setting far too many goals and goals that are way to unrealistic. 

My husband on the other hand, is more pragmatic and thus does a good job of encouraging me to dream but also reminding me set goals that are realistic. We need a balance of both. Being able to dream big, to put into words those big dreams for our lives, but then actually taking those dreams and creating realistic and doable goals out of them.

Set goals that will stretch you and force you to grow, but that are actually attainable.

“We are busy because we try to do too many things. We do too many things because we say yes to too many people. We say yes to all these people because we want them to like us and we fear their disapproval.” – Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

2) Write Your Goals Down – on Paper

Spend some time alone, with a yummy cup of coffee, and let your mind wonder and dream. Think through the different areas of your life and really think about some of those big dreams you have (one of my big current dreams is to write a book). Give yourself some time to really dream and then write those dreams, goals, and aspirations down!

Just putting these goals down onto paper can really help. Writing them down makes them feel more real and is a wonderful way to get you excited about your goals (even the boring ones – like paying off debt)!

Here are some areas of your life that you can begin thinking through to set goals:

• Homemaking
• Homeschooling
• Ministry
• Working from home
• Exercising
• Learning how to cook (better)
• Learning how to bake
• Organizing
• Managing your home
• Education
• Parenting
• Your Marriage
• Finances (paying off debt)

To help get your creative juices flowing, here are a few of my goals I’ve had in the past:

Working From Home

• Create and film a podcast that I share once a week on my blog – DONE
• Develop an entire online academy for Christian Homemakers taught by various mentors – DONE
• Post 4 – 5 times a week on my blog and share updates via social media

Exercise & Health

• Take my vitamins morning and night – I’ve been pretty good on this one
• Go on walks in the evenings with my husband and kids three times a week
• Do my work out video the other three days a week (no exercise on Sunday)

Personal

• Read my Bible everyday – This has been a great habit for me 
• Spend at least 10 devoted minutes in prayer each morning – Still working on this one…
• Do my 2017 reading challenge of reading 104 books this year

Marriage

• Always kiss my husband goodnight
• Go on 2 dates a monthFocus on my husband for at least 15 minutes each day (undivided attention)
• The first thing that happens when he walks in the door at night is a big hug and kiss
• Regularly read marriage books together

Have fun with your goals, be realistic, and make sure to get your husband involved! 

3) Remember the season of life you are in 

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt 

This is something I have to constantly remind myself. I am in a season of little kids – 5 kids 4 and under to be exact – and they take up 99% of my time. 

I have to take a step back often and make sure that I’m looking at the big picture. Right now, God has called me into a season where the majority of my time is spent focusing on my kids – wiping running noses, making meals 3 times a day, doing endless laundry, and stopping long enough to cuddle and focus on my small kiddos. 

There will be other seasons in my life where I can be involved in ministry more in my local church, work on the 10 books that are floating around in my head that want to be written, to have friend and play dates more often, etc. There are things that are very limited in this season of life – especially when you consider that THREE of my kids are 18 months old and younger. 

So now it’s your turn: What season of life are you in? Many of you are in the season of little kids like I am. Many of you have older kids that have their own emotional needs. Some of you homeschool which takes a large portion of your day. Others work outside the home or run a business from home. Maybe you are heavily involved in Church ministry and it leaves little time for other things…

Each season and stage of life we walk through, has it’s own limitations and it’s own freedoms. Spend some time thinking about what those limitations and freedoms are (one of my freedoms is that since we are home most of the time, I can easily fit in some writing time during nap time. This won’t always be the case). 

“God does expect us to say no to a whole lot of good things so that we can be freed up to say yes to the most important things he has for us.” – Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

I know we’ve just barely scratched the surface of what we could talk about when it comes to goal setting and our homes, but I plan on doing a lot more this year revolving around this topic. To dive into some related topics, check out: 

• Picking the best planner for 2017 
• Planning for a year of success
• Picking a WORD for your year
• How to make the most out of your word for the year
• 2017 Christian Reading Challenge for Women 

And if you are ready to jump full force into planning and goal setting and see how it can have a profound impact on your home, don’t forget to check out my super special Investing in Your Year Resource Bundle – on sale for a very limited time.