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Achieving Goals in 2018: My Action Board Tasks for January 1-January 6, 2018

I have been a fan of creating vision boards for years.  I love being able to see photos of my goals.  I think they are so much more inspiring than written words.  While, I do create a Vision Board every year as my version of my New Year's Resolution list--I take it a few steps further and create action boards as well.  The large "visions" help me identify my goals--but, I need smaller actions to work on to actually reach those large goals.  I shared my method for creating action boards from my vision boards--and today, I want to also share my actual, weekly action board (created from my 2018 Vision Board) for this first week of January.  As the week progresses--I am going to update this post to share some of the ups and downs I faced as I worked through my week's actions.

What does my 2018 Vision Board look like?

During the first week of January in 2018, I will:


Work on planning a healthy menu for the whole family--for 6 days of the week--for the entire month.  Last year, I developed the habit of planning weekly menus with the family. Most weeks, we (mostly) stick to it (unless things get ultra-busy or someone gets sick) When I failed to plan a weekly menu--we didn't stick to any sort of healthy eating plan. This year, I want to plan a menu for the month.  I can tweak it every week as needed--but, the big, major part of the work will be done. (This action works toward Eat Better & Lose Weight goals from my Vision Board.)  

This is a tough task to get ahead of--but, I did finish Week One's Menu--and we have been following it to the letter!  You can get that menu here.  


I am beginning a gratitude journal or a gratitude jar.  At the end of every day, I will write 3 items to be grateful (or even simply happy) about from the day's events.  Tried this last year--and failed because I didn't have a proper journal and saw it as time consuming/ waste of valuable time.  Trying again with a better plan. (This action works toward Be More Mindful & Me Time.)

I did it!  I created the jar & I have added notes to it every day this week so far!  You can read about how I created my gratitude jar here.

Play a nightly, family game or sport.  This means that the kids, the husband and I will be unplugged from devices and connected as a family for at least 30 minutes every night.  With the weather yucky in Ohio, we'll probably plan a nightly board game or a Wii game for this first week.  (This action works toward Family Time, Lose Weight, & Relax.)

Wednesday Couple's Breakfast. Last year, I tried listing simply "Plan a Weekly Date Night" as my weekly action to focus on couple time.  That happened twice over the course of the year.  Seriously.  This year, I am going to plan and schedule the week's couple activity before the week begins.  This week, I will plan to prepare & share a healthy breakfast on Wednesday with my husband.  (This action works toward Couple Time, Eat Better, Lose Weight, & Relax.)

We had breakfast together--but, he was working on a project on the computer and the breakfast was only Lemon, Blueberry & Thyme smoothies--so it wasn't very exciting.  However, we did talk and laugh and have some couple time in the middle of the week for a bit!

Make Welcome Blankets for Families at the Ronald McDonald House.   The girls and I will be making some fleece blankets to donate to the Ronald McDonald House this week while they are home on break.  (This action works toward Give Back, Relax & More Family Time.)

Drink Infused Water.  This will encourage us to drink more water and learn about the benefits of infusing water, the nutrients and the value of water in health and weight loss.  (This action works toward Me Time, Eat Better & Lose Weight.)

Make/Buy a Compost Bin (Pt 1). I made a rudimentary compost "barrel" a few years ago--but, it was too inconvenient (i.e. heavy and awkward) for me to use without my husband's help.  This week I will research some ideas for making that already-made, compost bin more user friendly. (This action works toward Be More Green & Improve the House)

Choose Photos for Photo Collage Frames.  Last year, I simply wrote, "Complete a Weekly Home Improvement Project" on my weekly to-do list.  That didn't work.  At. All.  I would look at that item on my action board and see walls that needed painted or floors that needed repaired.  I could not seem to cut that large vision goal into small, reasonable, weekly actions.  This year, I am going to be very specific and identify exact tasks from the start.  I have literally had a few large photo collage frames for over a year--setting empty in a closet.  It is time to fill the frames, cut the clutter, and actually decorate the house a bit! However, creating these collages is really a time consuming task--so, for this week--I will simply choose the photos I want in the frames--and resize them if I have time.  I will tackle the printing of the photos and the filling of the frames next week! (This task works toward Improve the House, Get Organized, Me Time)

Read a Book About Herbs (Pt. 1).  First of all, I want to learn about the use of herbs--and eventually, I would love to grow them and use them more in our daily life.  I need to start with a basic book about herbs--and build on that knowledge to apply it.  This week, I will try to read 175 pages of Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.  While I do not plan to brew up any magical "spells"--the book covers almost every herb I could imagine and I think it would be a great launching point to, at least, help me familiarize myself with the names and details of the herbs!  (This task works toward Me Time, Bucket List, Eat Better, More Green, Lose Weight)

This book is actually wonderful--even if I am not planning to brew up spells over the fireplace.  It is a great look at some of the very early uses of herbs and natural resources in healing and folk medicine as well as some of the magical properties believed over time.  As a scientist--I love learning about the "magical" uses of herbs and natural elements--and then researching the scientific basis for those (if any).  This book is proving to be far more valuable to me than I had expected.

Organize Documents for Taxes.  This week, I will gather up all of the scattered, disorganized receipts in the office related to our business expenses--and other tax related subjects.  I will shred the old, outdated or unnecessary items and make sure to organize the needed items into categories in a file folder. (This action works toward Get Organized.)



Find a Free Class on Herbs.  Learn About Herbs (Pt 2)  Find and register for a free online class or lesson on some aspect of herbs.  (This task works toward Me Time, Bucket List, Eat Better).

I have found a short series of online classes about the various body systems and some natural herbal remedies relative to each system at The Herbs Place. These classes are offering great starting points for me to do additional research and learn more of the very basic facts about herbal use and natural remedies.  

Create an Editorial Calendar for the Blog.  I don't know why I don't do this consistently--but, it is always one of those things that I always see as too time consuming at a given time.  In reality, it makes my blog work much more effectively and efficiently.  This week--I will put together the blog's editorial calendar for January.  (This action works toward Grow the Business, Get Organized.)

That's a lot of action....
As I sit now, reading through my list of actions for the week--I would lie if I said that I wasn't feeling a little overwhelmed.  I am proposing a lot of work--and this work is mostly aside from my usual family, work and home commitments! This is why change is so tough!  This is why New Year's Resolutions fail!

The lists are made.  Now the real work begins.  Over the course of the week, I will update this post to show my progress--and keep it all honest and accountable!


Wish me luck!

If you are working on an action board of your own--leave us a comment or share your progress with us!  We would love to hear from you!

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