I’m simultaneously reading 4 books: The Forever Dog by Karen Becker, Lifespan: We We Age and Why We Don’t Have To by David A. Sinclair, Deep Work by Cal Newport, and Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt. And I wonder why it takes me so long to finish a single book…

Though I very much enjoyed the light novel, Winter Street, in December, I tend to always gravitate towards books that challenge me or I can learn from. Especially this time of year when I’m thinking about what I want out of 2022.

I had some vague ideas about areas I wanted to improve upon (as I shared here), but for some additional guidance I took the LifeScore Assessment from Michael Hyatt. It is a fairly quick and simple look at different areas of your life, then they email the results to you in a neat little circle.

According to my emailed results, they told me:

1. You’re winning in most of your life domains.
2. You’re a person who knows the value of clearly defined goals, and you work diligently to achieve them.
3. You spend much of your time in your success zone, although you’d like to be more consistent.

Do they email this to everyone? Perhaps. Made me feel good though.

Not sure I agree with the second one, as I realized last year I had almost no clearly defined goals. I would like to better on this for 2022, so I decided to take their categories and make one, clearly defined goal for each one. In order of my strongest areas, down to my weakest, here’s what I came up with:

Marital Goal

Score: 7

I’m really proud of my marriage. We are a natural fit for each other, which helps, but we also have learned how to communicate effectively and tackle life together, laughing along the way. It’s strong, but a weak point is we do not get away just the two off us very often. We’ve picked up more date nights over the past couple of months, but I’d like to kick that up a notch.

Goal: Take a trip, even if it’s just one night, together, just the two of us, doing something we enjoy.

Emotion Goal

Score: 7

The 7 rating on the quiz aligned was defined in these terms: I’m capable of handling any stress that comes my way. I am always confident and optimistic about the future. I face life with a sense of gratitude and joy. I empathize with other’s struggles and shortcomings. It’s written in extremes (any stress that comes my way?), which makes it hard to give a perfect score, but I do think a high EQ is an inherent strength of mine. I’m a little lost on how to set a goal for this one, but I’m hoping giving back and charity can be part of this category.

Goal: Focus in on 1 charity to impact. Commit to one hands-on way to help and fulfill it (hopefully with the kids!).

Financial Goal

Score: 6

We just completed our State of the Family assessment last night and feel we are in a good place financially. We feel good about our retirement because we’ve always maxed out the company plan/matches and seeing it grow over time has been exciting. A focus of ours has been to build multiple streams of income, and we’re making progress there between David’s job, this online space, and our new focus in converting our long term rentals into short term rental properties.

Goal: Add another short term rental to our portfolio. I’d also like to track our food spending more closely and get an accurate picture of what we spend.

Intellectual Goal

Score: 6

I’m constantly curious. I love learning and love listening to opinions. I get a lot of satisfaction in this area by learning alongside the kids in homeschool as we explore history, science, etc. I tend to lean more towards podcasts and would like to do better about reading books.

Goal: Read 15 books that add to my knowledge base and help me grow as a person in 2022.

Physical Goal

Score: 6

David and I hold each other accountable for our Madeline Moves strength workouts. On a normal month, we usually work out 5-6 days a week. It honestly might be borderline too much for me sometimes, but on those days I just go light on the weights. I go to sleep by 10:00 most nights and sleep fairly well, have pretty good energy, and eat decent. I could definitely improve in the yoga/stretching area though.

Goal: 4 days a week of doing at least a 10 minute yoga/stretch session (to be tracked in my planner)

Parental Goal

Score: 6

Again, these categories are probably best explained by reading the definition while taking the assessment. For a 7 score in this sliding scale, the definition is as follows: I love being a parent and know it’s my most important work. I love my children and enjoy spending time with them. My children feel comfortable sharing their deepest desires and greatest fears. When we experience conflict, we resolve it in a way that restores trust and connection.

I think that is important to share the assessment’s definition because I know I’m not a perfect parent. However, the perimeters outlined have been a goal of mine from the beginning and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to inch closer to it, while falling short plenty of times along the way.

Goal: Make read aloud time more of a priority. I feel so bonded during the kids when we do this and I’ve let it slip over the past 6 weeks. At least 20 minutes of read aloud time together at least 4 days a week.

Vocational Goal

Score: 5

I’ve always struggled with how I explain A Healthy Slice of Life. It’s a hobby and a passion project and a creative outlet and provides connection that I love at it’s heart. It also makes money. Does that make it a job? If it is a job, then do I need to streamline and focus on growth and systems? I’ve done that before and it sucked 80% of the fun out of it for me. I gave myself a 5/7 in the category because it is going well. I’m fulfilled by what I do here, but should I be stretching for more? I’m open to feedback on this one!

Goal: Identify one concrete category that I can provide value in and create a plan to share that type on content.

Spiritual Goal

Score: 4

With the pandemic, we fell off of our routine of going to church. We’ve talked about finding a new one closer to home, but haven’t put much (any) effort in doing so. I talk to God often, in my own, personal way, but could definitely use some guidance in this category. I’m interested in developing a stronger faith in an environment that welcomes deep discussions.

Goal: Try 3 new churches within the first 3 months of 2022.

Social Goal

Score: 4

Introvert/extrovert… I really don’t know where I fall. I swear I’m a blend, as I equally need both. It’s challenging to prioritize friendship during this phase of life, as many of my friends are, like I am, busy with the kids, activities, feeding their family, and juggling all the things. Still, I’d like to do better about finding time to connect with friends and expand my social circle as well.

Goal: At least one girls’ coffee date or dinner a month. Also, make at least 1 new friend and invite them over for dinner.

Avocation (Hobby) Goal

Score: 2

I gave myself this score before I really dived into thinking about hobbies. According to this NY Times article about how to find a hobby, I have more than I realized. I work out regularly, I cook almost daily, I read… sporadically. Still, I personally feel like I want something more concrete; a skill.

Goal: Learn how to knit a simple, square baby blanket. I already know how to cast on, knit a basic scarf shape, and cast off, but I’d like to know how to make something “real.”

Whew…. are you still with me?

That was a lot of contemplating and writing. Thanks for walking through that with me. I found it to be a really helpful exercise and hope you will take the assessment and spend the time to analyze your answers as well. If you have some goals outlined already, I’d love to hear what they are!

Whew, ok, with that I feel like I’m ready to watch Georgia beat Michigan (please, please, please), bring in 2022, and hit the ground running now. I have my new planner ready to go….!

Before I sign off though, let me with you a happy new year. Thank you for spending some of your time with me this past year. I know how valuable your time is and want to honor that by writing posts that are worth reading, whether for connection or to share something fun or useful. Thank you for being a friend. Now let’s take a deep breath and prepare to make 2022 a great one! See ya next year! … 😉