This year I resolve to…

Tom has started riding his bike to work a few times a week. It’s all part of our overall goal to live frugally and stay healthy. Plus, it means less wear and tear on the car and it’s good for the environment.

His goal is to cycle to work 2-3 times a week. The weather has made it pretty easy so far; we’ve only had a few really winter-like days.

I have no doubt Tom will stick to his goal, because my husband takes goal-setting VERY seriously. He set a goal to be dating his wife by the end of 2007. Our first date was December 30, 2007. BAM – goal achieved.

In the Krieger household we don’t make resolutions, we set goals. I’m not a goal-setter or plan-follower, so when I suggested that we have a date to set 2012 goals, Tom’s heart exploded.

This is what SERIOUS goal-setting looks like.

First: we must review the previous year.

Tom started out with a PowerPoint presentation of our 2011 finances. Tom showed me detailed slides for net worth and balance sheets and percentages while I asked questions like “what’s the difference between net and gross” and “I’m confused, where’s the savings account for my horse?”

Second: we create goal categories.

I do not do this. Tom has categories for his goals as a husband, father, employee, etc.

Third: we review goal-making strategies.

Goals must be S.M.A.R.T. , or Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. So you can’t say, “I want to lose weight” you have to say, “I want to lose 5 pounds in 6 months.” Or, “I want to ride my bike to work 2-3 times a week all year.”

Here are my 2012 resolutions, or goals as we call them in the Krieger house.

  1. Finish my book editing job by April
    I started editing a book in September 2010. When I started the project I agreed I’d finish by April 2011. Then I got pregnant and had a baby and it’s 2012. I’m in the home stretch, but really need to focus and finish by April or before.
  2. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight
    Not much to go, and breastfeeding is burning through some serious calories, but what’s a New Year’s without a resolution to lose a few pounds?
  3.  Answer all e-mails within two weeks
    I’m an awesome e-mail consumer. I’m really good at reading messages almost instantly. But I have personal e-mails in my inbox from mid-December. Two weeks is more than enough time to respond to an e-mail, Amanda. I could also add “answer my phone more and return calls faster” but if you know me you know that would not be The “R” in S.M.A.R.T.
  4. Give up Diet Coke
    SUCCESS! I already did this one, some early achievement on my goal list should keep me motivated, right?
  5. Read 26 books
    52 books a year is awesome, but I need more balance in my reading. I’d love to read 26 books, but not much more than that. By 2013 I’ll have a 16-month old. Maybe then I’ll try the 52 again, because when he’s that old I can just lie on the couch and eat bon bons while he reads to me.
  6. Keep up with daily Bible reading
    Right, balance. When I’m not frantically reading a book a week I can be more focused on spending daily time in the Word.
  7. Go to the gym two times a week
    Tom asked me to add this to my list. He specified that it’s not because he thinks I need to work out, but because we have a gym membership we’re not using (meaning we’re WASTING MONEY). He said he’d watch David while I work out. Um, ok. Count me in.
  8. Pray for David every single day
    I read once that one reason people struggle to pray is that they don’t really believe in prayer. Because if they REALLY believed in it, they would do it. Praying for and with my son is a privilege and we don’t do it nearly enough. Why? Because we’re tired, or lazy or (maybe even) because we don’t believe it’s effective. Just one more reason I’m so glad my son’s salvation (or my own) doesn’t depend on my works or faith, but on Christ alone. Praying with David is something I want to start early, which means now.

I also have a couple of plans. These fly in the face of goal-setting rules, so I’ll call them plans instead of goals.

  1. Grow my hair out
    Every few years I cut my hair short, donate it to Locks of Love, and then I grow it out again. I’m ready for the grow-out phase.
  2. Understand my camera better
    We have a NikonD90, and it’s mostly useless to me. I’m a horrible photographer. I’ve always known it, but it just now started to bother me since I have a baby to document. The sad thing is that I’ve taken photography classes (as part of my journalism curriculum in high school and college — nothing too technical but enough that I have NO excuse for being afraid to change the aperture).
  3. Reduce clutter, organize and make our house more liveable
    We moved into our current house in May. The layout is really different from our first home, so we had to get rid of a lot of things and re-organize. I feel like we’re still in that process, especially with the addition of a baby (and baby stuff). We hope to stay in this house for a long time, and in order to do that we need to be smart about what we bring into our house. Neither Tom nor I buy a lot, but we do hang on to things long after we need them (especially me). I like this girl’s goal to end each year with less than she started with (I still have clothes from high school. This should not be hard.) Plus, we’re messy. Since I’m at home now, I hope I can focus a little more on our house. Or at least dust twice a year. That’d be an improvement, too.
  4. RUN!
    I want to stay consistent with running, run the Monument Ave. 10K and MAYBE the Richmond Half-Marathon in the fall. I haven’t gotten this running with a baby thing totally figured out, so it’s a plan rather than a goal. If it doesn’t happen, that’s ok.

So that’s it. And it’ll be 2013 before we know it. Does anyone else make resolutions…or goals this year? Are they S.M.A.R.T.? It’s ok if they’re not. You know what they say about New Year’s Resolutions anyway.

14 Comments

  1. Tom Krieger January 9, 2012

    I couldn’t be more proud reading this.

    Reply
  2. susan Berkelbach January 9, 2012

    Hilarious that your goals are SMART, we have to do that for work! Love the process, think I should do it with my husband too! Love your blog!!

    Reply
  3. Andrew Hall January 10, 2012

    Amanda,<br>Found your blog through FB. I read everything in the "parenting" category, as Olivia and I have our firstborn due any day now. I was really encouraged by realizing that it’s okay to be a parent and not have everything together. Somehow I just get it in my head that everyone is the Perfect Parent and they manage to pay all bills on time, keep their house super clean, and make dishes with French names to take to church dinners.

    Reply
  4. Amanda S Krieger January 10, 2012

    congrats to you and olivia! and i saw on your facebook that she’s past her due date. i was late too. hopefully she’s not as grumpy as i was. <br>it is DEFINITELY ok to not have everything together. those people who look like they have it all together only look that way. I’m excited for you guys. babies are fun. hard, but fun, too. you get a whole new category for love in your heart.

    Reply
  5. JennyLynn January 10, 2012

    I reccommend the book Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenrieder. It is fab. She also has an ebook that is $5 called One Bite at a Time, I think. It is similar to Organized Simplicty. They are what I am using to help get life more organized and decluttered :o)

    Reply
  6. ej_phillips January 17, 2012

    You need to make "7" by Jen Hatmaker one of your 26. It’ll help you align your attachment to things and clutter and saving for horses with a biblical viewpoint. For reals.

    Reply
  7. ej_phillips January 17, 2012

    Also, these are my goals for the year…<br>1. Eat no fried foods…exceptions because I’m not a Pharisee include tortilla chips at Mexican restaurants and the occasional leg at church pot lucks. (I started this w/ a fast from ALL fast food. And guess what? No one has died and now even the thought of French fries makes me yucky.)<br>2. Remember that Mary Poppins was right, Enough is as good as a feast. To consume less–less food, less stuff, less wasted time. To forego what I CAN have so that I can more easily provide for those who don’t have. <br>3. Bring home a Chinese baby. (And, as it turns out, forgoing fast food and consuming less is raising money!)<br>

    Reply
  8. […] Remember my 2012 goals? […]

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  9. […] my goals? This is part of reducing clutter. Slowly, […]

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  10. living on grace December 22, 2012

    […] we’re on the subject of goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions, this sermon on 2 Samuel 6-25 made consider success and failure in a whole new […]

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  11. […] moving full steam ahead on our New Year’s goals in the Krieger household. Tom’s riding his bike to work, doing speed work to train for the 10K, […]

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  12. […] started running this year with this goal: I want to stay consistent with running, run the Monument Ave. 10K and MAYBE the Richmond […]

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  13. […] I want to look back at my goals for 2012. You can read the full set, along with explanations here and my 6-month […]

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  14. […] Read my Bible daily This was a goal last year, and it’s a goal again. David gets up early, naps about an hour and a half a day, and runs me […]

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