Hey guys, I’m back here with one of my favorite posts! I’m sharing the goals I have set for April, along with a overview of how March went. You can read my March goals post here.
My goals for MARCH were to:
.1. Have consistent time in the Word – I spent more time listening to sermons and podcasts than actual reading, but I’m kind of okay with that. I’m learning and growing from it and it fits this season of life well. I will say though, that I get more richness from reading the Bible and do want to dive into it more. I found a random devotional the other day when I was cleaning, so I think I’ll incorporate that into my days.
2. Eat and Sleep Better – I most definitely started eating better, but sleep, not so much. Brielle is waking up A LOT during the night now and I might be dying. Please send the sleep fairies this way! I did lose about 6 pounds from simply watching what I ate.
3.Paint the Entry way, Dining Room, Hallway – We did this over Spring Break and man it looks good. I cannot wait to show you guys the transformation…you will not believe how different it looks. I LOVE it. Here is a sneak peek…
4. Organize Work Files on computer- Did not accomplish this
5. Organize Office Files – I haven’t touched my office 🙂
6. Taxes – Did not do this either…you know what I’ll be doing this month 🙂
I’m pretty proud of what we did this last month though…lots of organizing needs to be done now.
Now, for APRIL’S Goals:
#1 TAXES
Considering they’re due this month, I really hope I can check this off my list of goals 🙂 I am in charge of my business taxes and then Ryan incorporates them into our personal taxes, so I have a lot of back tracking to do since I was not a good “accountant” last year…I blame the baby!
#2 SLEEP & DRINK MORE WATER
I have noticed lately how little water I drink throughout the day the more I’ve been working out. I get dizzy and dehydrated at the gym. I also need to get more sleep if I can. Brielle is killing us in the sleep department, but luckily my husband helps out and deals with her also. I have a really hard time shutting down at night when it’s peaceful, but I’ll continue to work on it.
#3 LOSE 8 POUNDS
Yes, this month! That would sound like a lot in one month if I didn’t have 40 pounds to lose. And I’m not exaggerating…unfortunately. This third baby really did me in…paired with being in my 30’s and solo parenting the last 5 months (stress). It has really been a tough go with the new baby (just in an overwhelming sense) and I was definitely put last on the list in regards of taking care of myself. Ryan is home more now and has been so great with allowing me to go the gym as he takes care of the littles. I’m watching what I eat and working out. More sleep and water should help…and patience.
#4 FINISH DECORATING THE ENTRY WAY/DINING ROOM
My goal is to have that space finished by the end of April. I tend to take my time with these types of projects, but then they never really get finished. I’m applying my #actionoverperfection motto to this one.
#5 BUSINESS GOALS – ORGANIZING OFFICE/FILES & DECISION ON ANOTHER ETSY SHOP
I really need to organize my files and office because the further away I get from that, the messier it gets (and it’ already a disaster). I’m also contemplating another Etsy shop to sell t-shirts. I have designed a ton of shirts, but hesitant to sell them in my current shop since it’s mostly printables. I have added coffee mugs to my shop, but I feel like I need to keep Joyful Art Designs just printables (or change that name to JoyfulArtPrintables) and have another shop for shirts and mugs. My Etsy shop does quite well for printables and I don’t want to mess that up. I’m just fearful of taking on another shop. I’m not sure how easy it is to toggle between the two, and I already have so much on my plate. BUT I really want to start selling the shirts! Hopefully I can make a decision this month. Chime in below in the comments if you have any advice on that from a customer or Etsy seller’s point of view.
#6 BUDGET BETTER
By this, I mean, I need to get back to writing down every expense. I’ve tried apps but I’m still not doing it. Let me just say that I now believe in the power of tracking your expenses often, if not daily! So far, the most beneficial way for us has been in Excel.
I’m also trying to be much more intentional about my purchases. Really think about what items I bring into this house. I’ve decluttered so much lately and it’s gross how much we have accumulated that sits idle for so long.
And I’m trying hard to use what we currently have in our pantry/fridge/freezer before buying new groceries.
On a similar note regarding goals, I’m working on contentment in my life. I’ll go deeper into that in another post, but my heart is changing and I’m asking God to continue to lead me to contentment, happy with what I have and not thinking I need more/different.
I hope you enjoyed reading my goals, past and present, and would love to hear from you about what goals you have made or are working towards this year. Also, if you’d like to see a Day in the Life in action, check out my recent video on my YouTube channel. If you like these videos I’ve posted, make sure to subscribe (and hit the bell next to it) to keep seeing them.
Losing 8 pounds in a month is not an unrealistic goal. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months.
Oh good…I’m hoping to lose it fast but I also know what it would take and not sure I can give that right now. But that is encouraging to hear you lost 40 in 4 months!!! That is awesome. What was your biggest aid in that?
Sorry I am just replying. It has been a crazy month….my husband’s mom had a stroke, my dad has had some health issues, my brother has been in hospital….that’s to name a few of the things we’ve dealt with this month.
Anyway, I started a clean eating lifestyle (non processed foods, no hormones in meat, no sugar or bad sugar substitutes, organic as much as budget can afford, no bad oils when cooking with oil, etc..), exercised five days a week (sometimes 6) and started drinking Shakeology (shakeology.com/angiesharp). I no longer exercise that much, my goal is 3 times a week. My husband and two daughters (ages 25 and 21 at the time) all jumped on board with the clean eating. They loved it and could tell when they ate “dirty”. It is a food lifestyle that we love! You really are what you eat. What you eat is what you crave.
Thank you Diane! That is helpful.
I love reading your goal posts. I am bad about setting monthly goals, but I am thinking it is something I should start doing to keep myself accountable. As far as the two Etsy shop question, I think I would just leave it as one shop. As a customer, I would prefer that my favorite shops have all of their items together so that I can see all of their items at one time, and just make one purchase. I would also think that you might have more sales with people seeing all items at the same time, if they’ve come to buy a print, maybe they’ll see a shirt that they want to purchaser too. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback Erica…totally makes sense. Maybe I’ll just try it and see what it does to my other sales. I can always open later and resist them there.
I realized how stressful the clutter in our house was when I used the Konmari method to declutter it all. It immediately made me less anxious and intentional about my future purchases. I was donating/selling a ton of stuff (with no real purpose) I had bought within the last year on random shopping trips. When I stopped shopping out of habit/boredom, we made so much progress financially! We are 2 months away from being completely debt free now! It’s nice to read about others who are in the same boat .
Oh wow Angela, that is amazing! Isn’t it crazy how much stuff we buy? I also realized that the more unorganized I was as a result of having too much, the harder it was for me to find stuff, therefore, I’d end up buying something new anyway. It’s just creating so much mind clutter for me and preventing me from really being productive.
I would think it’s fine to have all of your listings in one shop. It’s not like I would say oh, I can’t buy a tshirt from here, it’s mostly only prints. When I do a search, I just find items that I like; it doesn’t matter to me what is in the whole shop per se. Also, if I find a shop that I think makes cute stuff, I always check out what else they have, so it seems to me you’d be missing out on an opportunity to get views on other products?
I can’t wait to read more on your new plans for contentment. Sadly, that is a HUGE struggle for me so I’m always looking for ideas on what others are doing to battle contentment as well! Love that you are adding to your shop!
Those are great goals for April! I think that it would be fine to have all of your products in one shop 🙂
That’s so rough that Brielle is struggling with sleep! My daughter Lucy was like that last year when she was around Brielle’s age so I definitely understand the sleep struggle! We used a sleep class through takingcarababies.com and it literally changed our lives. I know that sounds dramatic to say about a sleep class, but it’s true! It was a little expensive but my husband and I both agree that it was the best money we ever spent when it comes to the baby. I recommend it to pretty much any new mom that I know. It takes two weeks to do and you have to be totally committed to it, but it SO WORTH IT in the end.
I keep seeing your comments on Instagram about Brielle’s sleep and I couldn’t NOT recommend the sleep class we took, especially because it was so beneficial to us. Whether you look into it or not, I hope she starts sleeping better soon!
Hi! Where did you get those bins that are under the boys’ bed and under the train table??
Hello, I got the ones under the train table at Walmart…they came with lids but I don’t use them. And I believe I got the ones under the bed at Walmart too. I love them as they are like drawers and don’t slide to easily.