20 Changes I am Making in 2020

2020 is set up to be a big year for me and for my family. We are welcoming a baby into the family, I will likely be making a career change, and I am absolutely 100% sure that there are surprises in store for us. There always are.

That being said, I want to be better this year than I was last year. I believe that change is often a good thing and that we should always be striving to be better in some way. Whether that is our mentality or our attitude or our driving habits or our parenting style or the number of times we snooze our alarm in the morning. Setting our sights higher and expecting goodness and greatness from ourselves is a good thing.

I have always set “goals” or “resolutions” for the new year and they always fall by the wayside. I think this is because of my approach. I would always start by coming up with this list of things that I didn’t like about myself. Then I would write down the complete opposite of that quality (for example, not liking my inability to run a mile in under 10 minutes, and then setting the goal to run a 9-minute mile). But this approach does not work for me! I start out feeling crappy because I start with being hyper-critical of myself, and then my goals fall to the wayside because every single one of them required a 180° turnaround with no plan and no room for error. My goals in the past set me up for failure. This year is going to be different.

I am not setting goals this year. Goals feel too black and white to me. Either you succeed or you fail. Either you make the goal or you miss. There is no room for growth or error or change or flexibility as time goes on. My goals from 2019 are long forgotten, and if I were to find a list, it would just be a whole page full of unchecked boxes. This year I am making adjustments and changes to myself and my habits to help me be happier and better.

In 2020 I will…

Move my body every day – I am not a person who has ever exercised regularly. But I believe that activity is important to being healthy. So whether I work out, bike, walk, stretch, jog, run, climb stairs, go hiking, or dance in the kitchen, I am going to move my body each day.
Follow a cleaning routine every night (except Sunday) – a clean house makes me feel better. I love waking up to a tidy and clean space when possible. So each night, after dinner and bedtime is all done and finished, I will spend 20 minutes or so doing my cleaning routine.
Study the gospel 3+ times per week, with the Come, Follow Me program – I believe in Jesus Christ and in His prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. I am going to act on this belief by studying the word of God.
Drink water every day – I have started to build this habit, but I definitely have room to improve. I’m going to choose water as my drink of choice more often.
Limit soda to twice a week – I have done this in the past and have found that limiting my sugar and caffeine intake from soda really helps me feel better overall.
Take more pictures of my husband, my child, and my dog – I have a good DSLR and a decent camera on my phone. I am going to use these to capture more memories.
Go to bed early and get up early – I anticipate having to be very flexible with this once I have a newborn/infant in my life. But I believe that waking up early is healthy and invigorating and helps your day start right. And the easiest way to get up early is to go to bed earlier too.
Read something I enjoy every day – I used to be a huge novel reader. Like at least a book a week. I haven’t read a book for fun for a long, long time and I am going to improve on that this year.
Learn how to sew on my sewing machine – Colter gave me a sewing machine for Christmas and all I currently know how to do is sew a semi-straight line. I am going to learn and practice and use that machine this year.
Brush my teeth for a full two minutes, twice a day – I feel the need to clarify that I already brush my teeth, twice a day, every day. But I am going to improve my dental habits overall, and longer brushing is part of that
Floss daily – again with the dental hygiene. Good habits now prevent periodontal disease later!
Pay my tithing at each paycheck, without postponing – I have been horrible about skipping tithing payments to pad my budget in the past, and it always comes back to bite me when I have to pay a large chunk all at once. I’m not doing that anymore. 10% of my income goes back to the Lord, before anything else.
Go for a walk with my child and my dog at least twice a week – I think that spending time outside, especially with your loved ones, is one of the best things you can do for your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Minister faithfully and give a positive, honest quarterly report – in my church, we are asked to minister to each other. To serve and help and watch over the other members of our congregation. They give each adult member an assignment of someone to love and serve, and in the past I have really fallen short in showing the Savior’s love to my assigned people. I am going to improve.
Focus on the positive – a positive mindset can make all the different in our health, in our relationships, and in our lives. I am choosing to be happier this year.
Spend money consciously and stick to a budget – when it comes to money, discipline has never been my forte. I always have really good intentions when it comes to budgeting, and then I spend impulsively online or go out to lunch. I have recently created a budget that gives our family some wiggle room and that deals mostly in cash, so overspending isn’t an option. Sticking to that budget is my plan for the year.
Write in a journal once a week or more – I would like to be able to look back and really see how each of these changes affects me. The best way I can think to do that is to write. I am not setting a specific time or place or day of the week that I will write in a journal, I am just going to keep notes on my phone in a folder, written whenever I feel the need to write.
Be more willing to serve and actively look for opportunities – I find myself becoming slower and slower to say yes when I am asked to do something for someone else. I want to decline or make an excuse for why I would love to help, but I can’t. That isn’t the kind of person I want to be. This year I have decide both to say yes to helping when I am asked and to ask when I can help.
Drive the speed limit or slower. No more speeding – This change is not a difficult one. I have been a person who sets cruise control to 5 over the speed limit and drives everywhere like that. Now, I set my cruise to the limit and I barely notice a difference. But the bottom line is that driving slower is safer and driving within legal limits helps me avoid traffic tickets.
Become a better listener. Interrupt less. – I have a really bad habit of interrupting others when they are trying to speak to a group. In my own mind, I am contributing to the conversation, but I often irritate those who are trying to tell a story. I am going to make an effort to listen better, listen more, and to wait my turn to speak.

Every single one of these changes is going to take work and discipline and self-control. But every single one of them can be accomplished and total failure would almost be more difficult than reaching some sort of success.

The start of a new year is always so motivating. But motivation is not enough if you really want to change. You have to put in the work and make the sacrifices if you want to be different. That’s what my plan is. Put in the work and make some sacrifices and hopefully see myself become better. And also to give myself grace when I don’t do everything perfectly.