I had every intention of publishing this post on January 1st, but failed! Luckily, I’d put a lot of thought into the following already, so here it goes–out into the interwebs and ready to keep me accountable.
Taking inspiration from others, I decided to put together my list of 23 in 2023: 23 goals I want to accomplish this year. Some are small, indulgent plans while others are big and life-impacting. So here it goes.
23 Goals for 2023
- Attend church on a weekly basis (unless we’re out of town)
- Go on a date with Jim every month
- Have a kids’ experience every month
- Get a tattoo of the kids’ initials
- Celebrate Ryley’s graduation
- Have a family photo shoot
- Attend a Notre Dame football game with Jim
- Implement a cooking routine three nights a week (start meal prepping)
- Lose 50 pounds by 31 December 2023
- Walk and/or jog 21 miles a week
- Run an in-person 5K race
- Develop a weight-lifting routine twice a week
- Go sugar-free for a week
- Change my behavior from getting up to binge at night
- Drink 128 ounces (a gallon) of water a day
- Learn 3 new physical coping skills
- Build the map of my life from Tara Schuster’s Buy Yourself the F**king Lilies:
- Where does my self-esteem come from
- What are my principles
- What is my affirmation
- Keep a daily written journal (morning pages or other)
- Keep a personal budget of $250 per month
- Write a new blog post every other week (26 total)
- Read 100 books, with 36 books from my TBR collection
- Abstain from book-buying for one month
- Reach 7,500 Bookstagram followers
Because I love to segment and chunk a list into categories, I focused on several different areas of my life for this list.
Focus 1: Stronger Relationships
First, there are the relationship goals that focus on spending time with my family, expressing my love, and growing my faith. There are seven of these relationship-based goals.
- Attend church on a weekly basis (unless we’re out of town)
- Go on a date with my husband every month
- Have a kids’ experience every month
- Get a tattoo of the kids’ initials
- Celebrate Ryley’s graduation
- Have a family photo shoot
- Attend a Notre Dame football game with my husband
Focus 2: Better Physical Health
And then there are the health goals, which range from cooking more to building a better, healthier body. There are eight goals here, but the most important ones to me are Numbers 2 and 7, losing weight and stopping my binge eating behaviors.
- Implement a cooking routine three nights a week (start meal prepping)
- Lose 50 pounds by 31 December 2023
- Walk and/or jog 21 miles a week
- Run an in-person 5K race
- Develop a weight-lifting routine twice a week
- Go sugar-free for a week
- Change my behavior from getting up to binge at night
- Drink 128 ounces (a gallon) of water a day
Another goal that needs to be on this portion of the list is to identify the cause of my migraines and find some type of regimen that keeps them at bay.
Focus 3: Improved Mental Health
Obviously it’s integral for me to achieve better mental health. 2022 was a year filled with anxiety, more so than depression, so I’m keyed into the importance of better mental health. There are only two goals on this portion of the list, but they’re really important.
- Learn 3 new physical coping skills
- Build the map of my life from Tara Schuster’s Buy Yourself the F**king Lilies:
- Where does my self-esteem come from
- What are my principles
- What is my affirmation
Focus 4: More Creativity, Less Spending
This last category of my 23 in 2023 is a catch-all of how I want to be more creative and more discerning about my entertainment. Some of these are very indulgent – like growing my Bookstagram (@jessicareadsmanybooks), but hey, they’re still goals.
- Keep a daily written journal (morning pages or other)
- Keep a personal monthly budget for entertainment (i.e. books)
- Write a new blog post every other week (26 total)
- Read 100 books, with 36 books from my TBR collection
- Abstain from book-buying for one month
- Reach 7,500 Bookstagram followers
Next Steps
So how is my progress so far? Well, it’s the fourth Sunday of the year, and we haven’t been to church yet. I’ve gained about 2.5 pounds, but I have walked/jogged 21 miles each week, and I’m pretty consistent about writing morning pages (or sometimes evening pages). I have started keeping weekly goal lists and monitoring everything so that I can make adjustments and see progress.
Do you have goals for 2023?
Bookish Brain 