Tips on How To Write Goals and How Not To Make Meringues

Hellooo 2021. Was 2020 both the shortest and longest year or what? On one hand, it feels like I was just writing out my 2020 goals; however, it feels like a whole lifetime ago that I wasn’t a mama. While I know that nothing is revolutionary about the change of a calendar, I actually worked really hard to accomplish my 2020 goals. One of my largest achievements of the year, outside of giving birth and breastfeeding, was definitely reading the entire Bible like I set out to do last January. So without further ado, let’s get into my 2021 goals.

• Main Personal Goal: Journal every day- Write down 4 achievable goals based around adulting “must dos” and nice-to-haves for my wellbeing. Just in the past week that I have started this, I have gotten everything done on my list. There is something about writing a task down that makes it more urgent, and I know I’ll feel disappointed when looking at an unchecked box the next day. It’s pushed me to be more productive, and at the same time, it’s swayed me to relax more depending on the goal. Literally the first day that I wrote a list, it had the power to change my attitude in a way that I didn’t expect. Story time:
  • Noah got me the new Great British Baking Show Cookbook for Christmas that includes recipes that were featured in the latest season. I was eager to get going, so I picked the one recipe that I had the ingredients for, button meringues, and I wrote it down on my to-do list for January 1st. The recipe called for 3 egg whites, and I had exactly 3 eggs. Perfect right? Well, not so much, as I managed to break the first yolk and I watched that yellowy traitor slink right into the bowl. My vision of perfectly whipped egg whites to stiff peaks was doomed; however, I wrote that dang goal in my journal, and I was determined to see it through. I looked up how to stiffen up egg whites, and I just threw it all in there. After a little bit of white vinegar and an indeterminate amount of cream of tartar, my egg whites (and smidge of yolk), remained more soupy than peaky. “But the empty checkbox” my mind said. I kept pressing on and put in some almond extract to mask the unknown effects of the vinegar and cream of tartar, slapped in some food coloring to make it “fancy”, and threw a pan of puddles into the oven. I thought my dad was going to keel over in laughter when he saw my creation of about 12 green egg pancakes and learned that the recipe was supposed to create 80 cute meringue buttons (similar to Hershey’s kisses). Oh boy were they weird. Don’t get me wrong. The flavor was actually there, but they defied science and had the ability to be cotton candy at the beginning, hard candy in the middle, and bubble gum at the end. They were a texture party, and I’m not sure it’s a party that I wanted to be invited too. Needless to say, we laughed a lot and got crumbs everywhere. Eating those creations was actually my favorite part of the day despite how they turned out, and I’m sure I’ll remember the experience more because of my determination to finish rather than give up and be upset about my failure. Now there’s a carton of pure egg whites waiting for me in the fridge for a redo. Separating egg yolks was so 2020 anyways.. Haha

On top of daily goals, I aim to document any learning experiences that stand out to me, movies/ tv shows I’ve watched, and books I’ve read to be able to have something fun to look back on. Finally, I have also been writing out one Bible verse a day as determined by the Bible app on my phone. This seems like a lot, but it’s working for me, and that’s what matters.

• Breastfeed Ember until he is 1 year old- I realize that life may throw me some curve balls outside of my control that could interfere with breastfeeding, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t do my best to nourish and care for my body in ways to foster a healthy milk supply. I realize that I am blessed to have work and home atmospheres that give me the opportunity to hopefully see this goal through.

• Bake or cook something new at least once a week- I already knew that I enjoyed spending time in the kitchen, but the global pandemic really fueled that fire. I’m pretty sure that I ate better food in 2020 than I ever have before, and I would like to raise the bar even further in 2021. Alone time for me and new food for the family, seems like a win-win to me (even when the recipe fails… as in the case of the sad meringue scientific anomaly.)

• It goes without saying that my main goal is to be the best mom I can possibly be to December. I want my home to be full of love, fun, and peace so that he can prosper and mature. That means taking care of myself so that I can be awake and present when he needs me. It means talking to him and giving him all the individual attention that he deserves. For me, it also means working part-time so that I can help provide for all of his needs. My little human is so precious, and I want to set him up for success in life.

I used to think that setting goals was silly, but it just took a long while to figure out what kind of goals and incentives work for me. If you are like me, you’ll find much more value in goals that:

1. Have a hard, determinate end or physical final product- For example, I was 100% sure my goal of reading the Bible was done when I read the whole thing, and this year I hope to have a completed journal at the end of year. To help me with the cooking/ baking goal, I envision myself documenting the recipes and taking as many pictures as I can.
2. Builds upon something you already enjoy- For example, I already spend time in the kitchen, and I just want to take it to the next level by committing to trying new recipes. It would be harder for me to bake or cook something new each week if I didn’t already enjoy doing so. Some goals like this could be working on improving your skills in a particular area or spending more time on something that you enjoy but have neglected.
3. Are documented- If I don’t write it down, was the goal ever real? That was more or less my excuse to stop working towards a goal in the past. As I mentioned earlier, I feel a lot more driven to accomplish tasks that are physically written down or typed out.

Other than these goals and the wild adventure of new motherhood, I have no idea where this year is going to take me. I don’t know where this blog will go, and I don’t know what life will look like at the end of the year. Only time will tell, so stay tuned.