I know most people start out every new year with the intention of making changes or resolutions. Some stick and some don’t and that is perfectly okay. I think its great that we make the effort to improve, grow, and learn.

For the past several months there have been a few changes that I have really been wanting to make, which I touched on a little bit at the end of my “Best of 2018” post. Preparing for the baby has helped me realize that I need to make changes to the ways I spend my time, energy and money.

Time

After some reflecting I know that I waste a LOT of time doing pointless activities. I know with a baby on the way how I spend my time will undergo a MAJOR change but I want to make sure that I am spending my time wisely by being more present and productive.

How: Less time on social media, less time watching Netflix/television. More reading and quality time with friends & family.

Energy & Self Care

I am someone who is in a constant state of stress and anxiety. I’ve always been this way. This year I want to work on channeling all of that negative energy into focusing on the positive and prioritizing self-care. I really let self-care fall apart this past year and given how difficult this pregnancy has been I know a lot of it was out of my control. Now that I am finally feeling better and with a new baby on the way I am more determined than ever to make self-care a priority. The happier and healthier I am the better I can take care of my family.

How: Make time for meditation and physical activity, prioritize health, focus on things that make me happy. Journal and take time daily to reflect on the positives and highlights.

Money

Shopping has always been a major weakness of mine and while I try my best to buy only basic and versatile pieces I still have WAY too much. So this year I would like to be more cautious about both how and why I am spending money. This is going to be my biggest challenge but also where I am hoping to see the biggest improvement. I’ll be sharing more on my “spending detox” soon.

How: Create a budget, only buy what is necessary, invest in experiences rather than things. 

Organization

This one is a little bit of a bonus but I think it ties in with time, energy and money. I feel so much better when I am in a tidier and organized environment. I know that by getting things in order (and keeping them that way) it will help save time, create a more positive energy and hopefully enable me to spend less money on things I don’t need.

Over the past few months (with the help of our families) we have been doing a lot to get the house ready for the baby. There is nothing like prepping for a new addition to the family to make you realize how much useless “stuff” you actually own. I have been feeling so determined to purge, organize and tidy-up our home. It has also helped me to have a new outlook on what we really need and use.

How: Take inventory of what we have vs. what we actually use. Donate and throw out what we don’t need. Organize the remainder and focus on not adding more clutter and “unnecessaries”.

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What This Means for The Blog

I took a major step back this year in how often I was posting on the blog (almost a 60% decrease in number of posts). From the time I started Living Taylored I knew what I wanted it to be. But I often let comparison get in the way of creating what I want versus what I feel like I should be creating (you can read more about why I started Living Taylored here).

Blogging has been a great creative outlet for me (when I don’t put too much pressure on myself) and I want to get back to that. My hope for 2019 is that I can resume blogging and creating content that I enjoy rather than creating content that compares to what everyone else is doing.

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I know setting goals/intentions/resolutions can seem cliche and often they don’t last past a few weeks or months for people but this year I am really hoping to see consistent improvement and change. I don’t think I have ever felt so determined to really re-focus my time, energy and attention.

There are so many ways to help you stick to new goals whether its journaling, finding an accountability partner/group, verbalizing your goals to others, etc.

If you are setting goals this year I wish you luck 🙂 and Happy 2019!