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A Look Back on my 2017 Goals: The Good, The Bad and the Oops

Oh, resolutions … they are the goals we set for ourselves and them promptly abandon within weeks. That’s why I’ve stopped setting resolutions and instead chosen goals each year. I set seven 2017 goals. Here’s what happened to them.

In Review: 7 GOALS FOR 2017

  1. 52 Books in 52 Weeks: To date, I’ve finished 30 books. I might finish one or two more by the end of this weekend. But I am not making it to 52 in 2017. Also, several of the books were audiobooks … So overall, I am pretty disappointed in myself for not coming close to this goal. Alas, I will try again next year. To see the full list of what I read, check out my 2017 Book Challenge page.
  2. Cook Outside My Comfort Zone: I started off strongly for this goal. And then … summer came, the academic year began and then the holidays and I finally admitted to having been in a cooking rut for a long time. So, I guess I did this, but I wasn’t at all consistent with it.
  3. End 2017 Weighing Less Than I Did When It Began: Success! Over the last month or so, I have committed to going to the gym and eating better. So, yes, I weigh less than when this year began.
  4. Write More: Right. About that. This year saw some nice highlights for my writing career — getting published by the Washington Post chief among them. And I’ve taken on a variety of different writing projects. But when things got busy I got … inconsistent (it wasn’t just a cooking issue). I’ve been working to change that as the year comes to a close … but I am not quite there yet.
  5. Blog Like the Old Days: This was an interesting goal. I wanted to reclaim that feeling of personalness that blogging used to hold — the feeling that was reinforced by others doing the same. After trying different things, I blogged about this mid-year — or rather about my frustrations and found that so many shared them. However, when I tried to launch an old school weekly blog event, only I showed up to the party week after week. Finally, I stopped. Months later, I played along with November’s blogging and the daily blogging practice felt like what I missed. So, yes, I did this in several different ways. No, I don’t feel terribly accomplished by it. But I did learn a few things about what works and what doesn’t work for me. I’ll be using them in my blogging practice in 2018.
  6. Save, Save, Save: And so I did. I feel really good about this one.
  7. Buy a House: Funny thing about this item … I tried. I really did. There was mortgage paperwork and realtor showings and … I didn’t find what I wanted. Moreover, I realized that what I wanted really needed to be put off a bit so I could save more. However, I am happily renting a new place that has so much more space for my kids and I. That totally makes up for not quite buying this year.

Goals aside, 2017 was year of highs and lows for me — and I am not at all sorry to see it come to a close. With the new year comes a feeling of renewal and promise, and that is a very good thing. How did you do with your goals for 2017?

On Monday, January 1, come back to see what goals I’ve set for 2018 and share yours too. I have some big intentions for next year and can’t wait to tell you all about them.

Kate

Monday 1st of January 2018

This was my worst goal year yet. Time to throw away the old year and start afresh.