I’ve come to the conclusion that annual goals are not very effective. While most are ready to make drastic changes in their lives at the beginning of the year, it usually takes 2 months or less to abandon them. Same goes for our household, so we are doing 3 month sprints. Here’s a look at what we will be trying to achieve in Q1.
Financial
Increase net worth $10,000. Our normal savings rate will get us 85% of the way there but we will need to do something extra to get the rest of the way or rely on market gains. Luckily I have a 3 paycheck month in January.
Unfortunately we also need new tires for our van, are putting down capital to be co-founders in a new business, and need to do some home improvements. Our term life insurance is due this month along with a beach body subscription. Lots of things adding up quick.
Health
Dad bod is slowly taking over, and I’m going to try to reverse it and get into the best shape of my life. Before having kids I was a fit 150 pounds, but I got all the way up to 190. I’m not that tall, and it was starting to show. I’m back to 170 and want to get closer to 160.
I figured the best way to do this is just sign up for a 5k and have to commit to exercising to avoid wasting my time and money. I won’t be closely tracking my weight, but instead will be actually working out, building the habits and trusting the process.
I will also work on intermittent fasting, eating lots of fatty foods and the Herschel Walker workout. The Wim Hof Method is tough to do but I try every once in a while to take a cold as possible shower and practice deep breathing.
Mrs. FrugalStu is doing Morning Meltdown 100 on Beachbody and we do yoga most evenings as desk work gets me really stiff. We are also abstaining from any sweets or treats for 40 days.
Spiritual
We will focus on waking up early to have quiet time to read sacred texts, pray, and meditate so we can have a clear mind each day.
Generally speaking, a lot of time is wasted in millions of American homes in the evening. Once the kids are down we just want to turn on Netflix and tune out. By going to bed within an hour of the kids, we usually wake up 2-3 hours before them. This makes us more like famous CEO’s and gives us sharp productive time to create instead of consume.
Work
I have some technical books I will be reading and an old online course I’ll be redoing to stay sharp. I’ve taken the course all the way through before but it provides a broad range of skills to me.
I also read biographies of great men and try to apply those lessons to my life.
Conclusion
I’m really excited to go quarter by quarter this year and I think it’s something many people should consider. Breaking big goals into smaller ones with imminent deadlines makes it easier to stay focused and committed.
I’ll report back on our progress in a few months. What goals do you have for 2020?
