The New Year is just around the corner! Can you believe it? It seems like 2013 flew by. This weekend I spent some time thinking about my 2014 Goal Setting plans and how I would set about getting my goals organized. For 2014 I plan to be more intentional about many things going on in my life including planning for my boys’ homeschooling, blog post topics and some giveaways for my readers, as well as some personal goals to get better organized and stay on track with a plan to get healthier.
I often plan things in my head but am not the best at writing things down. Life moves so fast for me that stopping to write down goals seems kinda crazy. Then I got to thinking – wouldn’t to be nice to see how far I’ve come? Well – that’s what I’m doing in 2014, and if you’re up for doing the same, I wanted to share with you some resources that I’ll be using that I think you may like as well. Now, before you think I’m on top of things… you may want to read my post titled: My Beautiful Mess – yep, I’m blogging to you from right in the middle of a mess (unpacking from Christmas travel) – so my heart is just to share some great things I’ve found, and maybe help another mama like me along the way. This post includes free resources as well as affiliate links for your convenience.
Included in my list of Top Resources are:
- Free Printables for Defining Goals and Writing Actionable Steps
- A Home Management & Organization System that Works
- A FREE Homeschool Planner and Montessori Planners for Preschoolers
- FREE Printables for Enriching your Marriage and Family Life
- FREE Bible Study and Encouragement for Moms
- A Totally Awesome, 62 page Blog Planner that will get you Organized in 2014
A Year of Goals
The first resource is FREE. This printable resource is created by Little Learning Lovies. It’s super cute but very simple. On these pages you record your goals and actionable steps. Click the image to be taken to a link where you can download your FREE copy. I downloaded a copy but will likely not use it because I needed something with a bit more substance (more on that below). But I do think my readers will love a FREE resource – especially one with so many adorable graphics.
Getting it Together – A Home Management System that Works
The second resource is a book created by my blogging friend Kayse Pratt titled “Getting it Together“.
Her book will walk you through how to create your very own Home Management Notebook. Kayse has inspired me to get more organized. I love the way she thinks and I completely agree with her organizing system in Getting it Together.
Getting it Together includes 30 Printables to help you get organized. They include:
- Perpetual Calendars for Birthdays and Anniversarys
- Meal Planning
- Restaurants and Take Out
- Emergency Information
- Frequently Referenced Phone Numbers
- Address Book
- Account Trackers
- Family Budget
- Spending Tracker
- Financial Goals
- Cleaning Schedule
- Master Project List
- Freezer Inventory
- Book Inventory
- Auto Maintenance Log
- Online Password Tracker
- Inspiration Tracker
- Family Records
- Exercise Log and Food Journal
- Babysitter Information
- Daily Routine/Schedule
I was so excited about getting organized this year that I created an organization board in my kitchen using an 18 x 22 Inch Cork Board
I love how Kayse puts it,
“No, being organized won’t accomplish world peace. It won’t make you love cleaning, and it won’t counteract the tornado-toddler issue. But it will most definitely bring a little more peace to your home.”
With 30 printables, I may not use everything in her planner right away, but I want to take simple steps to getting more organized so I’m starting with the weekly planning pages and then I’ll work my way up to monthly and year-long planning pages. New habits start with small steps for me. I’ll be using this planner to help me set goals and organize my home.
Homeschool Planning
I found a wonderful FREE Homeschooling Planner at Living Well Spending Less. If you need help planning your homeschooling activities, you should check out this FREE resource at: Homeschool Planner. Ruth’s planner is not some super-academic homeschool planner, but it is totally doable and very practical for a mom with little ones in tow.
Our preschool plan here at Happy and Blessed Home is to continue on our Learn to Read Series through the alphabet – with all the free printables needed to finish our series. Upon completion of the alphabet I plan to launch a series on science and crafts for learning in the home. Super fun kitchen science is in the works. If you’d like an easy-to-follow plan for your preschooler, check out my FREE Montessori Planners for daily activity. I explain an easy way to get organized by using the Monetssori method at home. Montessori is perfect for teaching preschoolers and helps teachers to never run out of ideas.
If you’re interested in more information on homeschooling, the book Homeschooling Day by Day just went on sale for only $2.00 through January 17. Written by some of the most amazing homeschooling bloggers on the web – it’s a great resource for moms planning to homeschool.
Marriage & Family
Family Fun Friday will continue in 2014 with tons of great ideas for planning fun together as a family. You’ll never run out of ideas if you continue to follow Happy and Blessed Home.com. . And if you have young children in the home, then you know that carving out time for your marriage can be a challenge. By using these planners to plan ahead, I can know which weekends work best for date nights and plan and schedule those in advance.
If you’re looking for a wonderful blog with some great tips and marriage advice, I highly recommend Darlene Schacht’s blog Time Warp Wife. One of my favorite posts from her blog includes FREE prayer cards that you can use to pray for your spouse. It’s a great way to start the new year – praying for your marriage. Darlene also has some Prayer Cards for Kids. A great way to introduce a guided prayer activity this year.
Book and Bible Study
Being in a regular biblically-based book study is an important part of my plans for 2014. I currently lead a small group women’s study from my home and we’re currently reading Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe
If you’re looking for fellowship with other moms, your local church can be a great source for encouragement if they offer small groups for women. You can also look for a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) program in your city. I am currently engaged in both and the new friends I’ve made through these organizations have breathed new life into my mothering and parenting.
If you do not have the option of a real-life connection with like-minded moms, there are some wonderful resources online. Good Morning Girls offers online bible studies complete with facilitators leading the groups and online study guides and forums. Taking time to get into God’s word is a wonderful goal to have for the New Year. They are accepting registration for their winter study from January 6th through the 17th – with the theme “Intentionally Focused” starting on January 20, 2014.
Blog Planning
So far, the best blog planner I’ve found that I absolutely love was created by Sarah Avila at My Joy Filled Life. There are 62 wonderful planning pages for bloggers. I’m not sure how many of my readers are bloggers, but if you’re looking for something to get organized in 2014, I recommend Sarah’s Blog Planner. It’s $4.99 but worth every penny if you’re like me and time is scarce.
If you are a blogger and don’t already have a planner in place, you will greatly benefit from Sarah’s planner. It includes all the things you need to do to promote your blog via social media, as well as charts to help track and plan for reviews and giveaways. It is what I am using in the new year to stay focused on my goals and keep my blog humming. And that means great and wonderful things for you my beloved readers!
Spread the Word
Help me spread the word by pinning this post on PINTEREST or sharing about it on Facebook. Word of mouth is the fastest way to spread good news and just think of all the mom friends you know who might enjoy some of these great resources! My pinnable image is below. You also have my ok to copy this image and upload it to Facebook as long as you link back to this post. Thanks!
2014 Goal Setting
Ahh… It feels good to get a handle on things and be more organized. I’ve included a snapshot here of my new homemade planner and I’m super excited to be using it. The nice thing about this combination of sources is that I now have a planner that is perfectly suited and customized for my needs.
Even as a homeschooling mom to two preschool boys, and the Chief Executive Household Manager 🙂 of our home, these resources have proven to be extremely valuable for my planning and goal setting activities for the New Year. My hope is that these resources will be helpful to you as well.
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If you found these resources helpful in setting goals for 2014 please leave me a comment – I LOVE hearing from my readers. Best wishes in your 2014 Goal Setting and for a wonderful and Happy New Year!
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