My 2021 Goals: Blogging, Health, and Financial

2020 has been a year full of surprises. There have been so many ups and downs. The theme that stood out the most for me in 2020 was unpredictability. All 2020 plans pretty much went out the window with the onset of Covid-19 and the start of the lockdown. It’s now December, time to start planning our 2021 goals, and that theme of unpredictability is still in the air.

Creating Goals is Different This Year

I had a hard time making these 2021 goals because the future is still so uncertain. I’ve decided to keep my goals more general this year. I think it’s still important to set goals for ourselves, even though there is so much we still can’t predict for next year. That being said, it is also important to not beat ourselves up when things out of our control prevent us from reaching those goals.

Learning to Adapt

With the unpredictability of 2020, came the complementary skill of adaptability. It is that adaptability that will be important when creating goals for the new year. We have to be able to adapt our goals as the obstacles of 2021 arise!

With that I mind, I will be treating the blogging, health, and financial goals discussed below as a starting point for the year. I will be updating them as year goes on and providing updates on the blog to show my progress.

If you are interested in my environmental goals you can take a look at my post Zero Waste Swaps I Made in 2020 and My 2021 Goals!

I’ve split my goals into the categories of Blogging Goals, Health Goals, and Financial Goals. I’ll being starting with my blogging goals, since they are probably what everyone is most interested in.

2021 Goals: Blogging

Main Goal: to generate a substantial monthly income from My Life Thriving. Ideally, I would like to be able to bring in around $500 a month from the blog by the end of the year. Currently the blog has yet to make any money, let alone turn a profit, so I have a lot of work to do.

Sub-Goals:

• Stay organized with my blogging planner throughout the year
• Generate consistent traffic to My Life Thriving from Pinterest
• Consistently post on the My Life Thriving Instagram and Facebook pages
• Publish an average of 4 posts a month
• Create a free printable opt-in for subscribers

This is my general plan for My Life Thriving in 2021. I am hoping that the blog will grow enough to warrant regular updates with specific goals, like pageview numbers and subscriber counts, but for now I’m not quite there yet. Right now I’m still really just figuring things out.

2021 Goals: Health

Main Goal: to have more energy on a consistent basis. For context, I struggle on and off with my energy levels. My fatigue is often accompanied with muscle aches, which makes it hard to get through work where I am on my feet all day. Next year, I will be focusing on finding ways to prevent and manage my fatigue. My sub-goals reflect different methods I hope to use on a regular basis to help me achieve that goal.

Sub-Goals:

• Implement a regular stretching routine
• Improve my posture with regular exercises
• Reduce my overall sugar intake
• Incorporate exercise into my weekly routine
• Drink water regularly while I’m at work*

I am hoping that these sub-goals with help give me more energy, as well as reduce the muscle aches I feel when I get tired. I am also waiting for an appointment with a doctor of holistic medicine, so hopefully some time in the new year they will be able to give me some suggestions as well.

*A little note in regard to 2020: I have been finding that because I have to wear a mask while I’m at work, I keep forgetting to drink water or not wanting to remove my mask to do so. Has anyone else been having this problem? I think this has been one of the reasons I’ve felt worse at work lately.

2021 Goals: Financial

Main Goal: To grow my savings towards a down payment for an apartment. I won’t be specific about numbers just yet because the end of this goal is still a few years away. Right now, with traveling on hold because of Covid-19, all the money I’m able to save is going into my apartment fund.

Sub-Goals:

• Start investing my savings so they can grow even more
• Grow the blog enough that it can contribute to my savings
• Contribute at least $10,000 to my apartment fund by the Summer

My income is still very uncertain for 2021 because of the current Covid-19 issues. Because of that, I’m keeping my goals conservative this year. Usually, I make yearly saving goals of specific amounts, as well as monthly contribution goals. This year is different, so I will be starting with the goal of $10,000 by the Summer, and then reassessing my goal for the rest of the year once that goal is completed.

Conclusion

Now that the roller-coaster that was 2020 is finally coming to an end, I am hopeful that good things await us in 2021! I know these goals are fairly conservative. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself right away. The craziness of the last year has been pressure enough!

Do you have big plans for 2021? Or are you also struggling to create goals this New Year’s? Let me know in the comment section!