Today is Day 1 of a 60 day challenge I am participating in.  I’m excited to push myself to do this but I’m also a little stressed out.  I lead a relatively healthy lifestyle but I’ve fallen off the wagon in the last few months as we were building our Hobby Homestead, moving, and dealing with all sorts of random obstacles.  My body is screaming at me.  My family and I have been sick twice in the last month and I am feeling tired and a little stressed out.  I constantly tell myself that all of my problems or worries are “First World Problems” (FWP) but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t significant to me.  When presented with the opportunity to participate in a 60 day challenge, I decided I needed a little kick in the pants and accountability!  The challenge is focused around one primary objective—60 blog posts in 60 days.  I’m blowing that up and extending it to other areas as well.  

The reason I started blogging was to give myself some life change accountability.  I wanted to organize my recipes, explore new DIY health and beauty options and in general, detoxify my life.  It has been a year now and a bumpy road.  Part of my 60 day challenge is setting a routine for myself.  Some of my goals I have put a specific time next to.  This will help me carve out a specific part of the day to accomplish them.  

My personal goals for the next 60 days are as follows:

1.  Start my day at 5:30 am.  This is getting back to something I love.  The peace of getting up early in the morning is amazing.  It sets the tone for the rest of the day for me.  There is nothing like a nice cup of coffee and some personal time.  I recently did a 10 day challenge where I read scripture in the morning as well.  There are some incredibly inspirational books if you are not comfortable with religion.  Find inspiration and start your day with it.  Read quotes that remind you of your goals.  Focus your mind on achievement.

2.  Focus on my blog from 6-7:30 am.  I like writing.  For me it is also a form of inspiration, creativity, and personal growth.  Carving out time in the day to write is tricky.  Normal day to day household things can consume me.  Between homeschooling and feeding my kids my day is full.  I can’t believe how much kids can eat!  We have gotten to the point where the girls actually ask for “second breakfast”!  For this area my specific goal is 60 blog posts in 60 days! 

3.  Get dressed by 9 am.  This may sound like a strange goal for some of you but if you are a homeschooling, stay at home Mom, you may not have to leave the house every day.  Not having to get dressed is both a blessing and a curse.  Getting dressed makes me feel better about myself and also motivates me to go outside.  Maybe I am just throwing on a pair of “dayjamas” (pajamas that are nice enough to leave the house in–aka yoga pants) or maybe I am throwing on my jeggings.  Either way, I am getting out of my clothes I slept in, getting cleaned up and feeling refreshed!

4.  Start Homeschool by 9:30 am.  My kids and I are morning people.  This is a fantastic time to kick off learning.  I need to put the phone away and get it done!

5.  Eat a healthy lunch at 12 pm then head outside.  What we do after lunch will be weather dependent but heading outside is good for all of us.  In nice weather a bike ride, hike, walk or some gardening.  In poor weather a trip to the store or a few minutes reading on the front porch.  Fresh air and sunshine!  

6.  Personal time in the afternoon.  The rest of the afternoon will be filled with play time, reading, crafts or play dates.  Schedules are really just suggestions to me.  In order to stick with one I need some flexibility.  The afternoons are free style time, kind of like choosing your own adventure.  The kids might just want some TV or game time on their own and I can do some more blogging or cleaning.  Maybe we’ll all work on a craft or create a new recipe.  Scheduling activities in the afternoons only with friends will allow me time to stick with our morning routine.

7.  Follow a Meal Plan.  Homemade Mommy has a “Real Food Survival Guide for Busy Moms.”  I need to use it and save myself some time, hassle, AND money. Click here to view more details

8.  Stick to our Budget Plan.  New house, new mortgage.  We are just kicking off our Hobby Homesteading ways.  We have a million things to do including continuing to pay off debt and save for the future.  Over a year and a half ago we sold our home at a loss.  It was a decision we made based on our intense desires to change the way we were living.  We went from less than half an acre of land in a typical subdivision, to over 6 acres!  Our new home is amazing and we are excited to continue down this path we’ve chosen.  Since we sold our house we have been able to pay off $68,000 in debt and are on track to be debt free and start focusing on our mortgage by the end of 2014.  

9.  Make time for friends and family.  Fail, fail, fail.  This is the one area where I am always letting life get in the way.  I’m setting myself the goal of scheduling time with one friend and/or family member per week.  There are so many ways to do this that there really is no excuse.  I have a large desk sized calendar hanging on my wall in the pantry.  I’m going to use it!

10.  Make time for my husband.  We really need to get back on a date day/night schedule.  Our date nights over the last few months have consisted of stressful house planning and decision making.  It is time for us to get out and do things together again.  My husband really is my best friend and as ridiculous as it sounds, we complete each other.  Our skill sets mesh well together and our minds function differently yet with enough similarity to compliment each other.  I’m amazed at how we have been able to grow together and stumble down the same path over the last 14 years of marriage.  

Ten specific objectives across several areas of life sounds good to me!  What are your goals?  Are any of them similar to mine?