They say if you don’t write down your goals, they are merely just dreams that will never be achieved. Or something hokey and bullshitty like that.

I’m not a big New Years Resolution gal. Probably because by day 3 I’ve already broken one of them and by day 30 I’m right back in the comfort zone I was in the previous year. So I don’t like saying, “This is it. This is the year. This is the new me!”

I sort of like me and stuff anyway.

That said, there are things I’d like to achieve in 2015 beyond the typical “lose weight” goals.

2015 Goals

Blog

• Join a blog network and start expanding readers. I wanted to wait 6 months after re-vamping my blog to do this, in order to have readers and an accumulation of posts. Now is the time.
• Gain more followers on Twitter and Facebook. While I’ve mainly focused on Facebook, I want to include Twitter more. #hashtagsareyourfriend
• Choose one medium for all my social networks, that can push blog posts to all of them. Any suggestions, friends?
• Include more videos. You all can’t WAIT to see my pretty face. I’m looking for a good WordPress widget for videos. Any suggestions, friends?
• Write more about “travel hacking.” Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? It is.
• Gain more freelance writing work. I make a living as a copywriter and want to put those skills to more use with freelance writing gigs beyond my blog.
• Feature sponsored posts, guest writers and perhaps open up advertisements. I go back and forth with advertising on my blog, but it’s something to at least explore. I don’t want to take away from the authenticity of this site. It has to be a good fit.

Life

• Travel somewhere new in July. The hubster has the month of July off. I gave him a deadline of mid-January to choose where we should go and I’ll plan it all. I’M SO EXCITED!
• Read a damn book. I write for a living, so obviously, reading is a huge part of that. Sometimes the last thing I want to do is read a book when I get home after I’ve proofed presentation after presentation for Art Directors. Last year, I only read travel books.  Lame-o.
• Give up TV for one month. AHH! Even writing that makes me sad. I want to test it out and see how much or little it affects my life. I’m a huge boob tube fan. This is going to suck.
• Learn more Spanish. I live in South Florida. I work with some amazing Latinos who are always testing my Spanish. I bought Rosetta Stone and will pick it back up in no time. Wish me buena suerte!

Health

• Lose 15 pounds. It’s doable for me. Baby steps. I don’t want to put out a high number into the universe and then beat myself up when I don’t achieve it. When I hit 15 and want to lose more, I’ll decide that number then.
• Incorporate more lifting in my workouts. Right now it’s all running while training for the half-marathon. I need to strength train more, I feel so much better and my clothes fit so much better when I lift.
• Allow myself to buy pre-packaged meals. I’m a stickler for making things from scratch, but if I need to throw in a bag of pre-packaged brown rice into the microwave in order to save time and not just “give in” and order out, I’ll allow it. Same with pre-cut veggies. Notice pre-packaged doesn’t necessarily mean pumped with preservatives and awful for you. Guys, I don’t allow microwave popcorn in our household (because it’s AWFUL for you) so this is a big step. Balance, my friends. Balance.
• Run 2 half-marathons. Yup. I’m putting it out in the universe. TWO. Last year after I completed my goal of running my first half marathon, I just stopped running long distances for months. Not good. I’m finding another one after my half in February.
• Get up each morning at 6am. That used to be my norm. But lately it’s definitely taken a back seat to staying up late and “sleeping in” until 7:30. I want to start my day off right. Chill, eat breakfast, workout, read emails, update blogs, etc. etc.
• Eat less meat. I used to be vegan, believe it or not. Sadly, I found it nearly impossible to maintain when we moved to Florida. I loved how I felt and want to capture that again by aiming to eat less animals.
• Letting go of guilt. This may be a post for another time, but I’m a glutton for making myself feel awful about making a decision I know is in my or my family’s best interest but may hurt/offend/upset others. I have to move past it better.

That should do it. Not too shabby.

What do you think—any words of advice? What are some of your goals for 2015?