The start of a new year is always a good time to reflect on not only what worked for you in the previous year but, perhaps more importantly, the things that didn't work.  Unfortunately, my goals for last year didn't really pan out. I wanted to start back using a blog schedule, try a new recipe every month, and start back doing yoga twice a week. I did okay with everything the first half of the year...then I started TAPP.

I feel like I'm blaming everything on my teacher certification program (TAPP), but  it really is the reason for so many things having been put on the back burner. Unless you've been through TAPP or are currently going through it, you just won't understand the amount of extra it's added to my life. That said, we have finally moved into the most important portion of the course - the part that will determine if I pass or fail, as it were. While the enormity of that is pretty daunting, it's actually freeing up quite a bit of time for me. Everything leading up to this point has been homework, stuff I had to do at home, usually on a weekend. This is stuff that I'll be doing at school for the most part, and with the exception of a few of the requirements, it's stuff I'm already doing.

All that to say I'm feeling a bit more confident in my ability to be successful with my goals for this year.

My biggest goal for 2024 is to get the blog back on track. I don't want to treat it like a job because it isn't one, not really, but it is something that I really enjoy doing. I already mentioned that I tried to implement a blog schedule last week, but it honestly got a bit overwhelming, especially once I started TAPP. So this year, instead of trying to pre-schedule specific topic-based posts, I'm going to focus on quality. So for 2024, my goal is to write one meaningful blog post a week. Part of that goal is narrowing my focus down to the things that are most important to me in this season in my life, so expect to see more book and reading-related posts, teacher-related posts, and budget-friendly finds of all kinds.

I feel like this next goal is something that I've already gotten better at, but I still want to write it down for myself. I want to do a better job of leaving school at school. I spent years working at home, so it's been hard breaking the habit. I won't lie when I say that I often prefer to plan in my home office. It's a space that is wholly mine and where I am most comfortable. I also like my desktop computer much better than a laptop, which is what I have for school. So I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll never fully break the habit of planning at home. However, I can do a better job of not bringing home work to grade. So that is my goal. This year, I will do as much grading as possible at school and only bring home grading when there's no other option.

Yoga is another goal from last year that I'm bringing back for 2024. I'm actually not changing the goal any from last year -- yoga twice a week. I need a way to hold myself accountable, but I don't really know how to do that. If you have any ideas, please share!

I have two more goals for 2024. One is to print out photos from the last several years and put them into photo albums or scrapbooks. That used to be a really big and fulfilling hobby of mine, and I'd like to have physical evidence of the life I've led with my family. The other is to take more videos. I take a ton of pictures, but I rarely take videos. At the end of this year, I want to be able to put together a video highlight reel.