A Year End Reflection of 2023

Let me start by saying I know mathematically you’re not to take averages of averages. But this isn’t a math blog so we will be doing it anyway. And I am also aware the percentages included below are based on my own experiences and perception, and like I said, this is not a math blog so I’m recording them however I’d like.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about this year’s progress. In 2022, I did this same type of math and made 78% progress on my goals for the year. This year, the progress increased on my yearly goals to 80%. You could look at this like I didn’t complete 1/5 of my goals for the year or look at it like I did complete 4/5 of them. I’ll take the 80% completion.

At the beginning of 2023, I shared my goals for the year with my focus on space – space for love, space for living, and space for legacy. I already spoiled the fact I made 80% progress but if you’re wondering how all the math worked, here’s how –

Space for Living – 79% Progress

Space / Home (77% Progress)

• Doing my third round of the contentment challenge in Q1 (65%) – I wrote about how it went here which was overall a lesson in itself.
• Donation pickup 2x a year – 100%. I didn’t do the pickups but we did take donations a few times this year as we went through things in the house. The goal in the future is to do less of these because we are very content with what we have.
• Powerwash the house – 100% on this one. Teddy is the star of this.
• Organize the Garage – 20%. This was constantly on my to do list but I found other things to do instead. This will be on the list in the upcoming year.
• Create a space for both Teddy and I have to have our own space – 100%. We both have offices we really love at home and are decorated in a way that inspires us each in our own way.

Finances (58% Progress)

• Focus on continued margin in finances – 75% – We took good steps in this area to create new systems for us to be more aware of this, especially as we move into joint finances.
• Grow investments – 50% – These grew but not as much as we’d like with our focus on the wedding events this year.
• Savings toward future goals – 50% – Also didn’t grow as much as we’d like but our wedding and anything else wedding related was completely paid for which feels wonderful.

Recreation (92% Progress)

• Spend time outdoors and camp – 100% We went on quite a few camping trips this year and had a wonderful time.
• Visit at least 1 new state and National Park – 75% I visited 3 new National Parks to me this year and while I was hoping to finishing out my 50th state with Hawaii, we adjusted this year and visited some new states for Teddy and I together instead.
• Quarterly retreat for rest and relaxation with Teddy – 100%. We really got to get away and just enjoy ourselves and rest and be inspired.

Personal Growth ( 90% Progress)

• Quarterly space for me to write, reflect, and learn – 100% – I invested a lot of time and money into learning this year, more than any years prior, and it was more than worth it.
• Quarterly focus for reading, journaling, and learning – 90%. I did this but adjusted the last two books of the year I was planning on. I still read a lot, just adjusted when I needed to.
• Document books, podcasts, and other learning – 90% – I documented most learning and books, but not podcasts.
• Practice Sabbath weekly – 80%. Some weeks this wasn’t a priority and I could tell based on how I felt during the week after not taking the time away.

Space for Love – 84% Progress

Loving God (83% progress)

• Reading the Bible chronologically throughout the year – 100% – I was very unsure if this was going to get done as I approached mid year and was 60 days behind, but I prioritized it the remainder of the year and finished.
• Praying daily – 65% – Ebbs and flows of this during the year. Similar to some of the other goals, I could tell in my heart the times where I wasn’t praying as regularly and it impacted my days.

Loving my home (100% progress)

• Making my office space one I enjoy spending time in and provides a space for creativity – 100%. I have a space I enjoy and love to spend time in.
• Schedule opportunities to share my home with others and create spaces for community – 100% – We really prioritized this throughout the year and I feel really good about opening our home more frequently for people to spend time together.

Loving my self (70% progress)

• Determining monthly fitness focuses – running, peloton, hiking, ect. – 60% – Things went well here until they didn’t (aka post wedding and honeymoon). Making some adjustments as we head into next year.
• Focus on healthy routines including sleep, food, and my morning and evening routines – 60%. I focused on sleep and morning routines here. The food and evening routine are areas that can continue to improve.
• Weekly planning -90%. A few weeks this didn’t happen and I could tell, which reminded me how important planning for the week and starting off strong is.

Loving others (81% Progress)

• Continued training for Remington – 90% Remington has progressed so much this year. Thinking that we took him on his first trip in January and then his first camping trip back in March, his training has come a long way.
• Being fully present without distractions on a phone – 80% I’ve really tried to be intentional about this but can continue to grow in the area. Specifically when I’m with friends or Teddy in conversation, or when I’m choosing something to watch, I try to make sure the phone is away.
• Continue to host and participate in bible study group – 100%. This is one of my favorite things that grew this year and I always look forward to it.
• Date night with Teddy weekly – 95% – I think there were only a handful of times we didn’t prioritize an intentional date night. Again, we could tell the weeks where we did versus didn’t and made sure to prioritize it the rest of the year.
• Daily prayer with Teddy – 40%. An area we can improve on for sure.

Space for Legacy – 78% Progress

• Continue to add to my commonplace book – 10%. I didn’t do this but wish I would have created a better system to make it happen to make it happen.
• Write more intentional blogs on learning and reflection – 100% – If you noticed this year, I had less travel blogs and more on learning, reflection, goals, and lessons.
• Make blog adjustments with a legacy focus – 100% – Also speaking to the above, I tried to focus more on this as well.
• Continue writing project – 100%. I feel really good about what I was able to do.

So what about you? If you created some goals this year, what realistic progress do you think you made? The focus isn’t on perfection, but that you moved the needle forward this year from what it would have been if you would have done nothing. Count it up. Do some estimates. If you want to go wild, average some averages like me (though I don’t recommend this on actual professional presentations).

So, let’s finish out the year by counting the fruit and seeing the goodness of God. And I’ll see y’all next year!