List it: My Top Three Goals for 2019

It’s that time of the year again — the end of it.

With New Year’s coming, I only have three goals for 2019. Instead of resolutions, goals keep me focused on the bigger picture.  

While it can be hard to stick to meeting goals, by publishing them, telling people about them, and putting them somewhere for reference — we can keep ourselves motivated.

That’s the point of this blog post — to keep myself on track and see my progress a year from now.

(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchases on products/services promoted on my website, I’ll earn a commission at no cost to you. )

This year,  I’m pretty satisfied — I accomplished some life changing goals. 

• I graduated College
• Taught English in Panama
• Bought a self-hosted blog service (a game-changer)

This upcoming year, I found it difficult to set my goals. Despite 2018 being great, 2019 is the year to set higher expectations. 

My life currently feels so raw, new, and unknown. Although I have some ideas, I can’t say for certain what’s to come. 

So instead of setting specific goals such as;

• Visit China
• Make $2,000 Blogging
• Lose 20 pounds

— I’m setting goals that can’t be measured. My goals instead revolve around the most important aspects of my life I want to grow in. They’re basic, but definitely important to act on. 

By publishing my goals, not only will I get to look back at this post next year to reflect, but I’ll feel more accountable to act and achieve through the year.

(that’s right, I’m tricking myself into being awesome)

& if you ever have a hard time sticking to goals, putting yours out there for others to see might help too! Here’s my list.

LOTM’s Official Goals for 2019 To-do List:

❒    Make Escape Plans (& Maybe Escape)

I’ve had a dream to live abroad long-term ever since I was a teenager.

After years of travel experiences and my degree in hand, I finally feel that I can act on that goal to leave the US and experience a life abroad.

I live a life shaped in part by travel and the amazing things we learn about the world and ourselves when we move. To me, I’m not bound by a single location — the world truly is my oyster.

If travel is accessible, you can experience the world however you want and even build a career in another country or while trotting the globe.

Since graduating, I’ve been focused on how to make life abroad a reality and that’s why this plan is one of my goals for 2019. With plenty of ideas and even a timeline — this year is the one, finally. 

With my TEFL certification in hand (review coming soon), I’m hoping to teach English to start a life abroad — where and when it will take me though, who knows. 

This story is to be continued next year…

→ Click here to earn your myTEFL certification ←

❒  Grow Savings

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❒  Lower Debt

This one is self-explanatory. As a new adult, it’s been interesting to figure out how to budget effectively and manage real-world payments.

In addition, it’s not easy as a freelance worker to save money when your income is not always certain month to month.

(side goal: develop more stable freelance life)

For my goals in 2019, (especially since I’m creating my escape plan), it’s crucial to get my money and budgeting skills together so I manage my money better and contribute to a savings. 

I might be young and broke, but that doesn’t mean I can’t save money.

On the other side of this coin, I want to lower my debts.

Among students loans and some credit card debt, my goal is to eliminate all my credit card debt and keep up with private student loan payments through 2019.

Clearly there are other debts I owe for school, but the private loans are most important with their unnecessary high interests rates.

For next year’s reference, the current combined total of my private loans is $3,400.

With this goal said, cheers to 2019, the hustle, and understanding money — I got this.

After graduating and spending the past four months handling finances and trying to budget with a long-term picture in mind, 2019 will be a year to start off on the right foot financially.

❒ Maintain + Grow My Blog

Of course blogging is one of my top goals for 2019.

After 8 months of publishing on a regular basis, investing in courses and self-hosted web services, and collaborating in Facebook groups, my blog is slowly launching in growth. Blogging seems easy, but really, it’s a ton of work. 

With my investments, going self-hosted was the most necessary in regards to impact coming into 2019.

The choice to go self-hosted was to make a commitment to my blog and to control of my site. 

With my 2-year SiteGround plan (which cost less than $100), I gave myself a place to grow my blog with incredible plugin access and design/coding functionality. 

Snag a deal to host your website through SiteGround, too (where customer service & tech support exceed expectations!). 

 

While I’m uncertain of how much money I’m going to make, the primary goals are to keep posting, grow traffic, promote, and ultimately, feel successful about the content I create.

In the past I’ve left blogs and posts to die after writing for a few months, but this time is different. I truly love to blog and it’s compatible with my interest, passion, and desire to be my own boss that goes where ever she wants. 

To keep me motivated throughout the year, I’ve attached screenshots and stats from my accounts (data captured between Dec 14th-Dec 16th).

LOTM end of year traffic stats:

2018 views: 2,203

2018 visitors: 1,146

 

Pinterest/Tailwind:

35.7 k viewers monthly

1.3 k engaged monthly

 

Facebook:

Number of followers: 39

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Instagram:

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Phew, okay — it’s all out there.

As a young adult and millennial, 2019 will be a year where I can define myself and continue to chase my dreams. I will travel, learn, explore, write, create, and inspire.

By focusing on these three goals, I’m going to build the future I want — I just have to work for it.

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What are your goals for 2019?

Leave a comment & let the world know!