Simple Little Moments

Maybe this makes me a huge nerd, but I love setting goals. Just because you’re a stay at home mom and don’t have a manager to report to, doesn’t mean it’s not still important to set some goals for yourself. Today, let’s focus on motherhood goals to work on for the new year, but we’re going to make sure they’re SMART goals. You’ll see!

Today we’re discussing:
Why people fail at achieving their goals
What are SMART goals
Why Stay at Home Moms should set goals
My goals for 2025
Making my goals into SMART goals
Conclusion

Goal setting was ingrained in me at a very young age. My mom made us set goals for so many different reasons during the course of the year. For my entire childhood, my sisters and I set goals for:

• Back to school: what we wanted to get better at in school, personal goals related to the new school year (make one new friend, be on time for every class, etc)
• New Years: thinking broadly about the year to come and thing we wanted to do
• Summer: what books we wanted to read, things we wanted to accomplish over the summer

Now that I’m an adult (and a mom myself), I feel really lucky that my mom put so much emphasis on goals when I was a kid. It’s made me continue thinking about what projects I want to focus on, what I want to improve or get better at, and just helps me to reflect in general.

Why people fail at achieving their goals

I feel like so many people fail at goal setting because they don’t do it in the right way. It’s common to make your goals too vague, too broad, or to set too many goals in the first place.

When you make your goals more attainable and clear, it will help you to maintain the motivation you need to focus on them.

What are SMART goals?

I was first introduced to “SMART goals” when I was a personal trainer waaay back in the day (about a decade ago!). As trainers, we were taught this concept so that we could teach it to our clients to help them set goals they could actually have a chance at reaching. So what are SMART goals, exactly?

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve, who is responsible, and what steps you need to take. 
• Measurable: Determine how you will measure progress and know when you’ve achieved your goal. 
• Achievable: Ensure the goal is within your capabilities and that you have the skills required to achieve it. 
• Relevant: Make sure the goal aligns with your overall objectives and is worthwhile. 
• Time-bound: Set a deadline for completion that is realistic. 

Why should Stay at Home Moms set goals..?

If you’re a stay at home mom like me, maybe you’re thinking: what’s the point of setting goals? There is no one to report to, no one holding you accountable, and no real reason to set goals. But, I think those reasons are exactly why we should set goals.

As a stay at home mom, it’s really easy to get into a rhythm and feel stuck (especially if you previously held a professional career). Setting goals for myself reminds me of areas I still need to work on as a wife, mother, and individual person. Thinking about what I want to focus on gives me the space to reflect, get in touch with myself, and think about the big picture of the coming year.

And don’t worry, if you’re reading this in the middle of the year, I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to wait until New Year’s or any big event to start working on you.

My goals for 2025

I wrote some goals down in the note section of my phone the other day and was pretty vague about them. I just wanted a place to start, and have a way of reminding myself of what kinds of things I wanted to make goals about so that we can make them into SMART goals together.

I’ll share my vague goals with you, then we’ll turn those goals into SMART goals. That way you can see how it’s done, and hopefully be able to take your own goals and make them more achievable.

My goals:

1. Read more
2. Focus on working out more often
3. Increase my steps
4. Baby #2
5. Drink more water
6. Work on blog more

As you can see, many of my goals are health related and that’s because I’m still trying to get my strength back from my first pregnancy/birth, while also trying to get pregnant again. So for me, my health is a big priority right now!

Making my goals into SMART goals

As you can see above, my 6 goals are great thoughts in theory, but I’m likely to fail at them because they’re too vague & they lack structure. Using the SMART acronym, let’s go into each one of my goals and modify them. I would encourage you to do the same thing!!

1. Read more > Read 10 books on my kindle by the end of 2025
2. Focus on working out more > Do a 20-30 minute workout 4 days per week on my laptop and use my fridge calendar to mark off the days. Take a photo of my progress at the end of each month.
3. Increase my steps > Aim for 8,000 – 10,000 steps per day, everyday, by wearing my Apple watch daily & choosing workouts that will increase my step count
4. Baby #2 > Get pregnant ASAP by logging my cycle into my phone and tracking my ovulation to know when my fertile windows are. I want a baby due date in 2025!
5. Drink more water > Drink 2 liters of water per day by ensuring that I drink 1 liter before having my coffee in the morning
6. Work on blog more > Write one blog post each week during my son’s naps for a total of at least 52 posts in 2025.

Do you see how much smarter my goals are!? It feels like they went from being good (but vague) ideas to goals I can actually work on and achieve.

Setting SMART goals as a Stay at Home Mom

If you’ve never heard of SMART goals before reading this post, I hope it was a good introduction to the concept for you. I think that even if you don’t have big goals or aspirations (like my drink 2 liters of water per day), that’s totally okay. As moms, and specifically stay at home moms, it’s really important for us to remember to work on ourselves. If we want to be the best moms for our children, then that requires us to think about how we can improve our life and our mindset.

I’d love to know the goals you set for yourself. Feel free to share by leaving a comment!