2020 Goals and Aspirations
Happy New Year! And happy start of the return of the roaring twenties, kinda!
I have a lot of goals this year that span several niches (financial, fitness, career, etc) so I decided I would actually share them this time.
So this post is coming late because I had to wait until I put in my two weeks’ notice to my current employer before I posted it. Because I truly love my boss and believe he’s the best I’ve ever had, I didn’t want to ruin his Christmas and family vacation by putting in my notice before the holidays. So I told him today.
I have a new career at a new company (still in advertising) and it was quite a promotion. I feel very much like I’m on track in my career and it’s helping me get everything else in order as well. It came with a hefty pay raise, which puts me on the fast track to meeting my financial goals and gives me more flexibility in terms of my fitness goals.
Finances
I’ve shared this with some of you, but I’ll let the cat out of the bag. After losing my job in 2017, I racked up a lot of credit card debt. I’m very aesthetic driven and easily peer pressured (#Libra coming out there) and I basically lived the same lifestyle I had been living…on unemployment. It was a very poor life choice. My number one goal for 2020 is to finally finish off the debt I have. I have it laid out as such that I should be able to knock it out by my 30th birthday, which has been my goal since I got into this mess. With my pay raise, I’ll be able to accelerate that and still maintain some of my hobbies (like boxing and pilates).
I also want to open a Roth IRA and have been investigating that, and I hope to build my emergency savings as well
Hand in hand with this, is to move into a larger apartment when my lease is up. I’d like to only pay $100 more a month to get a one bedroom, that way I can stay on target for my other financial goals. If I stay in my current building, that’s very much attainable.
Reduce Clutter
I started on this already this week, but I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. And I don’t touch half of it. My second goal for 2020 is to reduce clutter and donate what I don’t need. I started this endeavor on my walk-in closet in my entryway and am moving on to my other two closets (one is coats and bags, one is sweatshirts, dresses, and sweaters). The fact that I have two closets full of this shit is astounding. I have about 100 jackets (not really but it feels like it) and a lot of them need donated so someone who could really use them.
My parents did this in 2019 and called it their “Year of Living with Less” and I’m definitely on board. Some of it I will sell on Poshmark, the rest is going to the Salvation Army (the jackets and coats I’m taking to the Catholic Charities on LaSalle).
Personal Life
Three goals here that are totally unrelated.
First, a 2020 goal is to join a charity board. I’ve decided on Junior Council, because of my college involvement with IUDM (Indiana’s Dance Marathon). It’s a similar vibe and crew, and I very much am on board with the cause. (If you get a minute, look into Ryan White. His story really upset me as a kid, and it has stayed with me into adulthood)
Second, I think I’m ready to date again. And by that I mean when I set a date, I’ll follow through. And I’m not doing it on dating apps.
Finally, I plan to read 35 books in 2020. If you want to follow along, my Goodreads account is here! I technically started with Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. I finished it right before the new year. Currently I’m working on The Hate U Give. I caved and downloaded (ugh) The Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski—it’s the first book in the Witcher series. I loved the Netflix series and also bought The Witcher: The Wild Hunt for my switch. Those books are sold the hell out EVERYWHERE, so I buy them as I find them. I’m missing 3 and 4 so…we’ll see if I find them somewhere.
Career
Obviously my biggest goal with this is to crush my new job. I am very excited for this position. I think at this point in my career (I joined the workforce 6 years ago as of 1/6) I have realized what I’m bad at (giant, intricate spreadsheets—attention to detail is not a natural strength of mine, I tend to think more big picture and abstract) and what I’m good at—managing teammates, managing clients, managing projects, and writing and analyzing. This position aligns with that very well and I am so excited to begin on 1/27!
Fitness
I hope to keep up a fitness routine that revolves around boxing and pilates. I also hope to maintain teaching a couple of spin classes a week, though weeknights are now really tough with my new job. Hopefully you can catch me a couple of times on the weekends!
For boxing I really enjoy Shadowbox and will likely add in Rumble occasionally when they get here (Rumble is like Barry’s, only with a boxing set instead of treadmill sets). I hope to intersperse some personal, one-on-one training in boxing as well.
For pilates I enjoy Amplified, Pilates + Coffee, and Ab & Flow! Those last two are really difficult to get into, especially Ab & Flow, which doesn’t have as many timeslots or machines. I’m still having trouble booking in for class in the new year.
Running
I will be running the Chicago Marathon this year again (praise!) and am looking at the following races for 2020:
Shamrock Shuffle 8k: March 22, 2020
Indy Mini Marathon: May 2, 2020
Soldier Field 10 Miler: May 23, 2020
Rock n Roll Half Marathon: July 19, 2020
Big 10k: Sometime in August
Run Mag Mile 10k: September 12, 2020
Chicago Marathon: October 11, 2020
Pumpkins in the Park: October 19, 2020
Hot Chocolate 15K: November 8, 2020
Santa Hustle 5k: December, 2020
Undecided on a training group, but I will likely run with Heartbreak! I’m resting until Feb 1, so we’ll decide then!
