With the new year I am sure many of you, like myself, have some new (or repeating) personal goals. I just thought I would share mine with you, kind of a way of making myself accountable and trying to follow through.

1. Staying healthy/active: I am sure you can relate. Trying to find the time to workout so that you have enough energy to keep up with the family that keeps you so busy in the first place.

2. Setting aside time for my hobbies/myself: You can probably relate to this as well. As much as I love being a mother/wife, I feel like sometimes I get lost in the shuffle. I am still here under it all, all the busy days and lists of things to do. However by the time I get some alone time I am exausted and in a coma type state of mind.

3. More time to spend alone with my hubby: This can be another one that is easy to let slide. Most nights I am either ready for bed shortly after the kids or we sit in front of the t.v. for a little bit before giving in and going to sleep. Date night is not always easy to plan either. You have to find a Friday or Saturday that is open and work on lining up a sitter (and paying that sitter if necessary).

All of these I feel are so important to healthy living (mind and body). The hardest part is finding the time without sacrificing your fun family time as well. So I sat down with a notebook, pen and calendar to try to figure out how to fit it all in. It was very tricky and I had to shuffle some things around, or sacrifice in certain areas. I also went over it with my husband because it effects him too, and he has to be on board in order for it to work. I keep it on our calendar or dry erase board as a visual reminder. One tip I had learned from a course I took was that when you put something on your calendar, like soccer practice, make sure to include things like drive time and anything else extra so that you are not overbooking yourself. Anytime you are planning to add something to the schedule make sure you have the time for it, there is nothing worse than running around like crazy because you committed to more than you should have. That may mean saying no sometimes, which for me can be difficult.

Any special goals or resolutions you have for yourself? Feel free to share your experiences, tips or thoughts.