I’m backkkk! Have you missed me? Cuz I missed you. (Kim Kardashian voice)

After over a year, I’m back to ThePreppyMAG and ready to share more of my life here. Last year was the first year since starting this blog in 2013 that I didn’t share my New Year’s Resolutions + Goals here and it really made a difference in keeping myself accountable. So, in an effort to dream big and keep myself on task, I’m back to blogging and sharing what I’m aiming for this year. I also thought it would be helpful to share what tools and methods I’m using to set + track goals in case you haven’t set any yourself yet.

My Methodology

Through the years, I’ve been a big planner girl. I have a written history of every task + event I’ve had to do or attend from 2013 through 2022. However, as my life has become more mobile, I have found the written planner isn’t working for me anymore. I used to have my planner sit on my desk at my office. I’d spend the first 30 minutes of the day planning what’s to come for the days to come, but now that I’m working from home, in different coffee shops throughout the city, hotels, airplanes, etc., I found the written planner was left out of my routine just because it was so bulky so I’ve switched to a fully digital planning methodology.

To do this, I’ve become fully reliant on Notion + Motion. If you are not familiar with these tools, you need to get on it ASAP. Notion is a Project Management tool that is my ongoing to-do list for all things in life (work, personal, family stuff, all of the above!) and Motion is what I use to schedule my life down to the minute. If you know me, I live and die by my calendar and Motion helps make it happen across 3 businesses, a crazy family life and my attempt at a social life.

First, I use Notion to write and organize my goals for the full year. They have a ton of different templates to use depending on how your mind works but I find these sticky notes (see below) to be the easiest to keep everything in one place.

Once I’ve detailed each category with specific and measurable goals, I break each category into one of thOnce I have each goal detailed in each category (which we’ll get into later), I breakout each category into their own “To Do” tab. Here is where I can organize each category by “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” I can also add notes to this section that I may want to check-in on throughout the year. Breaking my goals out in this way, helps them feel more digestible and actionable.

From there, I use Motion to schedule tasks needed to reach each goal so I’m continuously working towards what I want to achieve throughout the year and check-ins that help me spread out my goals throughout the year and I’ not left with a ton of work to do at the end of the year.

My Goals

This year I’m setting some fiercely ambitious goals. I may even say they are my most ambitious yet. After two transitional years in both work + life, I’m really feeling a need to challenge myself. I won’t go in too much detail on my specific goals since some of them are deeply personal but I will touch on the categories that I focused my goals in:

  1. Professional: This category is the most straight-forward of the bunch. My first job out of college (which I stayed at for 8 years) made us create goals twice a year, making this category the easiest to write for me. The challenge is that my “professional goals” these days span 3 businesses with different stakeholders so my personal goals don’t only rely on my ambition but the ambition of my partners as well.
  2. Health & Wellness: Another straight-forward category and probably the most over-done resolution but probably the hardest to keep throughout all the year throws at us. This year, I’m making a commitment to feel better through fitness and wellness practices that make me feel my best. While of course, this is essential for my health, I also find myself to be more creative and sharper professionally when I’m on a rigorous workout routine. I highly recommend setting a specific event or goal that you can work towards. For me, I’m signed-up for a 10K in April!
  3. Travel & Adventure: This was my biggest priority in 2024. After a few years of no travel because of COVID and wedding planning, I had big dreams of seeing more of the world, and we certainly did. We visited 4 new countries in 2024! In 2025, I’m looking to check-off only 1 new country and 5 new cities.
  4. Finance Goals: Here is where things get a little more stressful. As a business owner, I’m the only one who can give myself a salary bump and that usually comes with a hell of a lot more work so setting financial goals can be extremely daunting. In addition to bringing in more revenue, I’m also setting some grown-up goals about setting up retermienet funds and diversifying my investment portfolio.
  5. Personal Growth: Last but not least, some goals on how I personally want to grow. These are the hardest for me because I’m a creature of habit and I absolutely hate change. This year, I’m really focusing on transitioning my mindset and lifestyle to be ready for my next life stage. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how most life stages have natural endings + beginnings that we have little control over. However, deciding when your carefree adult life ends takes a lot of intention and preparation that I’m not sure I’m ready for but finally ready to start thinking about.

I hope this served as a little inspiration around where you want to take your 2025. Can’t wait to see where you are all headed and hope we can explore these new goals together.