My Big Rocks for 2019 - Filling up the jar with what matters

The New Year’s rolled in, and it’s the possibilities that a new beginning is filled with that’s got me scrabbling to chalk out what I’d like to fill my jar with. 

Goals and plans for 2019

What will be my Big Rocks, Medium Rocks, and Sand this year? I know that if I don’t jot this down, I’ll fill my jar with far too many things and get overwhelmed in the process.

So, here’s my Big Rocks for 2019. Big Rocks are all the things that are on top priority for me, and I will want to carve out a chunk of time for these:

1.      Homeschooling my son. About 10 months ago, we plunged into a homeschool life. What started with the hunt for a detailed curriculum has now eased into a with-the-flow education. We spend our mornings in our makeshift school on the porch overlooking our garden. And this is an essential part of our week.

2.    Writing more. As a health coach and writer, I spend my days doing both – upgrading my wellness know-how, creating workshops, writing and teaching creative writing. But this year, I want to dedicate a chunk of time daily to writing books, blogs, and stories.

3.    Family time. We are like the 3 Bears and enjoy huddling in at home, pottering around in the kitchen garden, baking something and enjoying a good Netflix movie on television. This is the sugar and spice to our daily life, and just as essential or more to our days.

4.    Learning new skills. As a #militaryspouse entrepreneur, I have to constantly evolve and add to my knowledge pool, to do work that I love from the back-of-beyond places that we are posted in. I’m learning about being a self-published author, which involves everything from how to write more books to designing and editing to marketing them using social media platforms.

5.     Exercise. With the hours that I put in the chair, stretching and walking are imperative to factor in. Spending an hour every day exercising also keeps me happy and energetic.

6.    Meditation and Reiki. For a while last year, I was consistent with my meditation and Reiki practice, and the way it helped ground, center and calm me, is wondrous. So, this year, I want to schedule it in and be more consistent about getting to my mat.

Medium Rocks: These are things important or supposed to be important but not as much as the Big Rocks. I still have to prioritize these but not so much that I have to press pause on all the above.

1.      Social commitments. As a military wife, I have plenty of these on my plate. From welfare meetings to parties to more meetings, most of these are must-attends. While a lot of time is spent in these, I hope to continue prioritizing my Big Rocks.

2.    Social Media marketing. As a digital work-from-home professional, whatever I offer to the world – ebooks or coaching, will be through my social media platforms. So, learning how to be better at social media marketing is part of workday.

3.    Reading. Whether it’s for learning or for pleasure, I have to find slices of time to curl up with my books.

Sand: These are all the things I enjoy doing, but cannot fit in every single day. The idea is to fit the Sand around the Big Rocks and Medium Rocks, without trying to move our rocks around to make space for them. The thing about Sand is that if we don’t figure it out, it might just take over the entire jar.

1.      Baking. I love kneading dough for home-baked bread and stirring up cake batter. However, my baking will be reserved for those chinks of time between the Big and Medium rocks.

2.    Painting and scrapbooking. While I need to get arty every now and then, at this point in time, I cannot schedule it in daily.

Something I want to reduce this year:

Screen time. We often end up spending too much time scrolling through social media updates on our phone. Good, solid chunks of time that can be otherwise spent reading. While the amount of scrolling and sending messages is necessary for my work, I hope to limit the time I spend doing it.

Do remember that our Big and Medium Rocks, and Sand can keep changing or shifting as the year progresses. But even then, it is a good idea to start with a plan, so we don’t get distracted by all the shiny things that come our way.

So, what are your Big Rocks this year? 

If you'd like to do your own Big Rocks exercise and plan out your year with me, join me at Gorgeous Girls Go Green. I'm about to send out our newsletter Lush, with information about the Big Rocks exercise and other wellness + ECO lifestyle tips. Subscribe to the newsletter to get a scoop of wellbeing.

Do leave a comment below, and connect with me via Facebook and Twitter (@ChandanaMilSpo) to share your goals and plans for 2019.

And hey, I just had to share this. I’ve got a brand new #nonfiction book about creating a #workfromhome life out soon!!! Subscribe to my newsletter to stay up-to-date on this.

#BigRocks #2019 #NewYearGoals