Setting goals is very important. It keeps you on track and also ensures that there’s always something to keep you moving. That’s why for the new year, here are some goals for homesteaders!
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12 New Year Goals for Homesteaders in 2021
Committed homesteaders already know goals are important. They know goals are what drive us toward our vision of the future. They know goals give us accountability and structure.
Goals help us turn ideas into lifestyles.
And in that sense, one can really never have enough.
And so, every December, I grow very sentimental and wish up a list of all the things I want to accomplish in the following year. This wish list motivates and guides me throughout the entire next year. Here are 12 New Year Goals to Get You Started:
1. Make a Goal to Make a Goal
Goals are most often achieved when the person in question has a clear, focused understanding of their purposes.
At this step, I want to simply identify one goal you personally want to achieve in 2021. Picture it being a reality. Hang on to that picture. Let that picture guide you through the rest of this list–always keeping in mind your end goal.
2. Make a Goal to Save
Do you remember how, in Winnie the Pooh, all Pooh’s friends would put away winter stores of food–even though they knew Pooh would just eat most of it anyway? Be Pooh’s friends.
Heck, strive harder here and accept no less than Rabbit. Rabbit works harder than anyone on his yearly harvest–and he always has enough to eat, and even begrudgingly share.
3. Make a Goal to Smart-Size
Smart-sizing is making a conscious, motivated effort to down-size. It helps foster a simple and sustainable lifestyle. You can read more about it in You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can....
Here’s what it does if you aren’t in your dream homestead yet; it lightens your load to get there faster! Smart-sizing means less to clean, care for, and worry about. It also means you can make some lofty donations, or try to re-sell to stay focused on goal #2.
4. Tackle the Loose Ends
This new year goal is for all the little tasks you’ve been putting off for a better time. Make 2021 the year you truly come to believe: there is no better time than right now. You’re already thinking about it. You’re already devoting time and energy to it.
Consider this: The more you think about the things you need to do, the more effort you’re ultimately investing in the very thing you’re procrastinating. Your time is worth more than that.
5. Make a Goal to Craft Something You Typically Purchase
This goal saves money and provides fun DIY weekends for the whole family.
Think: soaps, candles, creams, and scrubs, but also blankets, pillows, and breads. As you can see, there are endless opportunities here.
6. Make a Goal to Batch Bake and Cook
Even if you only do this a few times a month, you’ll notice a huge difference. Batch baking and cooking streamline family meal prep, effectively cutting downtime during already busy mornings and evenings.
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7. Make a Goal to Try Something New
Whether it’s to grow a different type of vegetable, build something from scratch, or ditch processed foods, committing to change fosters growth and new, beneficial experiences. You’ll learn more about yourself here than you’d imagine possible.
8. Make a Goal to Spend More Quality Time
Remember:it’s the people and memories that fill a homestead with love and happiness–not the other way around.
Spend quality time with the entire network–you never know what you could experience or discover together.
9. Make a Goal to up-Cycle More
With a little creative thinking, optimism, and patience, there’s basically no trash that can’t be upcycled into something way cooler. At the very least, most things make for great planters!
10. Make a Goal to Reduce Bills
It’s simple: bills are the reoccurring debts that bind you to your current routine. The less you have, the more control you gain. If you don’t want to be a cog in the machine forever, this one needs to become a top priority goal ASAP.
Consider switching modes of transportation, taking on side projects to pay down long-standing debt payments faster, and making or growing more products than you buy.
11. Make a Goal to Become More Sustainable
I truly believe every homestead has a little wiggle room when it comes to sustainable practices. Why? Because we can always do something more.
So, whether your goal is harvesting rainwater, switching to a compost toilet, or learning to cook without waste, know that you are capable beyond measure. You can do this!
12. Make a Goal to Live Your Dream
Another year is starting. It’s time. No more excuses. This is the year you live your homesteading dream. This is the year you commit to your vision of happily ever after–and go after it with everything you have. Let nothing stop you.
Need more motivation to reach your new year goals? Watch this video:
At times, I use the list to check-in with how I’m doing. Depending on the results, this can make me feel extremely proud, or incredibly geared up to try harder. Fail better, so-to-say. In either situation, I’m reminded of how integral having clear, focused goals are to my success.
Happy Homesteading in the new year!
Are you ready to set your goals? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
UP NEXT:
- New Year Resolutions | How to Make & Obtain Reasonable Goals
- How to Gain Financial Freedom While Homesteading
- 12 Ways Self-Sufficiency Will Make You a Happier Person | Lengthen and Improve Your Quality of Life
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Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in December 2015, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
