Yikes, we’re almost midway through January and I’m still in major New Years mode.

The self-reflection is out of control over here, and I am loving every second of it. It’s daunting, but I’m learning so much about myself and about  my life. Once I get more mentally organized I’m going to share some of my thoughts with you in case you find it helpful!

I’m viewing 2018 in a new (more organized, intentional) way, and am working on decluttering my mental state. And do you know how when you’re organizing anything you first take everything out of place, put it on the table, and only put back what’s necessary?

Do you know how messy and overwhelming that initial phase can be? That’s basically my mental state right now. I have everything all over the table and am sorting it out and figuring out how to put it back in its proper place, and what I need to get rid of.

Deep, right?! So necessary, as well.

One of the things I am thinking about is what went particularly well in my life last year. (Sometimes it feels like I keep drafting goals and resolutions and never look back to give myself a pat on the back for things that I’ve been working on!)

Here’s what I did well in 2017:

I picked up books instead of my phone.

In 2016 I think I read about 60 books, and last year I was right around 50. However, in 2016 I was heavily pregnant and with a newborn, so I think I spent more time sitting in general. I still feel like last year I did much better with reading books instead of scrolling news and social media. (The annoying Instagram algorithm and nonstop awful news helped with this!)

I joined groups and met friends.

I’m very active in our local MOPS group (and took on a leadership role this past year!) and have also participated in Hike It Baby events. This next year I’m hoping to participate in more groups, but last year I joined them, which is the first step!

I worked on my hair and makeup “skills”.

Basically, I watched tutorials and tried whatever they said to do. Some things worked better than others. I also tried to use only the products I already had, so I should probably work on buying some new things in 2018. The most important improvements in 2017 were 1) learning to curl my hair and 2) learning how to best put on eye makeup.

I made progress in identifying my personal style. 

My house and my closet is all over the place when it comes to style. I simply cannot identify a style that I most love, and instead seem to pick bits and pieces of everything and hope it works together. (Spoiler: it doesn’t and everything is a mess!) However, in 2017 I worked hard at identifying what styles I actually really love and have been making a little bit of progress in getting my house (and myself) pulled together cohesively! I have started being more picky about what I buy and only purchase things I love, that will go with everything else. I still have a lot of work to do in this area, but progress was made!

I left space in my schedule.

In past years, I attempted to completely fill my calendar. I didn’t have days (or even hours!) with nothing to do, and we were out of the house constantly. When Tim and I first started living together, we had plans every single evening. Now, we’ve stopped planning our lives to that extent (and almost have the opposite problem, of not planning enough!) I  think that moving to Seattle has really helped us slow down, and of course having two toddlers helps with that, too. We’re still busy people, but I have a lot of space in my calendar to say ‘yes’ to invitations. I think this has helped us make good friends, as we just aren’t those people (anymore) who have to say no to everything because they’re too ‘busy’. No one wants to be those people, and I don’t think many people actually want to be friends with those people, either.

I have big (and some small) ways I’m going to continue to make improvements in my life in 2018, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made so far!

What did you do well in 2017?