December is one of my favorite months. It’s not only my favorite because it’s the month before my birthday. It’s one of my favorite months because it’s the last month of the year and the last opportunity for me to finish what I started this year. Let me share with you my Top 5 December Goals.
My December Monthly Goals
1. Make more homemade meals during the week
Thanksgiving really has me in the mood to cook and bake. And when I say make more homemade meals- I mean it! I am talking about following family recipes and taking recipes I found online and tweak them as my own.
Recipes that call for fresh ingredients and making things from scratch. This month I want to use more spices and fresh herbs to prepare my meals. I have been feeling so inspired to whip up something new in the kitchen.
My banana pudding turned out great for Thanksgiving. And trust me when I say MY banana pudding- not your mama’s or your grandmas… was a hit! I bought cool whip just in case my homemade whip did not turn outright. Thankfully, I didn’t need to use it at all. I impressed myself with this one.
I even was able to use the leftover chicken breast and thighs to make a homemade chicken chili soup for Sunday dinner and as part of my meal prep for this week. I am happy that I was able to use the leftover chicken and not let it go to waste. Plus, who wants to keep eating the same thing- chicken chili soup was a nice change. I threw in some vegetables, and the kids loved it.
2. Complete a HIIT workout at least 3 days out of the week
A HIIT workout is high-intensity interval training. My goal is to complete a HIIT workout at least 3 days out of the week in order to improve my endurance.
HIIT is an effective method to burn more calories and faster than typical cardio. The best thing about a HIIT workout is that your body continues to burn calories hours after your workout is over.
By completing a HIIT workout at least 3 days out of the week I hope to improve my VO2 max. VO2 max is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measuring during incremental exercise, that increases intensity. Improving my VO2 max will also help me to train myself to build my endurance when completing aerobics and cardio exercises.
3. Speak positive affirmations daily
This past month I started to really get into positive affirmations. For those of you readers who follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that my good morning posts included positive affirmations.
There is no better way to wake up than to speaking, listening, or reading positive affirmations. Positive affirmations can really change and improve your mindset in order for you to conquer the day ahead of you.
Last week I found a daily positive affirmation podcast, Think Positive: Daily Affirmations. And this was just what I needed. For the entire month, I am committing to speaking and listening to positive affirmations daily.
If you want to join me, please check out the podcast that I will be listening to:
4. Hit my daily step goal each day
My daily step goal is 5,000 steps per day. I am ashamed to say that since covid hit I have not been hitting my step goal. Specifically, throughout the week I have found it hard to meet my daily step goal.
I am going to change that this month by making a habit of embracing more household chores that can help me get more steps in. This will include vacuuming and helping my husband rake the rest of the leaves we have left in the yard. When shopping I will park a little bit further away from the entrance. I will also make sure I am taking a break away from my desk at least once per hour to get up, move around, and stretch. This is an easy way to get some extra steps in throughout the day.
5. Practice mindfulness daily
I was in my Fitbit app today and I noticed that there is an option to set goals to practice mindfulness. This is another great goal that I want to step for the month of December.
Mindfulness improves not only your mental health but your physical health as well. Mindfulness can be practiced in order to help relieve stress, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties.
The Benefits of Setting December Goals
I know that by setting great goals this month I then have the opportunity of creating positive habits. By creating the right habits I know I will be able to reach each of my set goals. This will help me become the person I want to be and will help others around me that need some motivation.
Most importantly, the benefit of setting December goals is that each goal will improve my quality of life and I want to reap the long-term benefits from that.
Have you thought about what goals you would like to work towards achieving this month?
If you need some inspiration check out my November goals and you can even download a FREE Monthly Goal Planner + FREE list of 50 Goal Ideas:
RELATED: My Monthly Goals for November + FREE Monthly Goal Planner
Comment and share below at least 1-3 goals you would like to work on this month. I am looking forward to your response.
Please link and share if you found this post helpful.
Jovana
That’s a great list! I should probably add the homemade meals and practicing mindfulness to my list as well… ❤️️
bloglifewitherica
Absolutely! Homemade meals are a great way to cut down on eating out. And mindfulness is important especially during the times we are living in dealing with this pandemic.
xo Erica
Book and Corner
I haven’t thought of my goals yet. Whenever I do I don’t keep up with them 😔
bloglifewitherica
I encourage you to make at least 1 goal. I try to come up with at least 5 goals because there are always a few goals that I fail to keep up with. But I try so hard to remain consistent. Especially, when it’s something I really want.
xo Erica