Revisiting my 2018 Action Plan

In early 2018, I shared my action plan for the year. Rather than setting resolutions, I chose four items that I would take action on over the course of the year. As 2018 comes to a close, I thought it made sense to review my action plan before sharing my action plan for 2019.

Below is the 2018 action plan I set forth last year.

1. Cook more. I love to cook. But as my travel and work commitments have intensified over the past year, my eating has gotten extremely lazy. Too much ordering out and not enough homemade meals. I feel better when I cook at home and it saves money too. My action plan for this to to get back in the habit of making one or two larger meals over the weekend that can serve as lunch and dinner during the week. I might try to do this by cooking through one of the awesome cookbooks I got over the past year. Read more of my cookbook recommendations here. 

2. Find a church home. Many of you know that church is extremely important to me. For a number of different reasons, I’m in a season where I am being led to find a new church home.This is basically like dating and I’m way out of practice. It feels weird to “church shop” but that’s basically what I’m doing now. I may have found a new one, but I wait to be certain. 

3. Build up smartly to marathon training. This was will be pretty easy because I’ve hired a coach! I am thrilled to be working with my friend and superstar professional athlete, Becki Spellman. Becki is the real deal but I chose to work with her because I connect with her on a personal level. We’ve been friends for over a year and she never tried to sell me on her services even though it’s clear a coach would be helpful with my frequently changing travel schedule. Anyway, I’m thrilled to work with Becki and have confidence she can help me get across the sub-4 barrier.

4. Eliminate consumer debt. I have a couple of lingering credit cards that I want to have paid off by the end of the year. I have a plan for this and I’m excited to put it into action. I will be paying my law school loans for awhile, but consumer debt I can get rid of.

So how did I do? Well, I traveled a great deal during 2018, however when I was not traveling I did a great job of making easy meals I could take to work and have for dinner. I bought the updated version of Run Fast Eat Slow – Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow  and a few of the recipes became staples in my kitchen. I particularly loved the pesto recipe (I make it almost every week) and the tips on how to create your own delicious bowls. So I consider that a win.

Finding a church home has been difficult. It’s been like goldilocks some days. Plus my travel has meant that it feels difficult to develop community since I am often not in town. It turns out that for me right now, proximity plays a large role in my regular attendance. I tried attending a church across town and while I liked the church, the hassle of getting there just didn’t work for me. So I think I’ve found a church I like, but I have not joined a new church yet.

As far as the marathon goes, well…you probably know that while I trained for two marathons this year, I only finished one and my sub-4 goal is still a goal. I have enjoyed having a coach, though. I am working through a small injury currently and am hopeful I’ll be healthy enough to toe the line for marathon number 11 in March, but if I’m still injured and can’t run the full in March, I do not think I will be running a marathon in 2019. I have a strong base right now, so we will see!

Finally, I set a goal to remove consumer debt and improve my finances. I’m pleased to say, my savings are up, my debt is down and I’m continuing on with this goal in 2019.

Did you have an action plan in 2018? If so, are you pleased with how you addressed each item on your plan? Are you setting out an action plan or goals for 2019?