Planning the Rest of 2020 (The Year of Change)
Hi friends! Welcome back, I hope your week is off to a great start. Today, I want to talk about how to make the most of the rest of the year. The start of 2020 held so much hope and promise for a new decade, then so many devastating events occurred starting with the fires in Australia, Coronavirus, and the heartbreaking deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.
George Floyd was laid to rest in Houston where he grew up and our city is dedicating this day to him. May George rest in peace with his mama whom he called out to during his last moments here on earth. 
2020 did not start out as we had imagined it would, but I can’t help but think there is a bigger purpose at work here, changing us and our lives and causing us to take note of our health, our attitudes, and the way we live our lives.
We are learning the hard way that we are not in control of the events in the world, but we CAN control how we react to them and how we choose to live moving forward.
We are not out of the woods yet with Coronavirus, but it has taught us that we cannot take our health for granted. Being quarantined revealed the importance of daily routines and how critical relationships are to our mental well being. The financial toll of business closing showed us that we need to be savvy with our money and prepared for these kinds of crises.
Like Maya Angelou famously said, “When you know better, you do better.” It’s a great reminder because we can’t unsee the events of the first half of 2020, but we can take that information and move forward in a better way.
How do we do that?
How do we move forward with the rest of 2020 when we are still dealing with the uncertainty of Coronavirus and how that will affect our day-to-day lives?
One step at a time.
It’s easy to “give up” on 2020. We want a refund! #ikid But honestly, there’s still six months left in the year, let’s make the most of it!
REVISIT YOUR GOALS
Maybe at the beginning of 2020 you set some goals or intentions for your life and with everything going on, you’re like, “What goals?”
Life is definitely different now. But now that we know that, we have to pivot and adjust. Yes, our lives have been shaken up, but we can still look forward and think about what we want to achieve and how we are going to go about doing that.
If God put a dream in your heart, He can help you achieve it! You have everything inside of you that you need. You were destined to live a life you LOVE! Don’t give up just because there are speed bumps along the way.
When I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, there were so many obstacles in my path. No one in my family had even gone to collage. We had no money. Beyond 4 years of collage, it was going to take an additional 3 years of law school. But, I just said to myself, “those three years are gonna pass anyway! Might as well finish them with a law degree.”
Similarly, if you have a goal to get in better shape, don’t think of how much time it will take to get there. THE TIME IS GONNA PASS ANYWAY! I got in the best shape of my life in 3 months when I trained for two fitness contests. Three months of daily dedication is a long time, but each day shows progress and before you know it, you are feeling so good about sticking to your goal that it gives you more mental toughness and tenacity.
YOU being proud of yourself is the best reward!
So, I urge you to think about what you want to achieve or how you want to spend the rest of the year. Literally take an hour to just dream and write and visualize.
DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN
Granted, it’s hard to plan when things are unknown. For example, many of us with kids aren’t quite sure what the school year will look like. Our school just issued a 2020-21 calendar that, God willing, looks pretty similar to a regular school year. But, I’ll have to be flexible because we don’t know for sure that’s how it will go.
If you start with what you do know, you can develop an action plan from there. You can take the worst case scenario, perhaps that being that we are all “distance learning” again #OhLordPleaseNotAgain but, it could happen.
Our goals and dreams don’t fail to happen because we don’t have good intentions. They fail because we don’t have an ACTION plan.
Take your goal and break it into mini action steps. What is the ONE thing you can do everyday to move yourself closer to your goal?
Then, do that thing consistently every single day.
We often get stuck doing the 25 other things that make us feel good because we checked them off our list. But, the difference between goal getters and goal setters, is that the GETTERS do the thing that will actually get them closer to achieving their goals.
If you need help prioritizing and figuring out how to get things done, I highly recommend this book. It’s a quick read and, if you follow the steps, it can really change your life.
MY 2020
In order to not overwhelm myself, for the rest of 2020, I want to focus on my relationship with my family and friends, my fitness, and being more intentional about the kind of person I am at heart. Oh, and can we try to enjoy summer too?!
FAMILY & FRIENDS
I’m so grateful for my family and friendships and realize now more than ever how critical it is to check in with people, make dates when you can and support each other (from afar) if that’s all we can do. Even just phone conversations mean so much!
I love how my friend Marianna texted me one morning and said she was missing me, then asked if we could schedule a call for later that evening. Getting a call on the books with friends is new, but whatever it takes!
My son James is 10 now and Jordan is 4. We are doing so well together and I’m so proud of who both of them are growing up to be. Four was one of my favorite ages with James, and it’s proving the same with Jordan.
I finally realized I couldn’t do all.the.things without burning the candle at both ends, so I have asked my Mom to come back and help with Jordan so I can focus on work during “business hours” and then be more involved with my kids when I’m not working. Trying to do too many things at once is a recipe for disaster, so I’m eternally grateful that my Mom can help out some.
FITNESS
By now, I have learned that the best way to reduce my stress and feel good about myself is to exercise regularly. I aim for everyday at least 20 minutes, but the rule is “never miss two days in a row.” It’s just too much of a slippery slope! If you want to exercise daily, you have to plan for it!
I use the Get Fit Done Guide, push Jordan in the jog stroller for 20 minutes around the neighborhood, or walk on my mini treadmill while watching YouTube videos in the comfort of my own home and air-conditioning. There is really no excuse not to exercise!
I cancelled my trainer to save money, but our gyms have now reopened at 50% capacity with social distancing and extreme sanitation efforts. So, now I can schedule a group exercise class and I know that will kick my butt in the best way!
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD
I realize that there are many ways to affect change, regardless of what cause speaks most to your heart. There are plenty of issues that need our voices and resources to make the world better. I’m committed to educating myself, listening to podcasts, watching movies, reading books, engaging in meaningful conversations and learning more about policies so that I can use my vote in a positive way.
via @workingmomkind
ENJOY SUMMER!
Also, I want to enjoy the little bit of summer we have with my kids. If it goes as planned, we have two months left and it always goes so fast! Of course, we can’t be going out and doing all the things that we did last summer, but we can still have fun. We can still play and enjoy the time off of school and do fun things at home.
We love bike rides, board games, movie nights, splashing in a little pool in the backyard, cooking together and just having down time to do nothing!
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How are you feeling about the rest of the year? I think the biggest thing is to lean into the difficulties instead of resisting them. Resistance is what causes us pain and frustration. It’s been so up and down and I don’t have all the answers, but I know that when I EXHALE and trust God and try to do my own part to be the best mom, friend, and person I can be – along with planning my day and exercising – things seem to go so much better!
Do you have anything fun planned for summer? How are you planning the rest of the year? Let’s chat in the comments!
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Have a fantastic day friends!
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