I always loved the start of a new school year as a student. I think I loved it even more as a teacher. Now, as a mom, I find myself absorbing my own children’s excitement as we shop for new backpacks and freshly sharpened pencils. The energy is so fresh and inspiring! I like to use this time of the year as a reset, a mini-new year, a reevaluation of my goals. I take it as a jumpstart to accomplish some goals just for me before the end of the calendar year.
My biggest intention upon entering into the new school year is to structure my health goals and habits more.
This summer was fun—and we were relaxed about dinners and meal planning. We indulged while on vacation. All things that summer should be! But now it’s time for the kids to go on new learning adventures and for this mama to dive into some lessons in self-care. This year I will have two out of three kiddos in full-time school. It’s a little weird to realize that but it offers glimpse at some new pockets of time during the day when these goals can be achieved.
Back-to-School Mom Goals
1. Meal Planning
I LOVE meal planning (if you follow my personal Instagram account you know this!). It anchors my week and gives me a sense of stability knowing what we have in the fridge and what can be made. I don’t always stick to the exact schedule, but knowing that I have a game plan going into the week has always made me feel good. I want to not only consistently plan dinners this fall (already a well-established habit!), but I want to get into a routine for breakfast and lunch packing as well. Possibly add in a prep day on the weekend to batch bake muffins or some sort of breakfast item that will make busy weekday mornings run more smoothly.
2. Fitness
I have always been able to get in consistent movement throughout my days (chasing around little kids will do that!), but I want to take time this fall to try some new workouts. There’s a new gym being built in my neighborhood I could check out. Or tackle a 30-day fitness challenge. Maybe even a 5k (or two?). I am a happier person, a more intentional parent, and more productive with my days when I plan my workouts and stick to the plan. I want to add mapping out my workouts to my weekly planning time to make sure they happen.
3. Mental Health
This is a goal because mental health IS HEALTH. I typically go to therapy once a month, which is a great check-in, but I want to make sure I am journaling regularly (going to implement the use of a habit tracker for this) and to dive into a few new non-fiction self-help books. On my nightstand I have Atomic Habits, Do Less, Try Softer, and What Happened to You?, all books I hope will be beneficial deep dives into self-care and self-help.
4. General Health
Dentist, doctor, annual exams, oh my! This is the time of year where all of the check-ins with my own health are necessary and important. I want to make sure I get them all on the calendar and stick to them. As moms, we make sure to schedule our kiddos well visits, but we have to keep up with our own as well—as tempting as it may be to push them off the calendar (medical anxiety is real!). In addition to these appointments, I want to get back on track with going to bed at a consistent time each night and tracking my water consumption throughout the day (I love this water reminder app!).
{Read More: How to do Self-Care When Your World is on Fire}
5. Spiritual Health
It can be really hard to make time for prayers and practices in deepening my faith at the end of the day. So often, I let my to-do list take precedence, and then I find myself crawling in bed and falling asleep before I can utter a word of prayer. Or, more often than not, my brain would rather veg out than anything else. I would love to make it a habit to do some simple morning prayer time every day (5 minutes or less), visit my church’s chapel once a month, and attend a weekly bible study.
These goals seem lofty, but I think writing them out and posting them for you all to read and see has already made me more excited than daunted to try and accomplish them! Do you have any goals on your mind as we send our kids to school this fall? I would love to hear what you would like to accomplish to get back to yourself as your kids get back to the books!
