Are you looking to better yourself this year? Here are 40 goal ideas for 2023 to help you improve your life.

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it’s already 2023, but I’m so happy that 2022 is behind me. I have so much to look forward to this year like welcoming a new baby, getting settled into the new house, and hopefully taking a vacation or two.

My goal ideas for 2023

I’m not really a New Year’s resolution girlie. I prefer to set goals because resolutions are so hard to keep.

This year, I’m keeping my goals pretty simple and I broke them out into categories to make them easier to track. I’ll try to do weekly posts on my Instagram stories to not only share my progress with you all but to help keep me accountable.

One thing I’m doing differently with goal setting this year than in previous years is letting God take the lead. I’m not making any plans without first consulting Him, especially after the way 2022 went. So just know that these goals were strategically chosen. However, I wanted to share them here with you in case you were inspired to adopt a few of them as well.

Related: 3 Things I Do Instead of Setting New Year’s Resolutions

Spiritual Goals

Daily bible reading and prayer

In order for me to believe bigger and go deeper in my relationship with God, I need to prioritize reading my Bible daily and spending time in prayer.

Tithe 10% of Income

I do a pretty good job of sending in my tithes weekly, but sometimes I do fall short. The Bible tells us to tithe 10% of our income, not because God needs it, but to help us have faith that He will indeed meet our needs.

Attend church weekly

I absolutely love attending church weekly. And I love that our church has a great kids program so that I can actually focus on the lesson being taught each week. I didn’t realize how important attending church in person was until we were forced not to due to the pandemic. Thankfully, we’re able to attend again and unless the kids or myself are ill or I’m out of town, I plan to be in church every week.

Listen to worship music more often

Worship music helps me remain focused on the promises of God. It’s so motivating and a form of therapy for me. Some of my favorite Christian artists are Maverick City Music, Hillsong Worship, Elevation Worship, and Highlands Worship.

Join a new small group

The one thing I love about my church is the small groups. I’ve been a part of two small groups in the past, but I’d also love to join a small group where I may not know anyone or maybe even start one of my own.

Personal Goals

Read 15 books

I love to read, but since having kids, I rarely make time to do so. Instead of browsing social media nightly before bed, I plan to pick up a book. I’ll be sharing my book list with you all soon. In an effort to save money this year, I’ll probably be renting most of them from the library (if they are available) or listening to them during my commute into the office three days a week via the Hoopla app for free.

Monthly Self Care

Last year, I was finally honest with myself and realized that I wasn’t putting myself first. My life revolved around being a mom and a wife, and I only thought of myself once everyone else’s cup was full. That changes now though. I am determined to do a monthly self-care activity whether that’s with a hair appointment, simply saying ‘No’, or spending an entire Saturday afternoon on the couch.

Wake up at 5 am

I’m not a morning person, but I know I need to be especially since baby number three will be making his or her entrance next month. Creating a morning routine is basically necessary at this point. I can’t afford to press snooze multiple times or wake up 30 minutes before it’s time to leave to take the kids to school and/or head into work. If you have any tips that have worked for you, leave them in the comments or DM me on Instagram. At this point, I’m desperate.

Adopt a New Hobby

Piggybacking off prioritizing a monthly self-care activity, I also want to adopt a new hobby. I’m still researching to figure out what it will be, but I want something that I can call my own whether that is knitting, baking, skating, learning a new language, or photography. I want to discover something new to make my life fun again.

Create a capsule wardrobe

A few years ago, I attempted to create a capsule wardrobe, but I started back shopping once we were all stuck in quarantine due to the pandemic. I’m an aspiring minimalist at heart and having a curated set of clothes that mixes and matches together is so freeing. There are so many other benefits of having a capsule wardrobe, but getting space back and limiting the amount of laundry are two that I’m most excited about.

Marriage Goals

Bi-weekly date night

Date night is such a fun way to connect with your spouse. And it doesn’t always need to be away from the house either. At-home date nights are perfect especially once the kids are in bed if you don’t have a babysitter. The more creative you can get the better. The goal is to simply spend time with each other after all.

Weekly relationship check-ins

Marriage is absolutely beautiful, but it’s hard work. In 2022, my marriage was tested, but we’re working towards making it on the other side. One of the things we plan to be very intentional about this year is improving our communication with weekly check-ins.

At least 1 couple’s vacation

There’s nothing like spending uninterrupted time with your spouse. And what better way to do that than in another town or on the beach?

Related: Why you should travel with your spouse

Respect each other’s love language

My husband and I learned each other’s love language in pre-marital counseling. It’s important that we love our spouses in the way that they like to be loved, not in the way we like to be loved. Do you know your partner’s love language?

More physical intimacy

As moms, we’re usually touched out at the end of the night. But, it’s still important that we physically show our spouse how much we appreciate them. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t only include sex either. You can display physical intimacy through hugs, kisses, holding hands, or even cuddling on the couch while watching a movie.

Financial Goals

Establish a 3-month emergency fund

We closed on our new home right before Thanksgiving last year, and our expenses have increased. I’ll feel a lot more secure if our emergency fund equals closer to three months because with homeownership, something could go left at any moment and I’d rather us be prepared.

Related: How to Budget for Beginners

Pay off student loans

Our good brother Joe Biden has promised that we’ll be seeing relief from the burden of student loans, but at this rate, it doesn’t look to promising. We haven’t made any progress towards paying off my husband’s student loans since they have been in forbearance, but this year, I want to start back making snowball payments to get them gone. Even with the relief, we’ll still owe about $8,000 so we’ll have a bit of a head start. I’m looking forward to the day that we can delete them from our debt tracker.

Reach $100K in my 401K

As of now, I have about $60,000 in my 401k. Historically, between my contributions and the employer match, my yearly contributions are around $30,000. As long as the market stays on the rise, I should be able to reach this goal. I may need to make a small one-time contribution when I get my bonus or towards the end of the year though to stay on track.

Have 100 No Spend Days

My financial goals are mostly centered around saving and paying off debt. In order to do so, I’ll need to cut back spending in other areas. I’ve had quite a bit of success doing no-spend days in the past, so I plan to bring this back this year. In order to reach this goal, I’ll need to do one “No Spend Week” each month, which is definitely doable. Let me know if this is something you’d like me to track in stories so that you all can join in as well.

Clear out Consumer Debt

Ultimately, my goal is to be debt free. This is definitely a stretch goal for 2023, but I’m writing it out so that I can get as close to being debt free this year as possible. And when I say debt free, I’m referring to clearing out all our consumer debt with the exception of our mortgage.

Business Goals

Make $50K

2021 was my first year as a content creator, and I made a little over $10,000. Last year, I worked maybe half the year and secured nearly $20,000 in brand deals. This year, my goal is to have fun and keep my head in the game no matter what with the goal of making $50,000. I may start tracking my monthly income here on the blog in the spirit of transparency and for a look into how much nano influencers make.

Post 4 Blogs a Month

Creating content and writing brings me so much joy. I plan to start back writing more this year. It’s also a form of therapy for me. So be on the lookout for new blog posts on Sundays and Wednesdays every week. Now that I have that in writing, you all will have to keep me accountable, okay?

Attend 1 Conference or tradeshow

Last year, I attended my first tradeshow as a Millennial Mom Blogger, and I plan to attend either a tradeshow or a conference again this year. It was so much fun connecting with brands and seeing the new products up close and personal.

Have a Quarterly Photoshoot

In an effort to stay consistent, I need to make sure I have content readily available to share with you all. I already have a few photoshoots in the works — maternity and newborn photoshoots — but I want to add in a few lifestyle branding photoshoots and maybe a few with the family as well if the littles will cooperate.

Decorate the Office

As previously mentioned, we just moved into a new house and we have finally have space to create an office/creative studio, and I’m so excited. I have a few other home projects that’ll take priority, but I want to start planning out the layout. Be on the lookout for an office decor wishlist soon.

Family Goals

Take two family vacations

Traveling with kids is hard, and I definitely do not recommend it if you want to relax. But, I want my kids to experience life outside of our city. Their first upcoming school break is Spring Break, but I’ll be a few weeks postpartum so we may need to wait until summer to take our first trip. We’ve been dying to get to Great Wolf Lodge since we had to cancel last year due to the entire family catching COVID, so maybe we can plan to go there once school gets out.

Attend a Monthly Local Activity

Traveling may be high on the list, but there is so much to do right here in our backyard as well. A lot of the local events and activities are free too. I’m excited to get back out and explore all that the city has to offer.

Have Weekly “Fun Friday”

I want to dedicate Fridays to at-home family night. There is so much that we can do to have fun right at home from playing games or watching movies to making homemade pizzas. We can even incorporate holiday-themed activities.

Spend 1,000 Hours Outside

1,000 hours outside is a movement. I came across this concept a few years ago on Instagram, and I was intrigued. Today, our kids spend a lot of time indoors watching tv or playing on some type of electronic device. But, I want to change that by either going to the park, playing in the backyard, attending a local outdoor festival, hiking, etc.

Read Books Nightly before Bed

There are so many benefits to reading to kids. I think we do a pretty good job of reading at night before bed, but I want to make it a habit to do so every night.

Professional Goals

Get a Promotion

I absolutely love my full-time job. I work as an Email Marketer in the financial services industry, and I’ve been in my current position for about four years, but I’m ready to move to the next level of my career. I feel like I’m outgrowing my role and I’m ready for new challenges and new opportunities to continue to learn and grow.

Increase my Yearly Salary

With a promotion, typically comes a salary increase. Fingers crossed that the increase is at least 30 percent of my current salary not including my yearly bonus or benefits.

Attend 1 conference

In 2018, I attended an email marketing conference and it was so fun being in the room with so many like-minded individuals while learning about the future state of email marketing. I’ll be out a good chunk of the year on maternity leave, but I’d love to sneak in a conference before the year ends even if it’s virtual.

Becomes Salesforce Certified

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is one of the leaders of the email marketing world, and I’d love to enhance my current skills and become Salesforce certified. Again, I’ll be out for a bit this year, but if I put my head down, I think I’ll have enough time to get this done.

Take on a leadership role

Taking on a leadership role at work will help push me out of my comfort zone and help me network with others not only in the company but in the industry as well. This will also help me secure the promotion I’m hoping to achieve this year.

Fitness/Health Goals

Lose 30 lbs

Surprisingly, I haven’t gained much weight this pregnancy. In fact, I’ve lost about 15 pounds due to stress. But I would love to lose at least 30 more pounds this year. My stretch goal will be to lose 50.

Limit processed foods

Processed foods is so convenient, but it’s not always the best option. I want to be a bit more intentional about the foods that I’m consuming. Simply put, I want to make healthier food choices.

Move at least 30 minutes a day

This is easy on the days that I’m at the office because I’m moving around constantly. The days that I work from home — not so much. Luckily my Apple Watch reminds me to move occasionally throughout the day to help me reach this goal.

Practice yoga

Before I had Jade, I practiced yoga one or two times a week. Sometimes more. Then, I did prenatal yoga until I physically couldn’t anymore before giving birth to her. And then I completely stopped. I dappled in it a little here and there since and I even did a few prenatal classes at the start of my pregnancy, but I want to get back at it consistently. Hmm maybe my new hobby can be to become a certified yoga instructor and start teaching classes.

Complete a quarterly fast

My first fast of the year starts next Sunday. I’m still praying about what I should give up for 21 days, but I’m excited to use this opportunity to hear from God. I’ll also use that time to help me choose my word of the year. Maybe I’ll blog about my daily experience.

Related: How to Choose a Word of the Year

Whoa, that ended up being way longer than I expected, and if you made it to the end, you are the real MVP. But now you have a look into how I plan to improve my life this year. Hopefully, you’ve also been inspired to set a few goals for 2023 as well.

Do you prefer to set goals or resolutions for the New Year?