Goal Set With Me: The Daily 10 Healthy Habits Checklist

Today, I thought I’d continue my thoughts on healthy habits goal-setting by sharing my SMART goals for “The Daily 10” healthy habits I’ve established as goals to accomplish each day (at least on Mondays through Fridays, anyway). The goals are based on the 10 items below:

And here are my 10 daily SMART goals for the above basic goals:

1. SMART goal for water consumption – I will drink more water for healthy body maintenance by increasing my intake to at least 32 ounces (4 cups) daily.
2. SMART goal for sleep – I will increase the amount of sleep I’m getting each night for optimal mental and bodily functioning by adhering to an 11:00p bedtime schedule during the weekdays (Monday thru Friday). I will wake up around 4:00a in the mornings to see my husband off to work and then lay back down for another 2 hours to get in a total of approximately 7 hours of sleep before having to get my son up and ready for school.
3. SMART goal for exercising – I will exercise to strengthen my heart by walking in the mornings or afternoons (around my neighborhood when the weather allows for 5 days out of the week (Monday thru Friday) for 30 to 45 minutes a day. During the Fall/Winter seasons or when the weather is uncooperative, I’ll perform the “Fitness Blender” home workout routines in place of the walking.
4. SMART goal for using natural cleaning agents – I will use salt, baking soda, and/or vinegar (daily) in place of harsh chemicals for activities such as brushing teeth, washing clothes, cleaning off groceries, cleaning floors, and cleaning household appliances and fixtures.
5. SMART goal for eating fruits and vegetables – I will eat (at least) five servings of raw fruits and vegetables a day (to be spread out throughout the various meals of the day).
6. SMART goal for voicing my love for someone – I will say the words, “I love you” to one or more loved ones every day.
7. SMART goal for waking up thankful – I will pray every morning (right after I wake up) and include what I’m thankful for in the prayer.
8. SMART goal for going to sleep thankful – I will pray every evening (before going to bed) and include what I’m thankful for in the prayer.
9. SMART goal for an “attitude of gratitude” – I will recite out loud at least 10 things that I’m grateful for and will repeat these same sentiments, periodically throughout the day. 
10. SMART goal for working toward goals – I will work on completing tasks for my Degrees of Maternity blog, Degrees of Maternity Etsy shop, and/or Degrees of Maternity social media accounts (Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube) daily on Monday through Friday. 

Now, I want to mention the following 5 observations that I’ve made, regarding my healthy habits SMART goals:

• Some goals (especially the ones in which I consistently struggle with) are outlined in more of a detailed way, while the others are a little more broad-based (but still SMART) and identify the areas in which I have more freedom in how I choose to accomplish them.
• Some goals are quite natural for me to do and will be effortless in performing on a daily basis, while the others are going to take some time before I’ll be able to successfully perform them consistently.
• All the goals are realistic and achievable. There’s not a one in the bunch that is outside of my reach. 
• All the goals are for the betterment of overall health and are goals that anyone can adopt, so they’re universal in nature and can be participated in by all.
• All these goals are meant to be engaged in for life. Once I’ve mastered these 10, then they’ll simply become part of my natural daily routine. And next, I’ll be ready to focus on a “New Daily 10”.

Lastly, I thought I’d share with you my checklist process for the healthy habits. 

Instead of only creating a paper checklist with boxes to check off as I complete my goals for the day, I thought I’d put my monthly/weekly planner to good use and house my SMART goals to-do list as well as my corresponding check boxes for completion. I’ll simply place a check mark next to the number for the SMART goal completed each day. 1 = the water goal, 2 = the sleep goal, 3 = the exercise goal and so on. Here’s what my checklist looks like:

In conclusion, since this first week was a little rough in getting into the healthy swing of things, I’ll share my experiences with my goals for the first two weeks next week. I’m really hoping I see more progress in week 2 and can report more success stories to balance out the dud of a week 1 I ended up having. 

Healthy Habiting, I’m here to stay!