20 Goals and Priorities for 2020

January 16, 2020

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Every year I look forward to sitting down and writing this post. I typically start a short list on my Notes app in the Fall as ideas for the forthcoming year come to me and then I sit down the first week of January and really think through everything I’d like to accomplish with the clean slate that is a new year. I hope you enjoy reading about my goals and priorities for 2020! My 2019 goals and priorities can be found here.

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

Meghan Donovan in Paris I wit & whimsy

2020 Goals & Priorities:

  1. Go to London during the holiday season. I can’t wait to do this! You guys know how much I love the holidays and no where seems to do it better than London. I’m planning to take some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to hop across the pond to one of my favorite cities and take in all the festive sights. *So excited*
  2. Practice my French more via Duolingo. I love practicing my French whenever I am in Paris but then I come home and I never use it. I used to be fluent after I studied abroad in Paris! I took French lessons two years ago and loved it but continuing them was hard on my schedule. To make small steps of improvement, I’d love to start practicing via Duolingo.
  3. Be more friendly to the environment. This is a big priority for me. I have some good habits in place already like bringing reusable totes to the grocery store each time, recycling everything I can, making coffee at home most days and no longer using straws when possible but this year I’d like to get a lot better at being mindful of my choices and how they affect our planet.
  4. Attempt to meditate daily. This is most likely going to be the most challenging one for me. I love meditating before bed and when I am stressed but I would love for it to be a daily practice for me. I’ve written more about my meditation journey here.
  5. Continue the pursuit of a cleaner beauty routine and overall cleaner lifestyle. Getting diagnosed with skin cancer last year forever changed my outlook and I am so glad to now be on a path to cleaner products in my daily life. Even since I first wrote about starting down the clean beauty path, I have made major strides. This year I plan to find good, natural body + hair products and I’d like my routine to be 80% clean by the end of the year. You can expect to see a lot more about clean beauty here on wit & whimsy this year.
  6. Visit my brother and sister in law in Edinburgh. This is one of the most exciting priorities on my list! My brother and sister in law have lived in Edinburgh since September 2018 and I cannot wait to visit them this Spring or Summer.
  7. Start a new workout regimen. After my skin cancer surgery I truly fell out of step with working out. I went to yoga a handful of times but gone were my 5 X week workouts and once they were gone, it was lovely to have all that extra time – ha! I know it’ll be good for my mental health to get back to prioritizing work outs this year.
  8. Experiment with more video content. Video terrifies me but I also am seeing the benefit of doing it and know how I like to watch get ready videos; travel videos; etc. This year I vow to get out of my comfort zone and begin to make a few IGTV videos.
  9. Read 20 books and continue reading self help books. This past year I read 16 books despite feeling like I hadn’t done enough reading so that felt great. This year I’d love to get to 20 but at the very least 12. I want to stop watching TV on my iPad before bed and instead opt for a few pages before I fall asleep. I’d also love to continue sprinkling in self help books. I gained a lot of perspective and patience from those I read last year (most of all this one) and already have a few of interest on my list for 2020.
  10. Go somewhere I’ve never been before and take a solo long weekend vacation with true time off. I always include the first part of this goal on every list every year and love seeing where it takes me (last year it was Australia!) The second goal will be harder as “turning off” isn’t something I do well and is also something that is incredibly hard to do when you’re self-employed. I would love to take a relaxing, disconnected solo long weekend somewhere this year to unplug and reset.
  11. Continue doing my 5 Minute Journal every week day morning. I reaped so much mental wealth from this practice last year but I fell out of the habit with all my travel in Q4. I am so excited to get back to this!
  12. Set specific goals for both my businesses. Mid-way through last year I started jotting down on my Notes app goals I had for some of the things I had been working on (Paris, Perfected; my w&w newsletter list; etc.) and it was such fun when I surpassed those goals! Knowing how I felt doing so, I’m committed to setting specific goals for both my businesses this year.
  13. Commit to more sustainability in my wardrobe. I’m working on editing my closet in a major way and want to pare back on purchases this year. (I am not shopping in the month of January and will most likely extend this into February as well.) This year I’d like to be much more intentional with my spending overall and want to work to prioritize buying less fast fashion and do more shopping at retailers that are more sustainable. I’ve also created a Wish List of things I actually, really want and will work on purchasing those bit by bit vs. buying more on impulse.
  14. Do a full home clean out. My impending move this year (*cries into pillow*) will ensure this happens but I already started it when I returned from Colorado after the holidays. I sent a bunch of bags off to ThredUp and started a pile to donate for HousingWorks. I also want to use up more of what I already own. And no buying candles this year! I have too many as-is.
  15. Carve out time for learning. I am queen of bookmarking videos and articles I want to absorb to learn and then not getting to them. It’s something that really frustrates me and so this year I really want to change this bad habit and carve out time for learning. I want to get better at SEO & Analytics in particular this year. I’d also like to ensure I am carving out time to listen to favorite podcasts.
  16. Go on another yoga retreat. I loved the quiet time and the growth I received from my first yoga retreat this past October and would love to find time to carve out out another weekend for one this year.
  17. Work smarter not harder. This is a big one for me as it was what I prioritized in 2019 and it certainly paid off in a lot of ways. I want to be more purposeful and strategic with both my businesses this year and ensure I am tracking success to ensure my efforts are being seen and rewarded. I want to go after the things I think make sense for my businesses and be better at utilizing tools at my display for measuring success.
  18. Get on board with meal planning. Lack of planning I’ve realized is my downfall when it comes to eating healthy. I bought these meal planning sheets and I’m already hooked. I’d also like to make eating decisions based on how I want to feel after vs. what I’d like to eat in the moment.
  19. Grow Paris, Perfected. The success of Paris, Perfected was easily the highlight of my 2019 and I can’t wait to see where it goes this year! I have already inked expanded partnerships with a few hotels for exclusive offerings for my clients and next month I am heading back to Paris to work with an apartment rental company for future bookings. I’m going with my photographer here in NYC, too so I cannot wait for the content we’re going to capture and the meetings I have already set up at some amazing spots to check out for potential inclusion in Paris, Perfected bookings.
  20. Be more purposeful with my time. In Q4 of last year I had no time to read or watch shows and was working around the clock yet not being as purposeful with my time as I could be. This year I want to spend a lot less time mindlessly scrolling (have already deleted Twitter from my phone to help this) and plan to have a book to read with me as much as possible.

What’s one of your goals for this year?

. . .

Anthropologie Dress // Chanel Slingbacks (look for less here) // Miansai Cuff

p.s. the most popular items on wit & whimsy last year and a look back at my 2019.

[Hana Lê Van Photography]

comments +

  1. Rakela says:

    Meghan, this post is inspiring me to set my own goals. Maybe even steal a few! I love how on #9 you say that you’d love to read 20 books but at the very least 12 – this makes it more attainable and less discouraging if you don’t get to 20. One of my goals for this year is to read one of your posts every day. I used to enjoy reading blogs every morning but then life happened and I haven’t been able to in awhile. I figure if I set out to read at least 1 post a day, it won’t feel as overwhelming and it won’t be too time consuming. Just a quick read with my morning coffee for a positive start to my day. Yours and Carly’s are my favorite blogs 🙂 Keep up the great work and thank you for always being so honest and inspirational – even if at times it may not feel so. Cheers <3

  2. Christina says:

    Even though I already made my own list, this is inspiring and motivating me to add a few items! Can’t wait to see all the wonderful things 2020 has in store for us 🙂

  3. Whitley says:

    Moving?!

  4. Melanie says:

    This is definitely helping me with ideas for goal setting! I like #13 especially – I have so many options already in my wardrobe, but I find I buy a lot of the same types of pieces and I’m still lacking things (like a good bodysuit and a versatile black skirt!). Looking more at filling in the gaps in my wardrobe this year instead of buying another t-shirt or sweater that I already have 20 of. I need to do a good cleanout so I can actually see what I have available and WANT to wear, and donate the things that I never reach for or don’t feel good in anymore. I’d love to see a post on how you decide what to keep/donate/sell/etc. and how you’re being intentional with purchases!

  5. MELANIE A says:

    Where did you go on your Yoga retreat? I just recently started reading your blog and find so much of what you say relevant for me. I have been wanting to go on a yoga retreat to try to help with my anxiety but haven’t figured out which one to do. Did you write a post about your retreat?

    • Meghan says:

      Hi Melanie! I went Upstate with a favorite teacher of mine from the studio I frequent. That’s what I would recommend you do! Going with a teacher you love who hosts retreats is the way to go!

  6. Pearl says:

    These are great and inspiring goals. With #13, do you mean sustainability as in having more timeless pieces or more sustainable brands? This got my attention because I have focused on more classic pieces in my wardrobe with good results (less shopping because my pieces never go out of style). I feel that a direction that I want to go is to include more sustainable brands, such as Everlane (very affordable!), which you have shown on your site, that are transparent with how their product is made and benefits the areas where the product is made.

  7. You should wear more red!!! I think you look stunning in it! I love the goals you set for this year and you inspire me to focus more on some of mine.
    Good luck with everything and I can’t wait to see your travels. Edinburgh is stunning (but cold) and you reminded me of my love for Australia and how bad I wanted to go there before I changed my mind and did Europe instead.
    Cheers to a great 2020!

    – Em | https://bloomingmagnoliasblog.com

  8. Bekka says:

    No candles?

  9. Love this post and it’s so inspiring. It’s such a great idea, I might steal it! ??

    The Career Edit
    http://thecareeredit.co/

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