Family Life Area
This post is a follow-on discussion about Life Areas is based on the 90 Day Goals In Action Planner that I wrote. It's my way of planning out goals that are realistic, time bound, and achievable.
In this post I will be sharing some of my previous goals around the Family Life Area and some resources that have helped me along the way.
So let's dive in!
What is the Family Life Area?
The Family Life Area includes your relationships with your spouse, children, parents, siblings, immediate family and other loved ones. Goals within this area may include things like:
Taking a family vacation
Monthly family dinners with extended family
Date night with your spouse
Capturing family memories on audio, photo or video
Establishing a family mission statement and set of values
Call your parents once a week, just to check in
Expand our family by welcoming a new baby (ex: pregnancy, fostering or adoption)
Marriage-related goals
Establishing family traditions
Here are some of my own personal goals from the Family Life Area over the years.
1) Have dinner with my family at least once per month
I established this goal when my daughter was an infant and we’ve kept up with it for the last 3 years. During the early months of the pandemic I really craved family time. I also wanted my daughter to form strong relationships with my mom, my siblings and my in-laws, despite being geographically separated.
So once a month we would get together for dinner. Sometimes it was at my mom’s house or my house. Other times it was at my sister-in-law’s house. Either way, we all maintained the intention to spend time together and enjoying each other’s company.
We all stayed committed to the goal because it was mutually beneficial to everyone involved. I got a little break from parenting while my daughter played with her grandma/aunt/cousins and we all enjoyed a good meal.
2) Expand our family by welcoming a new baby
I’m a planner. I love to make plans and get things done. But planning to add a new baby to the family isn’t something that I can fully control. We all know how babies are made…but they come on their own time.
My husband and I tried for ~4 months to conceive our daughter by using the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), made popular in the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I used the Kindara app to chart my cycle data and gain insights from it.
Here are some resources that helped me with this goal.
Taking Charge of Your Fertility book by Toni Weschler - This book is a very comprehensive book on women’s reproductive health, anatomy, fertility, charting and family planning. I highly recommend this read for ALL women, whether you are Trying To Conceive (TTC) or Trying to Avoid pregnancy (TTA). I’m keeping this one on my bookshelf as a resource to read and re-read as I age.
Kindara app - I used this app to track my monthly cycles and find patterns in the data. Over time, the data revealed when the most optimal time was for intercourse. It was usually a range of 2-3 days.
Hypnobirthing book by Marie Mongan - This is a fantastic resource for pregnant women as they prepare for labor and delivery. I practiced the exercises in the book during my 3rd trimester and it prepared me for my waterbirth experience. I felt so calm throughout the whole birth process and I think this book was a large contributor to that sense of peace.
3) Stay connected to my siblings even though we live in different states
My siblings and I are all grown up and no longer living in our parent’s house. We are scattered across 3 different states, so it can be logistically difficult for all of us to spend time together in-person. But we don’t let that stop us from connecting!
We have a text message group chat where we share funny memes, old family photos and jokes with each other. It’s always refreshing to see the chat messages pop up during the day because I’m reminded of how much we love and care for one another.
We also do Fantasy Football and March Madness tournaments each year. There’s no money on the line - just bragging rights. Even still, we take it very seriously. (We’re all quite competitive). It’s a fun way for us to connect over an event and have something to talk about.
Lastly, we strive to get the whole family together on major holidays like Christmas and 4th of July for some in-person family fun. We eat good food, play games and do karaoke. I always prioritize this into my annual planning because it’s so much fun to hang out with everyone.
I’m curious to hear from you!
Do you have any Family Life Area goals planned for this year? Let me know in the comments below!