It has been exactly one month of being a mother to two. We have been so busy that time flew by. I suddenly realize that without intentionality, their entire childhoods will pass in a blur. Because of this, I want to focus on balance in the new year. Specifically, I want to balance my roles as mother, partner, dentist, writer, and a healthy individual. I want to be present in all these roles. I also want to divvy my time (especially between both kids) in a fair way. As if this wasn’t difficult enough, I hope for a semblance of individuality. My personal goals include staying fit and healthy, expanding my career while finding time for self-care and me-time. I believe the Roterunner Planner is the perfect tool for carving this intentionality in 2025. In this post, I highlight why the Roterunner Planner works for me.
The Roterunner planner helps identify my purpose, tie it to action and achieve my dream life.
I want to define my purpose via roles. In my planner, I identified my primary roles to include mother, partner, dentist, writer and healthy individual. The planner helped me establish my “WHY” for each role. It also helped me pin down goals for the next 6 months. I brainstormed weekly and daily actions in order to reach these goals. Breaking down goals into actions is a crucial step in execution and productivity. I reference my roles pages when I feel overwhelmed. It will help me focus on what’s important based on my values.
As a mother…
I want to be present for this fleeting period of time. I have only a few years before they spend a majority of their days at school, with friends, or doing activities. Establishing a connection with each of them in the early stages is a main goal. I want to create core memories in an environment that is both safe and exciting. Daily actions include having dinner every night, neighborhood walks, bedtime stories, and docking the phone at home. Weekly activities include cooking together, slow Sundays, and one-on-one time with each kid so they feel special. Once a month, I would like to volunteer at the farm and take them to Disneyland using our pass. I also personally plan to read one developmental or parenting book in order to increase my parenting IQ.
As a partner…
I want to keep the closeness I had with Mike prior to having kids. My partner is the one person in my life that I CHOSE. I didn’t choose the family I was born into or the kids I am given. But Mikey is my choice, and I think a great partner chooses the same person every day. Together, we make the backbone and foundation of our family. I want it to be a strong one. We can do this by discovering things together, have moments of laughter, and make memories, just us two. Our best moments are when we travel, when we are playful, and when we have new experiences. My biggest fault is when I keep tabs on how much each person has done. Instead of calculating equality, I think it is better to quantify fairness based on our strengths and personalities. Another mom told me that fairness does not mean necessarily mean equal. Daily actions include dedicating night time after the kids go to sleep to ourselves. Spending time outdoors is a great way for us to relax, so hikes and walks should be frequent. We do a weekly date night without the kids that entails trying a new establishment. And every month, we do check-ins that cover personal, financial, parental and spiritual goals. We plan to travel with the kids internationally once a year, but vacation just us two twice a year.
My role as a dentist is for others…
I like to help people. Plus expanding my skills feels rewarding, not just in dentistry but also in business management. I think having kids has made me into a more efficient and empathetic dentist. At the same time, my management skills are useful when running the household. It is also important for me to make money and to contribute to my family financially. Lastly, my job allows me to connect with others and have adult relationships outside my home. Daily actions include dedicating a few days a week to my job. And I have a goal of doing a Continuing Education course every month.
Writing is just for me…
Writing helps process information, organizes thoughts and feelings, and gives me an avenue for creativity. This is probably going to be the hardest thing to cling to. Of all the roles, this will be the lowest priority. But it helps me stay grounded and happy. So it is important. I have a daily goal of writing for 30 minutes every morning before the family wakes up. And I plan to use my Roterunner planner to write about next month’s goals and reflect on the previous month. The Roterunner planner is a great way to organize thoughts and keep me on track with my habit of writing.
Lastly, I plan to be a healthy individual…
I want to eat well and Roterunner’s weekly meal planner will help me visualize what I eat. I also want to sleep at least 8 hours a day, and the weekly sleep tracker will motivate me. Although it seems impossible, I want to get a workout in three times a week. At least one cardio and one HIIT workout a week sounds good. But the most vital part of the weekly planner is the section titled ‘NOT-TO-DO LIST’. Saying NO helps me with the mental load. I also like that there is a section for Acts of Kindness. Self-care reminders will be entered in this box.
Habits
If you’ve been following me a while, you know I am big on habits. These are the 5 habits I do every day to grow. I think the habit tracker on the weekly pages will be great to keep me inspired. For 2025, some habits on my mind include:
- Exercise 3 times a week
- Write for 30 minutes five days a week
- Make do without
- Eat meals as a family together
- Bedtime routines including bedtime stories and after-dinner walks instead of TV
- Weekly performance evaluation at work for me and my staff
- Weekly date nights and monthly check-ins with Mike
- Write a to-do list the night before
- Dedicate morning routines to myself
- Time blocks and limit multi-tasking
Self-Care
There is no intentional life without self-care. The Roterunner Planner has a self-care checklist at the back of the book. But on all the weekly pages, there’s a section for acts of kindness. I think it is important to be kind to ourselves. Letting go of my roles and responsibilities once in a while is crucial to balance. I need to be flexible. There is also a section for “TO BUY” which I plan to use as a reward system for myself. We work so hard every day, it is important to reward ourselves too. Carving grace into the every day is my mantra for 2025. Because being a working mother to two kids is hard. While I have high expectations for the Roterunner planner, I must also be realistic. It’s a tool for intentional living. But life has to be sustainable too. This is my reminder to all mamas out there that we do the best we can. And we are doing a great job.
I sincerely hope you all have a wonderful 2025. And if you need a planner, I would definitely try the Roterunner planner. You can get it on their website or on Amazon. It is good for 6 months, so you can pivot mid-year if it isn’t for you. But after reviewing many planners, I am positive that this is the best out there for my needs. I have both the soft-cover and the hard-cover B5 planner. I like the B5 more because it has more prompts and tools. I bought the planner in tan, but there are many color options to choose from. They also have notebooks that fit nicely in my purse for note-taking. And they have erasable colored pens that come with refills too. They’ve thought of it all!
