I’m writing this piece as a mom of two years: a time relatively short or long for experience, depending on one’s perspective. I believe that two years is long enough for me to evaluate what’s working and what’s not with the way I parent my daughter. A little change in time for the new year is not so bad after all, right?

Here are five things I plan to do to up my parenting game this 2025:

Sundays are meant for rest. Looking back, I feel so guilty about turning many Sundays into “pre-workday” so I can somehow get ahead of my tasks for the week. Unsurprisingly, because I start my work week early, I’d also crave for rest and relaxation early in the week, leaving me jaded and tired as I crawl my way to the weekend.

Just recently, my husband, daughter, and I spent a very slow Sunday at home. It was so refreshing that I realized how much I missed it! We ate our breakfast without being pressured by any schedule, and we took on chores as the day unfolded. We did not set any tasks for the day aside from eat more, sleep more, and bond more here at home – an answered prayer I fail to notice when I cram my Sundays with work or going out.

This year, I’ll let Sundays be Sundays – a day of rest and reset, and not a day of work.

Instead of actually working on a Sunday, I can spend a few minutes of Sunday night listing down my big rocks for the week instead. For the past year, I plan on a daily basis, something that is largely based on my toddler’s unpredictable daily schedule.

I figured out fairly recently that seeing my priorities for the entire week can work its magic; on days that my hands are freer to take more tasks for work, I can tackle the big rocks for the week so the other days are much lighter.

This year, I’ll prepare weekly schedules for me to see bigger pictures while being mindful of not overwhelming myself.

I’m such a huge overthinker. Not that I’m proud of it, but I realized I haven’t actively taken a step to overcome it. Overthinking kills not just my time, but also my productivity. It paralyzes me to the point of not finishing any meaningful tasks, or settling with a mediocre performance – whether for work or for parenting – for the day. I stay in my bubble until a pressing issue calls my attention and makes me overthink anew.

As a mom, I can’t afford to succumb to overthinking anymore. While it’s true that a mom’s worry is never-ending, it’s just not fair for me and the people around me that my energy is consumed by an unhelpful activity. My child deserves a present mom, and I must make sure to conquer overthinking by praying, moving, and connecting with people more.

This year, I’ll take steps to make my mind a healthy soil for ideas to grow.

Allow me to say that I’ve always been a very private person. I love small circles and I choose when to say things and what things to say. There’s nothing wrong with being one, but my being private has been tolerating my overthinking.

As a mom, I need to hear other perspectives and views too. When I choose to not connect, I do save my energy but I also limit myself to hear valuable human stories that will help me challenge the principles I hold dear. How will I ever know if I’m doing things right or if I’m being too hard on my kid if I stay inside my bubble?

This year, I’ll exert effort to build deeper relationships with people so I can grow more as a mom.

I always love defining myself as a mom, that when I was recently asked what my career plans are for the year ahead, I found it so hard to answer. So I thought, why can’t I even answer a simple question about my career path, when before I could easily provide an answer to that?

It turns out, I have deeply immersed myself in motherhood that I cannot define myself outside of it any longer. I will always be a mom, but now is a season in my life that I am also an author and an editor, a public speaker and a teacher. I will not be in those roles forever, and it’s important for me to also nourish myself outside motherhood so I don’t burn out and I can give my best self to my daughter.

This year, I will take charge of who I am within and outside motherhood.

What about you, Moms? What is your goal for yourself this year? Share them with us in the comments below!