doulajohannaWelcome back to the Doula Johanna Podcast! I hope you had wonderful holidays with your loved ones and that you’re now enjoying the first few days of the new year. I love using this time of year to be extra kind to myself, reflect on the past year—its highlights and its challenges—and practice the Wheel of Life exercise to set goals for the year ahead. Today, I want to invite you to do this with me.
The main reason I started this podcast is because, over the past few years of working as a doula and having another baby, I noticed how rarely we focus on ourselves. The only time we seem to be extra intentional about our habits, diet, and rest is when we’re pregnant. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I truly believe we deserve that level of care and attention even when we’re not growing a baby inside us.
It’s wonderful to have a doula during the perinatal period, but wouldn’t it be amazing if we had someone looking out for our well-being and empowerment at every stage of life? I’m not naturally great at prioritizing myself, which is why I created this podcast—not just for you, but for me as well. Sharing a practice or tool each week that I use to be my own life doula helps me stay intentional, and I hope it inspires you to treat yourself with the same respect and compassion.
Setting Goals for the New Year
Let’s dive into setting goals for 2025! This year, I’ve adjusted my Wheel of Life categories slightly. Here are the ones I’m using:
- Job and Career
- Finances
- Family (I separated this from Friends because I feel family deserves its own category.)
- Health and Body
- Personal Growth
- Physical Environment
- Fun, Friends, and Adventure
- Marriage (or Romantic Relationship)
Feel free to adjust these categories to fit your needs.
This year, my Wheel of Life looked very different from any other year. For the first time, I had one category rated as a 10 and another as a 5. Let me walk you through them.
My Ratings for 2025
10: Physical Environment
Finding a house to rent in Munich still feels like winning the lottery. I’m so grateful for this home, and every time I look out of the living room window into the backyard, I feel an overwhelming sense of joy. It’s something I dreamed about for years, and now that it’s here, I can’t stop smiling.
9: Fun, Friends, and Adventure & Job and Career
Last year, after reading The Power of Fun, I made a conscious effort to bring more fun into my life—and it worked! I’m also intentional about seeing my friends regularly. Although there’s always room for more, I feel deeply grateful for the incredible women in my life and the time we spend together.
Job and Career also feel great right now. The balance between my part-time university job, which is familiar and secure, and my freelance doula work is perfect for me. I’m so thankful for my supportive boss and the flexibility of being my own boss.
8: Marriage & Personal Growth
I’m so thankful for my husband—for his love, support, and the way he continues to adore me after 14 years together. He still lights up when he sees me, and that’s something I don’t take for granted. While we both work hard on our relationship, the demands of work and family life sometimes leave us without enough time for each other. This is an area I know we can improve.
Personal Growth also feels better than last year. I’ve gotten better at saying no and making time for stillness to listen to my heart. I’m especially proud of taking the first steps toward becoming an end-of-life doula—a journey I’ll share more about in next week’s episode.
7: Health and Body
Even though I stay active with Cantienica exercises and biking, I haven’t been as attentive to my body as I’d like. My diet has slipped over the past few months, and I can feel the difference. When I run to catch a bus, it takes ages to regulate my breathing. This is definitely an area for improvement.
5: Finances
Finances are my lowest-rated category this year. Although I’ve improved my financial literacy, the reality of our situation feels heavy. With two kids in Montessori school and a third in daycare, money is tight. If either of us lost our jobs—which, thankfully, is unlikely—our savings wouldn’t last a month. This is something I’m determined to work on in the year ahead.
Creating Goals
If you’d like to do the Wheel of Life exercise, pause this podcast now and fill it out yourself. I’ll include a picture of the Wheel of Life I use in the blog post for this episode on my website.
Next, write down about three goals for each category. For me, this part is easy because I have so many dreams! The hard part is narrowing them down to 3–5 high-priority goals, which I mark with an asterisk (*).
Here are my high-priority goals for 2025:
- Go on a monthly date with my husband.
- Take training to become a hospice volunteer.
- Create a six-month emergency fund.
- Podcast every week.
- Build a terrace in the backyard.
Prioritizing with the Eisenhower Matrix
To organize my goals, I use the Eisenhower Matrix. This involves dividing a page into four squares:
- Urgent & Important
- Not Urgent & Important
- Urgent & Not Important
- Not Urgent & Not Important
Most of my goals fall under Urgent & Important: monthly date nights, creating an emergency fund, and podcasting regularly.
Becoming a hospice volunteer is important but not urgent. Building a terrace isn’t urgent or crucial, but it’s still on my list because I know it will bring me joy.
One Thing
Finally, I commit to one focus area for my private life and one for my business. For my personal life, my “one thing” is making date nights happen because I believe a strong marriage benefits the whole family.
For my business, it’s podcasting every week. Even as a beginner, this brings me so much joy and excitement. I believe it will open new doors and deepen my connection with myself and my audience.
What about you? Will you take time for yourself and get curious about your dreams? What’s your “one thing” this year? I’d love to hear from you—feel free to share your thoughts!
