I can’t hardly believe it’s already February!! Does anyone else feel like January just went zooming by, or did I miss something?! I will have to tell you, I’ve been feeling a little “goal guilty” around here.  Normally, I’d have all my goals for the new year listed out and written down somewhere before the new year was even rung in…however, that’s not the case this year! Honestly, I haven’t been as much of a “goal digger” has I’ve been in the past! It’s because I’ve realized how unintentional some of my goals that I had made for myself actually were! I was doing things and setting these unrealistic goals for myself which I knew I would never be able to achieve in a month or year’s time and I would find myself, at the end of the year feeling frustrated that I wasn’t able to cross it off my list.

Do you ever jot something on your list that you may have already done, just so you could get the thrill of marking through it?! That was me. All the time.

This year is going to be different! This year, I’ve made it a priority to actually set INTENTIONAL goals, ones that I’ll actually be able to work towards and tend to throughout the year.   I’m not in trying to make my life busier, or to set myself up for failure. I don’t want to create more of those lists where I’m just writing things down to fool my mind when I can cross right thought it.   I’m simply trying to create a life path with intentional goals that can help me live with purpose instead of just living for the to-do list.

One way I’ve done this is by purchasing Powersheets and ACTUALLY using them! I must admit…at first, they were a bit scary! Especially since I had never used them before! I was more afraid of making such a pretty book LOOK bad with my horrible handwriting and less than perfect words.  Funny thing is, on the very first page it even says “maybe you’re afraid to let your pen touch this paper because you want to put down the perfect words.” That shock me! How did a book KNOW ME SO WELL on the very FIRST PAGE!?! So I took its advice and just dug in and 65 pages later, I have set up some meaningful and intentional goals for myself for 2018! I’m very excited to share some of them with you…and they might just surprise you! They aren’t your “typical” goals!

One of my goals for 2018 (and for the rest of my life!) is to strengthen my marriage.  This means that I will love my husband more and spend my time with him that’s intentional time, and not waste it.  We will plan to go on more dates and spend more time with each other, even if that just means a movie and pizza on the living room couch.  Phones away, nothing to distract us.  Just one on one time with the one I love.  It also means to put his needs before mine, and the business.  So many times I’ve let him go to bed alone or watch TV after dinner alone because I’ve been back in my office too distracted with work.  I want that to change and I’ve had enough of it. I hate myself for being “that wife” who has so many times put her career before her husband.  It’s not that I want to give up or that I don’t enjoy what I do, it’s just that I need to find a healthy balance between the two and not let one outweigh the other.

Another goal of mine for 2018 is to invest in our future and become a better money manager.  I’m not the best at saving money…I like to spend it too much! Phillip is the EXACT opposite! He is quite a saver…and although sometimes I hate to admit it…if it wasn’t for him…we’d go broke with my spending at TJ Maxx and Homegoods!! For 2018, my goal is to become intentional with money and to stop buying frivolous things that I definitely don’t need.  I have got EVERYTHING I could want, plus more! I’m wanting to start saving that money to put towards our bigger financial goals, like building a house, owning lots of land, possibly starting an event venue, our kids, and retirement.

Lastly, another goal for 2018 is to strengthen my relationships with my family, friends, and industry peers.  This means I’ve got to have a better work-life balance.  I always find myself putting things off or saying ‘no’ to people who matter to me because I have to work, or I have one more email to answer, or one more post to make.  This year…I’m just saying no to all of that.  I’m saying YES to spending more time with the people that I love and cherish, and less time stressing over things that won’t matter to me when I’m 80! What WILL matter is how strong my relationships are with families and friends.  THAT will matter, and THAT is what I’m going to invest more of my time in. Sure, blogging and instagramming are important to my business and career…but I’m no longer going to put my life on hold or my family and friends through heartache just so I can keep working.  There’s more important things out there than the latest post, friends, and I’m so happy that I’ve discovered this now instead of years down the road with lots of lost memories behind me!

Here’s a little peek at my February To-Do List:

Business-

• Create a Portrait Collection Pricing guide to send to inquiring portrait clients.
• Fully integrate Honeybook into my entire system for both wedding and portrait clients.
• Re-Organize Office and update framed prints.
• Schedule and organize promo video and editorial shoot.
• Design and order album for 2017 wedding work.

 

Personal-

• +Plant orchid in fishbowl for dining room table
• +Sand and refinish top of dining room table
• +Clean out closet and dresser
• +Find rug for hallway
• +Prints for gallery wall

 

So what are your goals for 2018? Do you have a to-do list in place for the month of February?  Have you ever used the Powersheets before?! Let me know if this post resonates with you and what you think! I would love to hear it! Best of luck for the rest of your February as well as your 2018! I hope it’s filled with intention and meaningful goals! Go get ‘em, goal digger!