Call them resolutions, call them goals, call them what you will; but I’m a big believer in sitting down at the end of one year, taking stock of your accomplishments, and looking forward to the year ahead. I’ve been thinking about the things I hope to accomplish and improvements I’d like to make since about October, these are the goals I decided on:
Goals for 2018
- Utilize a planner. I mentioned above how scheduling, planning, and automating made things easier for me last year. Moving from a structured part-time job into being full time with MotionWorks makes me a *little* nervous that I’m going to waste time (or be so overwhelmed by the time I have and the tasks that need to be done that I accomplish nothing, which is totally a thing with me). I’m a serious Google calendar fan, and that isn’t going anywhere, but the rest of my life is ruled by random post-it notes, lists on my phone, and a little notebook that gets left in my car more often than it should. I’m going to try to move all of those lists to a planner. I spent a good part of December searching for the right one, found something that I think will work for me, and I’m going to try and use it.
- Spend more time with my creative community. The thing I disliked the most about having my part-time job was having no time for people outside of my family. I’m kicking of 2018 spending time at the AKP Retreat (talking about SEO, high five to all my fellow google geeks!) and then hopping on over to New Orleans for the Rising Tide Leaders conference, which I’ll get to enjoy with my co-leader, Allison from Paper Hearts Invitations. When I come back to West Virginia, I plan on hosting a co-working event at Studio 206 each Monday. I’m a hardcore introvert, and if left to my own devices I will squirrel away and work until I forget how to talk to other people (not that I’m awesome at it anyway). Not going to let that happen.
- Focus on fitness. This one will likely be the hardest for me. But if I can learn to like water in 2017, I can do this in 2018. I also made sure to select things that I already do and enjoy doing to set more routine goals around them. My goals are to attend 1 yoga class each week (the yoga studio is literally about 50 yards from my studio. There’s no reason not to go regularly). And…..I’m going to try to walk to work some. I know that’s totally vague, but I’m not a glutton for punishment. I’m not going to walk in the rain or when it’s bitter cold. Our studio is an easy 10-15 walk from our house. If I lived in any big city in America, I wouldn’t consider getting there any other way. But people simply don’t do that here in Appalachia, so it’s going to feel weird until I get in the habit of doing it. For better or worse, the older you get, the less you care what other people think of you, and now that I’m 40, I have a decently healthy reserve of DGAF. I also love what walking does to my brain; it’s when I feel like I have my best thoughts.
- Take my sleep more seriously. I love listening to podcasts, and I think just about everyone one of my favorites has had an episode sharing the science behind sleep and the consequences of not getting enough of it. You don’t get it back, and you can’t make it up. I’d like to be cognizant well into my older years, so I’m going to start taking my sleep more seriously now. I’m going to take some very intentional steps about putting devices away much earlier than I have in the past, and a few other things to make a proper amount of sleep a little easier to achieve each night.
Want to know how I did last year? Here were the goals I set for 2017:
1. Tell stories that matter. I think we did this! From our promo films (most include a sit down interview, guaranteed to capture the necessary audio to move the story along) to wedding films (usually full of both audio and visual content from the day) to family films (it’s different every time) to the little passion project I’m still working on, I’m happy with the stories we told this year. I’m keeping this one though; it’s so central to what we do here at MotionWorks. I hope to get even better at it this year!
2. Schedule, plan, and automate more things. CHECK. Honeybook, MailChimp, and Hootsuite FTW. I’m going to keep improving on this one in 2018 though. More on that in a bit.
3. Studio hours. This one actually worked WAY better than I thought it would. I was really skeptical if having a studio space would work for me, and after a full year, I can without a doubt say that it was amazing.
4. Pay people to do things, and not feel bad about it. Meh. Okay, I paid someone to put a new roof on my house, but let’s be real: I was NEVER going to DIY that. (Confession – I did a fair amount of googling though.) I utilized the dog groomer that I love. But….I didn’t pay anyone to clean my house, even when it would have made my life easier. I just couldn’t do it. I’m going to keep working on it though, because I know it will be good for me.
5. Read more books. Another WIN. I did not track how many I read, but it was around a book a week. I feel really good about that. Technology is still a big distraction, but I took back an important part of myself that I felt was slipping away.
6. Drink more things. Another HUGE win. Giant win. I actually like water now (though I’m still super picky about my water). I’m less tired in the afternoons, less headachy, and feel worlds better. I’m going to keep it up (and try to get less picky about my water).