My Goals for 2018

It’s 18 days into the New Year. 18 out of 365. When you put it like that, it feels more than okay to still be ironing out dreams and goals for this year. Right?! I know January is nearing the end but there is nothing magical about January 1st (besides the fact that is my sister-in-law’s birthday 😉 ) In fact, I think the first week of January should be reserved for family & friends who are still in town and recovering from the hectic holidays. This year I pushed through guilt and let my self have a slow start. It was very anti the way I normally do things… and anti my Mario Kart strategy.

It wasn’t easy to slow down. I cried. I fought it. and I felt GUILTY. But I knew I needed to change the patterns I was living by. We were talking about goals & life rules and the four categories to focus on are Spiritual, Rest, Relationships, and Work. Last year all my goals fell into the “work” category. And in my life in general, I never focus on that “rest” category. It feels so selfish and unproductive. But after a wonderful 2017 that left me honest to goodness tired and maybe a little burnt out, I saw how much that needed to change.

One of the best things I have heard about goals came up in church over the weekend and I wrote it down right away.

“Our goals should not just be things to do but rhythms to practice”

Oh yes! That is something I can get behind. It was so refreshing to look at my goals with a new lens. One that wasn’t telling me to do more and be more but one that was focused on creating the life I want to live. Using that and everything I have been thinking about the last couple weeks, I pulled out my Cultivate What Matters Powersheets and wrote out my 10 goals for 2018. Honestly, majority of my goals fit under the “personal” category which includes spiritual, rest, and relationships and work is alone in work.

PERSONAL GOALS

GOAL 1: Daily quiet times and worship music mornings. 

I need these mornings so badly. I wake up, eat my breakfast, sit on the couch, and start my day in worship. I want to make this a habit an a rhythm.

GOAL 2. Be part of a church community. 

Long story short we have been going to a church we love but not getting involved or meeting people (because we thought we were too busy to.) We want to push into the community and not just attend the church but be part of the community.

GOAL 3: Move to natural beauty & hygiene products. 

This is a bit overwhelming to me but I am honestly tired of all the crap I’ve been putting on my skin (and in my body) over the years. As I run out of something, I am going to replace with something new. I know this is a trial and error process to find products that are natural and work but it will be fun! I’ll be sharing all that with you too here on the blog!

GOAL 4: Be Intentional with my closest. Create a quality wardrobe that takes up less space. 

I may do the capsule wardrobe or something like it. I spend too much money on clothes and don’t wear them all. I really want to be more intentional about the clothes I wear. I want to focus on quality over quantity. I may sell some of my clothes that do not make the cut on ebay – kind of feels like a fun project. But we will see! hahah.

GOAL 5: Read one book a month for fun. 

Being sick at the beginning of the year was not fun BUT I did pick up the second book in a series I started a year (or more) ago and have been devouring it. Oh my goodness – it is embarrassing but I forgot how much I love reading for fun. Not reading screens or blogs or advice but fun novels. I had to make it a goal because I need to make time for the fun things and the off time.

GOAL 6: Prioritize health. 

For me this looks like earlier bedtimes & earlier mornings. It is so important for me to get the sleep I need and I want to do that by having my phone not sleep in the same room as me. This also is about having healthy snacks in the house, eating more meals at home, and making sure to get outside/ workout. (I have a tendency to let work trump all these categories but no more!)

WORK GOALS

GOAL 7: Hire an Intern & see how it goes.

Whoa! Crazy. I need help for Oak + Oats especially with me committing to take time off not working and spending on self care, relationships, and rest. It has been so fun to see how this has worked out, I was nervous about the whole finding an intern process but the Lord went before me and brought one to me! YAY. I’ve never had an intern or employee before so we are both learning but it is already so fun and I am hopeful it will be a great fit and addition to Oak + Oats.

GOAL 8: Get a consultation for Oak + Oats to refine and refocus after a year of “burn out”

It is HARD to run a business on your own and this year I want to ask for help and get help. I am excited to find someone to talk with about Oak + Oats as an outsider and really get some good feedback to refine and refocus.

GOAL 9: Create and maintain a newsletter that offers value

I don’t want an email list just to have one, I want to figure out the best way to engage and communicate with my subscribers.

GOAL 10: Continue growing in photography & our style. Plus adding Video content! (YAY!)

I have grown so much since I started this blog and started learning photography ( look at this old post!) but I still want to keep refining it and challenging myself to grow. I definitely want this to be a photography blog and it is important for me to keep learning and growing. Also Video! Bruce and I are excited to dig into this whole new world. We are hoping to set up a new YouTube channel with some of our videos and just add video content here and there into the blog!

As far as the blog goes, there are some things I want to accomplish but a lot will still stay the same. Continuing with the type of content I have been putting out and making little changes here and there! Feel free to let me know what posts / content  you love the most if you want so that I can know what to keep focusing on!!