2019. Wow. Can you believe it? We’re now 10 days into the new year and it still feels kind of weird to say two thousand nineteen out loud. Maybe it’s because I can hardly believe that we’re almost to the end of another decade? Or maybe it’s because a part of me feels like last year flew by so quickly there’s no way it can possibly be 2019 already??
Either way, 2019 is here and I’m excited to begin working to make this one of my best years yet, both personally and professionally! I’ve spent a lot of this first full work week back in my office planning out what I want to do this year. I think it’s really important to be very intentional with your goals for the year because you don’t know the why behind what you’re doing, it can be hard to keep going and chipping away at your projects and goals when life seems to get crazy. For this reason, I think it’s important to create goals that are thoughtful but also realistic.
Last winter was pretty crazy for me on a personal level so in a lot of ways I felt like I was just doing my best to survive 2018 even after the winter had passed. I’m looking forward to using 2019 to not just survive, but to thrive. With that in mind, here are some of my business goals for 2019, followed by a few personal ones!
- Take on some outside projects
I’d really love to flex my photography muscles (so to speak) and delve into some new things. I’m not really sure just yet what this might look like (maybe food photography? Maybe some more video projects??) but I’m excited to focus on spending more time actively creating for the sake of creating. It’s so easy to get caught up in my wedding work, but I’d like to carve out more opportunities for some other fun projects. - Establish a solid workday routine
I have been pretty lax about having an actual routine for my weekdays for a while now. My attitude has been “as long as I get my work done, it doesn’t matter when I do it” but I think I could be a little more productive if I established a more regular routine. - Redesign my client guide
The physical hard copies of my client guide are due for a refresh, but I’m also toying with the idea of adding some of the content to an online guide/website that I can share and update more easily. Maybe some information can be online and some can be in a physical booklet/magazine?? I’ve got lots of ideas for this! - Refresh my questionnaires and contracts
After a few years in business, I think it’s important to revisit what’s working and what’s not when it comes to these documents. I’m sure there’s room for improvements on both and I want to set up a time to sit down and go through each of these line by line and see what can be changed. - Take a course or lesson on SEO
I know a few basics about SEO but the rest is kind of a guessing game. This is something I’d like to work on this year! I’m trying to decide between hiring someone to help teach me the ins and outs of SEO or purchasing an online course. If you’ve had success with one or the other, drop it your thoughts into the comments below this post! - Work to treat each of my clients as though they’re my only client
One night I was randomly scrolling through some photography Facebook groups I’m in and somebody posted something along the lines of “It’s like So and So thinks they’re my ONLY client but they’re not…” and it made me think to myself that maybe it’s actually a GOOD thing to make each person feel like they’re our only client. Making people feel like they’re a priority to you is an important part of overall client experience (and really, it’s important to treat anyone in your life as though they’re a top priority to you…). I’ve always worked hard to treat my clients really well, but treating each one as though they’re my only client and my TOP priority is going to be my goal and I’ll be actively looking for ways I can do this…and probably blogging about it along the way! - Meet my booking goal for the year
Seems pretty obvious, but it’s an important goal nonetheless 🙂 I’ve got a chubby kitty who needs to eat, you know? - Return to blogging 2-3x each week
This is a goal and also a public declaration of my commitment to return to consistent blogging. I used to blog 5 days a week and though that seems like a bit much for this particular point in time in my business, I think 2-3 times a week would work really well! Blogging was so essential to growing my business back in the day when I was just starting out and I realize more and more that social media is SO temporary. I read somewhere that we should consider our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc) as space we’re only renting, whereas our blogs and websites are spaces we actually own. That really resonated with me and strengthened my commitment to return to regular blogging!
Personal Goals
- Run my third (!!!) marathon
In 2018 I ran my second marathon a full 44 minutes faster than the first one that I ran back in 2014. That showed me that I might be capable of some bigger, scarier race goals, such as finishing a sub-4-hour marathon. My goal for this year (3:57) is pretty big since it means shaving another 16 minutes off of my marathon time, but it’s exciting because if I make it, that means I’ll have finished my third marathon a full HOUR faster than the first one I ran!! - And the NYC Half
I also signed up for the New York City Half Marathon, which sort of fulfills another “marathon” goal…running a big city race! I really don’t have a specific time goal for this since it’s two weeks after the full marathon and I have no idea what conditions might be like or what it will feel like to run in such a big race. I’m still really excited to participate in this race!! - Visit two new cities
I love to travel and most years I like to try to visit a couple of new places. Last year I went to Miami and San Diego, which were both new-to-me cities. I’d be happy to visit somewhere new on the West Coast (I’ve never been to Oregon or Washington State) or to maybe finally do the coastal California road trip I’ve always wanted to take. Europe would be exciting too! - Incorporate more healthy habits into my daily life
I’m very disciplined when it comes to my training and workouts, but I lack the same amount of resolve when it comes to other areas of my life. Namely diet, water intake, stretching, etc. I’m realizing more and more as I get older I really need to take care of my body if I want to continue to be as active as I like to be. I’d like to slowly incorporate more healthy habits that will become lasting changes so that my body is in good condition to tackle all the things I want to do! - Take swimming lessons
To say I’m a weak swimmer would be an understatement…I could maybe pull something together if I was drowning, but I’m definitely not a strong enough swimmer to be trusted out in a deep pool or open water without a life jacket. One of my big goals is to learn to become a strong swimmer so that I can eventually sign up for a triathalon.
- Read two books a month
Last year I did okay at this…I read 18 books, which means I averaged about a book and a half a month. This year I’m aiming for 24! I’d like to split this into half fiction and half non-fiction. Since the book club I joined last year typically reads fiction books, if I’m really ambitious, I might actually be able to exceed my reading goal!! - Take a cooking class
Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies but I most of what I know how to do is what I’ve learned from Instagram stories and youtube videos. I think it would be really fun to take a cooking class and learn some new tricks I can use on a regular basis in my kitchen. - Volunteer
Volunteering has been something I’ve wanted to do for a few years. I signed up to be a Big Sister through Big Brothers/Big Sisters a couple of years ago but it didn’t work out with my schedule. I’d really like to be able to devote some of my time (especially in the offseason) to something. I’m not yet sure what though, so if you’ve got ideas, feel free to email me or leave them in the comments!
That about sums up my goals for this year! Hopefully, in a year’s time, I’ll be back letting you know that I accomplished all of these things…until then, I hope you guys do well with your goals for the year too! Happy (belated) New Year!
Awesome goals! I’m a huge reader, so I love when others want to commit to reading more. As for volunteering, I’d love to do more of that, too – right now I do a lot of work with Project Linus, but that’s mostly just a solitary activity (making blankets at home).