July Goals

Cleveland Ohio Outdoor Chic WeddingI learned (or relearned) quite a few things in June:

  • When you take on six weddings all in one month, you should plan to have a frivolous book on your nightstand for some light reading at the end of the night. Taking on Girl Meets God last month was not my best decision. I'll be saving that one for the end of the year.
  • To avoid a wedding "hangover," you must chug water the second you get home. A Lime-A-Rita is not a substitute.
  • And on that same note, popcorn is not a substitute for a proper lunch. Although it IS delicious.
  • When you try to cram two or three months of work into one, most of your goals will take a back seat to editing. Duly noted.

Needless to say, June wasn't my best month for completing goals. I got a little ahead of myself, and now that I'm trying to catch up on all that June plopped on my desk, I'll be posting some boring reasonable goals for July. :) I hope your summers are off to a great start! Can I get a high five for all this awesome weather we've been having?! (Read: It makes for a happy wedding photographer!)

June Goals

Jeremy Kester HH Boogie Ah, June. The most popular wedding month of the year. (Actually, I'm not sure that's proven. Don't quote me on it! ;) ) In light of a busy, busy month over here at Lane Baldwin Photography, I'm keeping my goals simple and fun this month. And I'm remembering my time at H.H. Boogie Unshop just a few weeks ago, where we slowed life down to listen and laugh and rest, and occasionally shoot (that photo of me up there was taken by the lovely Carolyn Ann Photography with my first roll of Kodak Portra 400 film! It looks peaceful, right? It was! And I bet you would never guess that I was surrounded by furry llamas). More on Unshop soon!

  • Read two books (25 in 12): Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner and The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon (I'm a little behind here but hoping to catch up this month!)
  • Take one day completely OFF a week
  • Finish entryway
  • Have a firepit. Roast s'mores
  • Try a new (to us), local brunch spot
  • Work out 4/week
  • Keep up with no longer than a three week turnaround on weddings
  • Start refining my message
  • Submit two weddings
  • Turn 29 in style!

May Goals

Stan Hywet Already May is off to a great start. We have sun for basically the first time this week! Sun makes everything better, right? Here's something that's also great: I finished almost every, single one of my April goals! Whoo! That's especially exciting because April was my month to get caught up before I dive into wedding season this month. I'll be tackling a few goals from slow season that keep hanging around but otherwise May goals are about fun and making sure I leave time for play. Remember my whole New Year's Resolution for balance? Yeah, that's still happening. I'm going to work smart this month (something I learned at Making Things Happen, which I'll be sharing more about next week!) so I can step away from my computer and play hard, as well.

  • Read two books (25 in 12): Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver and Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner (plus finish Film is Not Dead!)
  • Take one weekday OFF before wedding season gets into full swing
  • Design a new sample album
  • Continue practicing with film (and try Kodak film!)
  • Clean off my computer so it's fresh for busy season
  • Set up e-mail templates
  • Write content for a new client info guide
  • Host my family for a cookout
  • Finish decorating our entryway
  • Start a new 101 in 1001 (or 30 before 30) list
  • Take (at least) one bike ride
  • CANCEL our cable for the summer
  • Go out for ice cream with Nathan
  • Get our own photos taken (Yay! Can't wait!)

April Goals

Lara Casey Goals[Source]

April is all about recharging my batteries. March was a little crazy. OK, a lot crazy. I don't think I fully understood how nuts it was going to be until I was living it! Four out-of-town weekends, three weddings, portrait sessions, a life-changing conference and general life stuff ... whew. I'm standing on the other side feeling like a new person. I'm SO incredibly grateful that I ended the month with the Making Things Happen conference in Chapel Hill, N.C. Talk about going out with a bang! I have tons and tons to share from the last few days, but I need a little while to wrap my head around it, so look for a post in the next couple weeks!

In the meantime, MTH got me (even more) fired up about goal setting and I'm ready to tackle these April goals with gusto!

  • Read two books (25 in 12): Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen and The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. (I didn't read as much as I wanted to last month, and I took on an unexpected book last month too, so I'm still working on the same books you saw in March!)
  • Finish my website rebrand (oh yeah!)
  • Enjoy a sunny vacation and my college BFF's wedding (seriously cannot wait to be reunited with these ladies)
  • Book our plane tickets to Ireland and Scotland
  • Finish all editing/album design from last month (i.e., get all caught up before wedding season really begins!)
  • Take one weekday completely off to read, watch movies and recharge before it gets busy!
  • Spring clean our house
  • Design and order a sample album
  • Celebrate Easter surrounded by family
  • Find a new client proofing site
  • Find a new address book