July Goals

July always sneaks up on me a little. The Fourth of July makes me feel like summer's half over (I know it's not but for some reason it feels that way!), and it's always a little sad ... summer flying by, that is.

Nathan and I had a quiet little Fourth just the two of us. It's been a few years since we just hung out at home over this holiday. Since Nathan has a corporate job, his vacation days are limited and we always strettttttch them as much as possible, which usually means that we're traveling over holiday weekends!

Not this time though. We went for a bike ride, had lunch downtown and read a little to the sound of rain out our windows. It was a perfectly lazy day! 

And it's true what they say about the power of a day off: It really sets you up for a productive next few days. Let's do this, July!

July Goals

  • Finish An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea by Patrick Taylor and Rising Strong by Brené Brown and read I Let you Go by Clare Mackintosh
  • Donate and sell unwanted clothes
  • Spend an afternoon at the pool
  • Update tax document
  • Decide on a mini sessions date!
  • Get caught up on editing
  • Submit one wedding for publication
  • Shoot two weddings!

P.S. That photo down there is my favorite from our trip to Venice a couple months ago! It's a little preview of my Venice blog post coming later this week. :)

Grand Canal Venice Italy

June Goals

Time is a funny thing. It can just evaporate into thin air, leaving you confused about where that last hour went or what actually got done this week. 

I had an epiphany after reading 168 Hours a couple months ago: If I don't plan ahead, things will almost never go the way I expect or want them to. That goes for almost every aspect of my life: the day's schedule, what I'm going to eat all week, money, my wardrobe, etc. 

Dave Ramsey always says that a budget is just a way to tell your money where it should go. The same thing is true for every minute of the day. If I don't tell my time where to go, I've suddenly spent two hours of my work day on the couch watching Ellen and eating gummy bears. Sure, that's enjoyable, but what's NOT enjoyable is trying to make up those two hours of work in the evening when I could be hanging out with Nathan ... watching Ellen and eating gummy bears. 

Planning ahead is so not exciting, but having control of my life and time for all the things I want to accomplish (including some margin!) IS exciting. Slowly I'm learning this.

I've started to consistently plan my days the night before because (shocking) my goals won't get accomplished without a little foresight. I always just thought I'd fit cleaning or reading or working out in when I had time, but when busy season hits, I never have extra time lying around just for reading. I'll always fill extra time with work or watching cat videos on YouTube when left to my own spontaneity. I have to be intentional about picking up my book or grabbing my gym shoes (way more enjoyable in the long run than watching cat videos), which means I have to build it into my schedule. 

And now that I've gotten into the rhythm of planning my days ahead of time, let's see if I can't accomplish a couple of these lingering goals once and for all, shall we?

June Goals

  • Finish An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea by Patrick Taylor and read Rising Strong by Brené Brown
  • De-clutter bedroom
  • Donate and sell unwanted clothes
  • Host a summer party
  • Go to the farmers market at least twice
  • Order new USBs
  • Order new stationery
  • Update tax document
  • Shoot four weddings!

How are you all starting your summers? What is your biggest time suck? How do you overcome it to feel accomplished and ready for real relaxation?

May Goals

Hellooooo, May! We returned from our month of travels to a green and blooming Cleveland. I have to say, it's so good to be home! I love, love, love traveling but I also love a routine and each of those things makes me appreciate the other. 

I can't wait to share Aruba and Italy photos with you all but first, my May goals!

May Goals

  • Finish The Enneagram by Richard Rohr (it's taking me longer than expected because it's deeper than my usual bedtime reading!) and read An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea by Patrick Taylor
  • Update first quarter tax document for 2016
  • Finalize and start using newly branded and designed client guides
  • Order new business cards and stationery
  • Shoot the first three weddings of busy season!
  • De-clutter our bedroom + switch out my closet for spring
  • Ride bikes with Nathan
  • Do lesson plans for gymnastics girls

April Goals

I’m a week late on the goal setting but that never hurt anyone, right? The truth is I was holding out on this post because I realllllly wanted it to be the first on my new blog, but because of some unforeseen technical issues we’re still working on making that new site live! Whew, launching a new website is no joke. The good news is that we’re almost there, and I’m going to be taking a break from blogging until we launch.

That’s also convenient because we’re doing a lot of traveling this month! My April goals are short and sweet for that reason. What are you planning for this month?

April Goals

Ohio Film Wedding Photographer