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?

March Goals

The girl in that picture up there? It's not me. I snapped this photo while we were in Sleeping Bear Dunes last year, and I just love the mysteriousness of it all. It reminds me of a new month or a new day or a new year because this girl, whoever she is, looks ready to conquer something big. (Actually, she was probably about to attempt to conquer the giant sand dune in front of her. If you've never been to Sleeping Bear Dunes, just trust me when I say that thing is steep. I'm not afraid of heights, but it even freaked me out.)

And I'm ready to conquer March! I have faith that this month will be the start of buds on the trees and productivity in my office. My biggest business goal is to get ahead on stuff that generally holds me back during busy season. I've had quite a bit of free time this winter, and I want to use it to my advantage so I'm not running around like a crazy person come June.

In case you need a kick start this month, check out this Jess Lively podcast with Alex Ikkon on productivity that I found super helpful and inspiring.

March Goals

  • Read four books (finish The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George and start and finish Woman Code by Alissa Vitti and 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam)
  • Finish my new website + brand refresh
  • De-clutter our bathroom (SO many little bottles … ahhhh!)
  • Sell my Mamiya 645 AFD
  • Get ahead on business stuff (gather packaging, update forms, etc.)
  • Update my client guides with brand refresh
  • Start a new client guide (this has been on my list FOREVER. Just gotta get started!)
  • Do lesson plans for my gymnastics girls

February Goals

Wedding Flowers on Film January was such a nice change of pace for me. Less editing work means more time to focus on things I've been putting off for months and months, and let me tell you that getting big, daunting work finished (or even started) feels good! I hope you all had a productive and healthy start to your new year too!

February is more of the same for me. Continuing work on big projects, reading a LOT and making plenty of time to visit with family and friends.

February Goals

  • Read three books (Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Hope by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus)
  • De-clutter our "reading room" (really our catch-all room that happens to house our bookshelf, which makes it our reading room)
  • Redo my website (eek! This is a scary one, but I think I can make this happen)
  • Complete our travel wall(s) in our dining room
  • Sell my Mamiya 645 AFD! (if you want it, make me an offer ;) )
  • Decide on and order my 2016 wedding packaging
  • Decide on a software management system
  • Review all the items in my closet and make sure they still have purpose (oops, didn't do this last month)
  • Go on at least one winter hike with Nathan
  • Get a new phone!