How is everyone's new year going?! Are you sticking to your goals? This year I started using Powersheets by Lara Casey to stay on track. They've been a great investment so far!

One of my favorite things about the Powersheets are the monthly tending lists. The lists are broken down into your monthly, weekly, and daily goals with space to check off your progress. It has been so helpful seeing my goals in front of me every day. The days often pass in a blur and suddenly a month has gone by and I'm not sure where the time went. With these lists I can clearly see if I am achieving my goals or not. I was sick for about a week this month and I would probably have a hard time getting back on track with out my daily check in. Lara stresses progress over perfection and while I didn't accomplish everything I set out to it's nice to see that I made progress in most areas!

Here is a list of my January goals:

Monthly: 

• Revamp website

• Start saving for Brazil

• Read 4 books

• Prep for accountant

• Create content calendar

• Hire SEO & Social Media Consultant

• Attend 2 rising tide meetings

• Email bloggers about collab photo shoots

• Plan & Market for Valentine's Day Mini's

• Reorganize Pinterest

• Visit Mimi (my grandmother)

Weekly:

• Horse back riding

• 1 blog post

• 3-5 Instagram posts

• 1 styled shoot

• Read 1 book

Daily:

• Gym

• Read 20 mins

• Quiet time 20 mins

• Education 30 mins

• Sleep by midnight

How I did (Bold items are ones I've made progress on)

Monthly: 

• Revamp website- I am NOT a web designer but I've been playing around with my photography website (I use Squarespace) and it's starting to come together the way I envisioned. I still need to shoot some head shots and update my galleries.

• Start saving for Brazil- I go to Brazil every year to visit my almost adopted daughter. She's going to be 12 and she's amazing. Plane tickets are very expensive this year

• Read 4 books- I'm failing at this one. For some reason I can't sit still and concentrate on a book. I blame this on the election.

• Prep for accountant- I've stated receiving W-2's and I need to finalize my expenses for the year. I use Quickbooks to track my income and expenses.

• Create content calendar- I've been using Trello to organize my blog posts and ideas and I love it! My favorite feature is the calendar scheduling option that lets you see all of your posts at a glance.

• Hire SEO & Social Media Consultant- I've been researching different coaches and options, I want to make sure I'm using SEO effectively on my photography website and make sure I'm using social media to it's fullest potential. I haven't hired anyone yet but I have a few good options.

• Attend 2 rising tide meetings- Did this! I went to a Rhode Island and a Central Massachusetts meeting. I love having other creatives around to bounce ideas off of.

• Email bloggers about collab photo shoots- I recently discovered I love shooting lifestyle fashion for bloggers. I've compiled a list of bloggers I want to work with and I'm in the process of emailing them and asking to do a shoot together.

• Plan & Market for Valentine's Day Mini's- I already have the set up from last year and I've been marketing it via Facebook Ads

• Reorganize Pinterest- An ongoing project. I've deleted a lot of the boards that no longer apply to my business. As my business grows and evolves I'm discovering the things I love to shoot and I'm phasing out the things I don't enjoy.

• Visit Mimi- I love visiting my adorable grandmother. She lives in gorgeous assisted living and they treat her like a queen. We always end up talking about the past ad it's so cool to hear about her experiences.

Weekly:

• Horse back riding- This one was easy! I just started riding again after 12 years out of the saddle. It is soo much fun and I'm still wondering why I ever stopped. I ride at Blue Meadow Farm in Sudbury, MA and they are amazing.

• 1 blog post- Once I set up Trello it was a lot easier to stay on track of my blogging schedule. I also purchased a few stock images from Sublime Styled Stock on Etsy. Having a cohesive look is important to me and styled images make it easy.

• 3-5 Instagram posts- I've been slacking on my Instagram lately. Again I blame the election.

• 1 styled shoot- Didn't happen. This was a result of not enough time/daylight.

• Read 1 book- See above. I have been reading the New York times a lot, so that has to count for something!

Daily:

• Gym- I was doing great with this one until I got sick. This seems to happen a lot, I'll start working out, get sick and then get derailed for months. Having the power sheets has actually helped me stay on track. It's very helpful to see the days slipping by and makes me more inclined to take action. I've gotten back to the gym and I'm slowly working on my strength and stamina. I feel 100 times better when I'm working out so when I don't feel like going I just remind myself that I'll feel great after.

• Read 20 mins- oops

• Quiet time 20 mins- You know how you get all your great ideas in the shower? That's because your mind is free to wander and you don't have any external forces demanding your attention. I try to let my mind rest every day so new ideas can flow.

• Education 30 mins- I have quite a few video photography courses to work through. I am currently working on Amy & Jordan's Shooting and Editing course, Brooke Shaden's fine art photography course on creative live, and Kimberly Ann Jimenez's YouTube channel.

• Sleep by midnight- Not a thing. I'm not sure where I got the idea that I could go to sleep this early so next month I'm shooting for 1AM as a bedtime.

I'll be posting my February goals in a few days, what are some of the ways you stay on track during the year? Let me know in the comments!