New Goals and My Word of the Year
I got off pretty lightly when it came to 2020 woes, very grateful to be in a country that has been able to knuckle down through COVID to escape a lot of the worst of it. Don’t get me wrong, we still had our challenges and tears, but it’s a new year and I am SO ready to move on!
2021 is a fresh start, like every year it holds a wealth of opportunities and it’s up to us to grab them. It’s been a long time since I’ve made any solid resolutions as I do more so enjoy going to feel or having just an overarching ‘theme’ to live by, but thought what the heck, let’s make some goals AND have a 2021 word!
My word for this year is:
PRESENT
Why did I choose this word?
In other years I think I have gone with Balance, Happy or Courage, which are so powerful and sort of feel quite LARGE to live by. Being Present to me feels like a good daily affirmation, when I feel my minding fading back to something I regret not doing in the past, or worrying before bed about the future.
It’s how I want to live this year; not wishing away the time to a certain event, constantly looking to the future when I’ll be ‘more fit’ or ‘have more money’ or when I’ve finally ‘made it in business’. This year is about grounding myself fully into my day to day activities, where every step, email, interaction etc is meaningful and thoughtful and I put energy into making that present moment better. No more ‘starting monday!’
2021 Goals – Business
― Fleshing out a better enquiry and waitlist system
I also chose this word as it fits in nicely with my personal life AND business. I am in the process of fleshing out a new way of tackling enquiries and client project overlaps. I often get very anxious about anything overlapping or going over time (rightly so of course, no one wants that stress!) however I do find myself getting wound up before anything bad has actually happened, or focussing too far into the future on bookings months away, leading to this filtering through to current client who may feel that stress a bit. It’s the double edge sort of being super organised, things will go well if you plan ahead BUT if you are always looking ahead, you can not be as truly focussed on the present moment. So to work though this part of my process, I am looking at setting up a kind of waitlist and only opening up my books at certain times. Will let you know how I go!
― Keeping up the momentum with Creative Process Collective
If you haven’t checked out the newest and most helpful design and client resource hub on the interwebs, you need to get over there stat! This baby is the new place I will be housing all courses, templates, education and podcasts in future AND where my current clients can access all templates for free. The only thing is that I created it during my 1:1 break and now this year I will need to try and keep the momentum up by creating new resources, all the while running JMD back full time. I plan to release minimum 1 new template or resource per month, and 1 x blog posts per month to keep things moving and helpful!
Within this goal is also to begin exploring and release a course, however I only want to do this if I can make the time without impacting clients (or my sanity) so this isn’t a hard goal, just one on the radar if possible.
― Have the best year yet with clients
Okay not a great quantifiable goal BUT! I feel like I am not pretty seasoned with client work that I can run a great experience and really hone in on my dream client. In the past I’ve probably had maybe 3-4 projects a year that weren’t a great fit and left me with some frustrations, so I want to get that down to 1, maybe 2 at the most. In saying that, every challenge with a client becomes a new way I can help another designer to avoid it, so I am never too put out when it happens as it is a great learning experience.
2021 Goals – Personal
― Run another marathon (injury free!)
In 2019, I ran my first marathon in Queenstown. It was a blast, the atmosphere was amazing, I pushed myself through pain to do something I never thought would be possible. But (there is always a but) I ran with an injury that plagued me from literally 2km in to the finish line…and it was brutal. I think I cried, hobbled, laughed, gritted my teeth, shook my fisted and somehow got over the line, but it wasn’t the experience I wanted and it has left me wanting more ever since. I am proud that I did it and to be honest I don’t even think I would have been much faster if I had been in top shape ha, however I want to give it a final shot and run it in less time and injury free, which is totally possible!
― Begin my investment journey and be better with money
At the end of last year, I took a massive financial hit that really could have been avoided – I didn’t put away enough savings for my tax and it bit me hard, meaning I had to pull out emergency savings to cover the bill and I’ve been recovering slowly since. Also, running a 6 figure business has not equalled more cash monies and a swimming pool of savings – because as I earn more, I spend more. It’s a bad cycle!
So with those factors in mind, I’ve already begun to put plans in place for a better financial year of savings, bought some books from female-founded entrepreneurs who write in ways I can understand investing and finances (it’s my absolute weakness) and am committed to levelling out my spending habits. I am not going to go silly an cut away a tonne of stuff, but I am looking more closely at what I spend and why I’m spending it, and plan to be more thoughtful about money for long term gain.
― Be active every damn day
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few stories about my health and fitness journey. I say a few because I’ve pulled back a lot on what I post haha, I used to have a total basic b*tch Insta dedicated to it! So it’s something I am super passionate about. I often say if I ever needed a break from design, I’d love to train to become a PT or do something in the wellness space.
So every year I usually make crazy plans to ‘get shredded’ or ear ‘100% clean’ and usually, funnily enough, do not. Because I never really put any plans in place, only best intentions. That stops this year. I have a PT who I adore and can fit into my budget, I have a super accessible fitness class I’ve committed to going to each week, I have found some amazing supplements which are helping to keep me on track health and wellness wise and I actually finally feel the pull to get moving instead of it feeling like a chore or just doing it for looks. I sleep much better at night, my mobility is much better, my mind is clearer. I feel more positive, so there are only upsides to it! So my main goal is just to be active an hour a day, that’s it to begin with. Walking, running, yoga, weights, swimming, anything! And minimum of 8k steps a day.
So that’s my main goals/plans for 2021! I have a physical diary and planner which has more specifics and steps to achieving each goal, but thought this was a nice place to write down the basics.
I’d love to know what your word of the year is, and if you have any big or small goals you are setting!
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