2016 Goals

I don’t usually make resolutions. We all make the same resolutions, lose weight, quit this, be a better person. We usually start out gung-ho and go all out. We join a gym. We buy something to help us quit that bad habit. We work out, balls to the wall, for a month or so. Then our drive starts to fade. We think I can skip it today. I will start again on Monday. Yet we never do. By March, our resolutions are a thing of the past. We revert to all our old ways. Nothing really changes.

This year I have made goals for myself. I tried to make them specific and achievable. I am not going to go out and just run a marathon or vow to never eat ice cream again. I looked at different areas of my life and came up with things I want to do, not ways I want to change. If I don’t hit these goals it doesn’t mean I’m a failure, just that I need to reflect and adjust accordingly for next time.

Fashion
Clean out closet and drawers
Donate items I don’t wear
Don’t buy anything new, unless it is a necessity (for example, dress pants for work may be a necessity but a new top isn’t)
Wear more of what is in my closet and accessorize!

Fitness
Run 500 miles
Start training for a marathon in Jan 2017
Complete New Rules of Lifting for Women
Do a second round of New Rules… or find similar program

Food
Have fruit and vegetable serving at each meal
Eat more vegetables (I tend to go fruit heavy)
As always, add more protein to each meal
Complete Don’t Eat it. Deal with it and work on stress eating

Fun
Read 55 books over the year
Read one business book each month
Read at least two books for fun each month
Try to read five books per month

Financial
I want to work on my credit card debt. I plan to use the snowball method to pay down my bills.
I also want to save more money and spend less. I am planning to work on not buying anything I don’t need. If at the end of 2016 I have saved money and there is an item I want, I will purchase at that time.
Spend less on groceries. I used to be really good at this but have gotten away from it.

I don’t know if I will reach all these goals but I am going to try. I tried to make each goal achievable and measurable. I have ways to track most of the goals (spreadsheet, journals) and may come up with a way to track everything.

What are your goals for 2016 and how do you track your progress?

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January is a time for resolutions.

But I prefer goals. I have never been good at making, and keeping resolutions. I do think it’s always a good idea to think about and reflect on the past year in order to evaluate, move forward, grow and adapt. Goals are a good way to do this.

2016 will be my first year as a business which makes this post hard to write. I can’t look back and see mistakes I made business wise, or areas I can improve on. Everything I did in 2015 was to go live as a business and I accomplished that.

Of course, there are about a million things I’d like to change on the creative side. I also have a few business goals I’d like to meet. Here are my goals for 2016. I tried to be specific and pick goals that are measurable, not just something like “get better”.

Become more patient when shooting. I have a tendency to get to a scene, snap a few photos and head out. I may not always be getting the best shot. I need to take some time to look around, walk, get low (or high) and find the best shots.
Learn lighting. I have a softbox and flash unit but don’t use them enough. My photography classes focused on natural light but off camera flash will help with my food photography and eventually portraits (if I go that way).
Get more comfortable and use Photoshop more. I have pretty much mastered Lightroom but use Photoshop about one percent of the time. It is a powerful program and can only improve my work once I learn how to best use it. I will keep watching my videos and reading up on Photoshop.
Blog at least twice a week. I have made an editorial schedule for 2016. I need to stick to it and get my posts out every week. Blogging can help me connect with people and let them get to know me and my art.
Have my first sale, hopefully within my first month or quarter. I’d be happy either way. Beyond hapy.
Read all of the books I have on photography/running a business. I bought several books around Black Friday and would like to read at least one per month.
Be more active on social media and grow my following. I love social media and interacting with people. I think it’s a great way to meet new people, learn and grow.
Grow my newsletter subscribers. I’m having fun coming up with monthly themes and want to share that with others. I love photography and art and want to see others love it too. You can sign up here, by the way. I email once a month and will throw in a couple of special emails throughout the year.
Lastly, expand my product offering. I have plans for limited edition prints and specialty products but they take more time and energy to prep. I hope to have additional products by the last quarter of the year.

What are your goals for 2016, personal or business?

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