Have you ever met someone who gets super excited about goals and has them all built out and ready to go WAY before January 1. Better yet, are you that person?? I am. Throughout the years, I was, what I like to call, the overly excited goal maker. I would have lists and lists of goals for the year that contained so many that half would be forgotten and another half wouldn't get done.

So last year, I had a breakthrough when I went through a free webinar from Michael Hyatt. He helped explain how to pair down my goals into the most important ones, how to make them memorable, actionable, and measurable, and how to create action steps for each. This year, I went a step forward and purchased my first ever Powersheets from Cultivate what Matters. 

I had a few days off the week before Thanksgiving that I spent reflecting back on my goals for 2017 and how I did accomplishing them, and brainstormed my goals for 2018. I also picked my word for the year, which took much more time than last year. 

My word for 2017 was "Confidence", and it ended up being the perfect word, because I would need a lot of it as the year went on. As I took a leap of faith into HB Designs full time and as I learned how to talk about myself and my business (#introvert). As I pondered my 2018 goals, two words kept coming up: community and connection, but as I paired down my goals more and more, it seemed more about improving, fostering and encouraging, so after a lot of thought, I landed on "Cultivate". It defined everything I wanted to do in business, in my faith, in my relationships and in my health in 2018. So without further ado, here are my goals for 2018. 

Start each morning with God

I started this a few months ago, and it really helped set the tone for each of my days. My good days were even better because I started the day reading and journaling and praying, and my bad days weren't so bad. But whenever I skipped it, I felt off and a little anxious, because I wasn't grounded in what really mattered for the day ahead. So I would love to keep this up in 2018. 

Go to bed earlier and wake up earlieR 

I got into a very bad habit of going to bed around midnight and getting up around 9:00am each day. I felt groggy and like a huge part of my day was already gone. I am, from childhood, a night owl and not a morning person, but I've learned that mornings can be some of my most productive times. So I would like to get that time back. To accomplish this, I'm picking reading in bed over watching "just one more show" (because that's never just one more) , and playing piano instead of falling asleep on the couch after eating a sugary midnight treat. 

Lean more on others and connect with one person each month 

In 2017, I decided to reach out to one person each month to take them to coffee or lunch and just get to know them. There were no strings attached. I was practicing confidence and getting out of my comfort zone, and each lunch or coffee turned out so well and created many friendships. So I'm bringing this into 2018, with an added layer of also staying in better touch with family members and close friends. 

Batch Schedule my Work Days

I started mid-2017 scrambling around each week, trying to build a process for my business, a framework for working with clients. I constantly missed posting on instagram and my facebook marketing went to the dogs, because I didn't make time to build a schedule to keep my accountable. This year I am planning to batch all of my content, from instagram posts, to blog posts and emails, to when I meet with clients, to when I update my books. Here's to hoping I get WAY more efficient in 2018. 

Cultivate my client experience

Now that I have somewhere to start, my goal is to further build out my client experience. To test new things, to beef up my on-boarding and off-boarding process, and to be more intentional about communication. This also included taking a good hard look at my current process and packages and making some big changes that will be up on my site soon. 

Build and Grow my Email List

I'm finally taking Jenna Kutcher's advice and am planning to build an email list that contains beneficial content for small businesses. I had an email list way back when, when this blog was actually a DIY decorating blog, and I loved it, because Caleb and I had just moved into a new house and were getting really into woodworking so that we could have some great quality pieces without having to pay $$$ for it. But building an email list around my passion for design has always been on my to-do list, but the comparison demon kept creeping up, whispering into my ear that I really didn't have all that much to say. That there are so many people out there that do exactly what I do and explain things so eloquently. That I would never match up. But in 2018 I'm putting that behind me and am going to focus on topics that will be most helpful to my own clients and other small business owners. 

Be more intentional and spontaneous in my marriage

Caleb and I are complete opposites in many ways. He's in finance, I'm in art. He's extremely outgoing, confident and extroverted, I'm more quiet, I turn red when I get nervous or shy, and am a total introvert. Caleb is constantly challenging himself, and I would rather stay where I'm comfortable. Caleb is extremely spontaneous, where I am an extreme planner. We also have completely opposite love languages. With all this to say, it takes more effort on each of our parts to speak each other's language and to understand what each of us is really saying. So at times it can be really easy to revert back to our natural selves, which doesn't communicate well with the other person. So my goal for 2018 is to be more intentional with speaking Caleb's language, and to ease up on my "planner" nature so that I can take a step towards spontaneity! Wish me luck! ( ;  

Focus on my health

In the fall of 2016, I started Crossfit with Caleb. I was extremely hesitant, but after a few months, I was hooked. I never felt so accomplished with my fitness before and it also opened up a lot about health. That winter, I ended up injuring myself and seeking out a Chiropractor, when then lead to a lot of discussions about diet, exercise and healthy living. Caleb and I call 2017, our health research year. We researched everything, from toxicity, to being vegan, to the keto diet, to hormones, etc. I came across FloLiving, which has changed the way I eat and exercise to fuel my body. So in 2018, my goals are to continue to be consistent with crossfit, and to each for my Flo. 

There you have it. Those are the goals I'll be working towards this year. I'll be sharing about my powersheets and how I broke down my goals into actionable steps through my instagram. So head over there to follow along!