Did anyone else’s 2022 feel like 2 years wrapped up into 1 year?! Because I feel like I have whiplash from the last year…
I brought Lottie home, launched The Garden City Figgy, had the figgy business fail spectacularly within 4 months, shot the session of my dreams on the cliffs of Ireland, went through a breakup, moved to Columbia, was very sick off and on all through the summer and into the fall, went to London for a fun girls trip with my Mom- where we ended up witnessing history, had a hard drive crash, and got to serve all my sweet couples on one of the best days of their lives- So many ups and downs in 2022!!
I’ve been doing lots of reflecting on the good and bad from last year, and one thing’s for certain- I learned a ton! I know a lot of people have a word for their year, but as I’ve been reflecting and planning for the coming year- I couldn’t find just one word to describe all my hopes and dreams for 2023. So I started playing around with different phrases for the coming year and this is what I settled on…
“Never again will I make myself smaller or less sparkly, in order to make other people more comfortable.”
I’ve spent a lot of years hiding in corners: scared to been seen, scared of aiming too high and ending up missing the mark, and feeling like I was too much and not enough- all at the same time. I don’t want to feel that way anymore. I know I’m not perfect and I know I’m not the best in the business, but I do know that my heart is in the right place and that I always strive to do my best. This year I’m forcing myself to step out. To go for all the things I’ve dreamed of doing, to walk confidently into networking events, and to believe that having big scary dreams isn’t a bad thing- because if your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.
But we all know that having big dreams means nothing if you don’t make a plan for how you’ll accomplish those things. I’ve spent the past few weeks dreaming and scheming and I thought I’d share a few of the goals I’m working towards in 2023:
Take care of my health.
The past 6 years have been a lot for me health-wise. I haven’t shared much about it, but there have been a lot of ups and downs. This year I realized if I ever wanted these things to get better, I was going to need to set time aside and prioritize myself. Before anyone freaks out- I don’t have cancer, I’m not dying, and I haven’t nor do I foresee being hospitalized anytime in the future. But I am going to be purposefully having a slower year this year. I’ve decided to cap the number of weddings I take this year at 15 in order to make sure I’m able to take good care of myself and my couples (I do still have several Spring and Fall dates open for 2023 though!)
Better workflows in my business.
My breakup, hard drives crashing, and getting sick all happened within 2 months. Between the heartache I was experiencing, having to redo the work I had already done on 4 or 5 weddings, and a mystery infection that was wrecking my body- I’m not going to lie: I thought I was going to die for a little bit. It also taught me that although I thought I had pretty good systems in my business… I didn’t. This month I’m focusing on laying out my workflows from start to finish, updating my engagement session guide, creating a wedding guide, writing email templates, and automating anything I possibly can! It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m so excited to get it done- because I know it’s going to help me serve my couples even better in 2023!
Learn how to shoot film.
If you’ve been on instagram lately you may have seen that I just got my first film scans back! I finally sent in the film I shot while I was in New England in August ’21 and it turned out way better than I thought it would! I can’t believe I waited 18 months to send it in, but it definitely plays into pushing myself this year. I don’t have any plans to offer film in my wedding or portrait collections this year- it’s just something I’m learning for myself and I’m really enjoying it!!
Read 20 pages of a book every day.
I love reading, but I haven’t read consistently since I started seriously pursuing my business in 2018. Every year reading goes on my list of goals, but it never seems to happen. So this year, I’m trying to phrase it differently to see if that helps! I heard someone say that 20 pages a day is 30 books a year, so I’m trying to just make it a habit to pick up a book every day!
Get my office and set up in our new house.
One thing I know for certain is that our environment definitely impacts our mental health, our productivity, and our creativity. One of the things I absolutely LOVE about our new house in Columbia is my office! It has so much more light than my office in our old house and sitting in there makes me so happy already. I’ve been busy on pinterest pinning all the inspo for my office and I can’t wait to make it the space of my dreams!
Explore Columbia
To say I’m excited to call Columbia home now, would be an understatement. There is so much here and to be honest, the number of options I have on any given day for restaurants, shopping, and activities, is a little overwhelming. I working on making a list of all the places I want to visit, eat at, see and if you’re local to Columbia too- I’d love you forever if you sent me a list of your favorite things in town!
Head back to England
This definitely goes into the dream category of my list! My trip last September was cut short when The Queen died (I still cannot believe I was there when she passed!), which means I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to when I was there. I would LOVE to go back again this fall, but I’m going to have to wait and see how the year unfolds before I can commit to a trip across the pond! If all else fails, I’m thinking I’ll spend my 27th birthday in London…
I have a bunch more on my list, but I’ll spare you the whole thing! Overall, I’m pumped and ready to go for 2023! It’s going to be a good one, I can just feel it!
Big dreams, big hustle, big results.
What are some of your goals for 2023?
Bonus! A few things I’m using this year to help me plan and accomplish my goals:
- I love being able to see my whole year and the next quarter at a glance- these wall calendars from Kat Schomyer is amazing! I put mine in a frame and I use dry erase markers for it!
- I’ve been using Powersheets since 2018 and I cannot imagine not using them!
- Planners! I’m giving the “Season by Season” planner from Cultivate What Matters a go this year- but usually I just pick up one of The Everygirl planners from Target!
- These pens are the best, I have to have Post It tabs, and I always grab some fun extras from Cultivate What Matters or Simplified!
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