Quarter 1 Goals | 2020
Happy New Year, friends! It’s officially 2020, and I can see clearly now, haha. I still can’t believe we actually made it here. So much has changed since I wrote my Quarter 1 Goals last year! Last January I was still working for LifeWay, and I hadn’t yet found out about the store closing. Flash forward to now, I am self-employed, working full-time on this little blog and my growing business and loving every second of it.
Don’t get me wrong, I supremely miss working for LifeWay, but The Lord has blessed me with the desire I have to turn this hobby blog into my full time gig, and I am really excited about the future of it. Today’s post is all about GOALS. The goals for this quarter, a recap of last quarter + how I did, and revealing my word for the year as I’ve done the last couple years. If you haven’t chosen a word of the year yet, I highly recommend this one from DaySpring!
Quarter 4 Goals | 2019 Recap
BLOGGING:
1. Work on my time management skills.
I’ll be honest here. I have the worst time management skills! When I was in school, I was on it and it seemed easy. But now? I really stink at it. One of my quarter 4 goals these last few months, is to master time management again, especially with blogging!
2. Market myself and my skills.
Another thing I really struggle with, is being able to market myself online. I have advising courses and consulting packages, a shop, a blog, an email list, and soon to be a podcast and I struggle marketing it all. Part of me has this ridiculous fear, but the other part just struggles with balance. So another good goal for this quarter in addition to the above, is marketing myself and my skills.
3. Get better at planning/organizing content.
This kind of ties in to time management, but it’s a little different. The biggest thing I hope to accomplish for blogging, is really to get better at planning and organizing content for it. Whether that be blog posts, emails, social media content. I’m not that great at it currently, so this is a biggie for my quarter 4 goals.
PERSONAL:
1. Clean my house daily.
It sounds kinda silly, but I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. I typically clean my whole house once a week, and sometimes that just doesn’t work well. This last quarter of the year, I hope to make a habit of cleaning as I go, and clean messes right after I make them instead of leaving them.
2. Exercise daily for at least 10-15 minutes.
My husband will tell you I’m really bad about buying exercise things I rarely use. I’m just lazy about it! There’s so many other things I’d rather be doing than exercise, haha. But, it’s still good for you, so I hope to make an effort to do so daily even if it’s just 10 minutes.
3. Walk away when I’m upset about something.
Sometimes when I’m working at my desk, there’s things that don’t always go like they’re supposed to, which gets frustrating. I have a bad habit of letting things get the best of me instead of walking away when I’m upset. This is probably the biggest thing I need to work on with these quarter 4 goals.
How’d I Do?
1. BLOGGING: Work on my time management skills.
Yes! I have actually purchased a time blocking planner and have a plan in place for time management, sooooo that’s a big win for this goal!
1. PERSONAL: Clean my house daily.
Believe it or not, I’ve actually been doing this for the most part. I’ve made a habit of making the bed daily, doing dishes, and wiping down surfaces everyday so I call that successful! I may not clean the floors or other rooms daily, but I am glad for the progress!
2. BLOGGING: Market myself and my skills.
Not yet, but since I have the planner now and am working on my time management, I’ll be able to do this more efficiently!
2. PERSONAL: Exercise daily for at least 10-15 minutes.
Nope to this one, although my husband and I have been walking more when the weather isn’t yucky, so that’s a win in a way! Practically speaking though, I feel like I need something I can exercise with while sitting down working. Suggestions? Does that sort of thing even exist? lol
3. BLOGGING: Get better at planning/organizing content.
This one is a constant work in progress, but I’d say I’ve accomplished a good deal towards it! I feel like having a good time blocking planner will increase my planning and productivity by leaps and bounds though!
3. PERSONAL: Walk away when I’m upset about something.
The answer to this is sometimes. I definitely feel like I’ve been better about it, but it’s definitely not something I do always. #progressoverperfection right?
Quarter 1 Goals | 2020
BLOGGING:
1. Be more proactive with sharing my content to social media.
Am I the only blogger who struggles with this? I tend to pick my favorite platform and post there, or not at all because of anxiety. So, one of my goals for 2020 this quarter is to be more proactive about sharing my content to all my social platforms and not just one or two.
2. Come up with a plan + market all I have to offer.
I mentioned last quarter that I wanted to market myself better, and I think that’s one of the most reasonable and actionable goals for 2020 this quarter too. It’s always something I can be improving on, but I’ve got better tools in place this time around!
3. Work smarter, not harder.
One of my favorite websites ever is Restored316. Not only are their themes my favorite, but Lauren Gaige is just the best. In this post, she talks about how to be more visible online with less content. This is exactly the kind of goals for 2020 I want to work towards this quarter, because life is stressful as-is, and anything that makes my job easier is worth it.
PERSONAL:
1. Say no to negative self-talk.
I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. This quarter, anytime I feel negativity towards myself creeping in, I want to try to say no to it and instead leave myself notes of encouragement!
2. Get organized.
I think all of us could probably use a little more organization in our lives. For the most part, I am organized, but there’s a few areas I’d like to organize more. So, that’s another one of my goals for 2020 this quarter, to get more organized.
3. Purge the things I don’t need/use.
This is a big one. I’ve been needing to do this one for a while. Clutter is not my friend. In fact, it makes me anxious. So, this is one of my big personal goals for 2020 is to purge and donate all the things I no longer need/use.
Whew! That’s a lot of big asks this first quarter with my goals for 2020. I know that together we can cheer each other on as we embark on the journey to completing them all! Now for the most anticipated part of this post, my word of the year. The word of the year I chose is STAND. I love this word for multiple reasons, one being it encourages me to STAND for Jesus above all. The other reasons are because it encourages me to STAND in the face of fear and uncertainty, STAND on the promises of God, STAND with confidence in the place that God has placed me, even if it’s scary.
This quiz technically chose the word for me, but I don’t think it’s a “by chance” thing that this was my word in the least. I’ve said it before, but anything that The Lord is involved in is divinely inspired. This includes things like quizzes from DaySpring! Each year, this quiz has yielded a word for my year that I know was meant for me because of all the circumstances that I face each year and The Lord reminds me of this word for the year.
Last year, the word I had was “courage“, and that one was absolutely fitting for that year. Last year required a lot of “courage” on my part. I lost my job with LifeWay in June and was unsure of the future, I had to have “courage” that God knew what He was doing. My brother was hospitalized in September, and I had to have faith and “courage” that God had him in His hands.
After I lost my job in June, I had “courage” to pursue my passions with blogging and not look back. I’ve been going strong for 7 months now and have no plans of stopping. Some days are harder than others and sometimes I feel like quitting or feel like I *have* to have a regular job because that’s what society tells you. But, God gave me “courage” that He had a purpose and a plan for me and to keep courageously pushing forward.
This year, I know that the word STAND will be one of significance for me. Already this year I’ve launched a podcast, and I want to STAND in confidence that it’s great and not compare it to others. I want to STAND on God’s promises. I want to STAND up and say no to the fears and the lies from the enemy.
Will you STAND with me this year too? Tell me in the comments what your word of the year is and why you chose it!
