The Tool that Changed My Life + Business in 2019
At the end of 2018, I was in a place in life and business where I knew I needed to make some changes. Through Instagram, I found the Cultivate What Matters team + their Powersheets Goal Planner. It didn’t take me long to realize this was what I needed to help get me where I wanted to be- so I bit the bullet.
So, what is the Powersheets Goal Planner? It is a year-long goal planner broken up by month + season. It starts with ‘prep work’ pages to help you dig deep + put pen to paper with what’s on your heart and how you can turn that into your goals. The process they have created makes it super easy to start with a big, over-arching goal and how to break it down into daily, weekly + monthly action items to create real, attainable goals and achievements.
If that sounds daunting to you, don’t let it. Lara Casey, founder + CEO of the company, has a prep work series on her blog + YouTube to walk you through the entire process. I used one planner for both personal + professional goals so everything was in one place.
I chose eight big picture goals for 2019 to work toward. Below is the list of all of them, but if you stick around I will break them down further into why they’re important and how I worked toward them.
Improve self care/personal health
Create more family time
Improve financial stability
Work on me time
Be a better friend
Work smarter, not harder
Serve Justin better
Improve personal growth
That sounds like A LOT and it really is, but with this process it was super easy to break all of that down into smaller, bite size action items + goals. I’ll show you my examples below.
Improve self care/personal health
This is important to me because I only have one body + I want to take care of it now.
I created a morning + night routine that includes moisturizer, daily vitamins, + lotion. I have been trying to eat better snacks + meals, move my body by yoga, playing with the dogs + going on walks, as well as working toward a toxic chemical-free home by improving cleaning products, eliminating dryer sheets, and using hygiene products without harmful chemicals.
Family time
Time is fleeting + relationships are super important to me, so I want to spend as much time with my people as possible.
Instead of googling questions about my garden, I called my grandpa. We had a ‘garden day’ in the spring where some family + friends came over to help us plan and plant our garden. We spent time camping with family and I’ve worked to make it a habit to send more calls and texts and to engage more on social media.
Financial stability
Financial security is important to me and, like all of these goals, this one is still a work in progress but I am super happy with my progress this year.
We were able to pay off our cell phones + vehicles. The first few months of the year I had success ‘no spend weeks’ but as the year went on that didn’t go as planned. I cut my clothing spending by A LOT by thrifting more + buying new less. I cut my book spending by a lot as I bought used books + thrifted. As we’re in the Christmas season, I have found ways to lower Christmas expenses by using rewards points + the change jar we saved all year toward gifts.
We very rarely eat out anymore + by having a garden and raising our own meat, we have been able to cut some of our grocery costs as well. Not to mention the benefits of knowing we raised our own foods.
Some things I didn’t get accomplished, but will work toward in 2020: purchasing a new vehicle, contributing more to retirement + savings + pay down the mortgage.
Me time
I was burnt out at the end of 2018. I knew I needed to find what made me happy to do it.
I wanted to spend less time on my phone + read at least one book a month. I set daily app limits on my phone and, as of Nov 21, I have read 48 books this year. I didn’t stick to the app limits every day but they helped me realize just how much time was spent on my phone + not present in real life.
I spent more time outside. Being outside makes me happy so I would play with the dogs, read my books, or just sit on the porch with Justin.
I was intentional with taking days/weekends off to spend time with Justin + we got to do so many fun things together this year because of that.
Be a better friend
Why? Because my friends deserve it. Relationships are super important to me. I can’t attest to how well I’ve done at this, but I can tell you what I’ve done to try my best.
I have tried to text more just to check in when I’m thinking about my people. I try to engage more on social media with comments.
I try to make time for dinners/ coffee visits/time together when I’m in Arkansas + Justin and I have been working to get to know more people in our area. We spent a lot of days on the lake with our friends this summer + I’m so thankful for that.
Three of my closest friends had babies this year + three of my closest friends got married so I tried to check in + be present with those people as they navigated new seasons of their lives.
Work smarter, not harder
This is a never ending battle when you’re self employed, but I am excited about the progress I made this year.
I have gotten my workflow down in a client relationship manager to streamline my contracts + communication with my wedding clients. My editing process has become super efficient. I brought the BC Print Shop to life + added a store my client galleries. This blog + website have been revamped and I am excited about where its headed. And, the most exciting part of it all is I was able to hire a Virtual Assistant that is a rockstar. Mollie helps bring all the things to life + I’m so thankful she’s part of the team.
In addition to all of that, I have worked to continue my education + better myself as a photographer and business owner.
Serve Justin better
This is another one that I can’t say exactly how well I’m doing + its a never ending process as well, but Justin’s love language is acts of service so I have worked to cater to that more this year.
It’s important to me not to take out my frustrations on him + that’s been a work in progress. We have worked to communicate better to each other and to become a team in all things. We’ve been married 2.5 years and every day we’re still learning how to love each other better.
Lastly - Personal Growth
I always want to get better and be better for myself and for my people and my clients.
This year, I went to a photography workshop that really poured into me as a personal + photographer and remind me why I do what I do.
I spent more time in the Word + journaling than I ever have. It wasn’t a daily thing, but every day I did it was a day that I was working toward making myself better.
I have wanted a garden my whole life + this year we made it happen. I loved spending time outside in the dirt, harvesting the produce, and learning about the process. It was something Justin and I did together and I got to involve my grandpa and that means a lot to me.
Overall this process has opened my eyes to A LOT of things + helped me work to be better about a lot of things. Overall, I am super happy with my goals + the results so far in 2019. I am fired up + ready to get 2020 underway to start a new decade + a new year working toward new goals. I can’t say enough GREAT things about this product + the structure and guidance it provided me this year.
What were some of your goals in 2019? Did you reach them? If so, how? What goals are you going to work on in 2020? Share with me in the comments!
