1.02.2018

My Goals for 2018


I know that goals and resolutions are kind of the same thing but I never like to say I'm setting new year resolutions because I feel like those are just set up to fail. Doing something for a full year is a really long time! So instead, I'm setting goals for myself.

Surprisingly, this is the first time on the blog I'm setting them in the new year (I usually set them around my New York Anniversary) but I'm really feeling the "fresh start" this year. Some are longterm, some are easy fixes but they're all things I would like to achieve in 2018. Enjoy!


Personal:
1. Stay consistent with working out
Last month I started BBG and I hope to stick with it. What is awesome is Andrew has decided to do it with me (he modifies it to fit his needs) and so now we're able to hold each other accountable and stick to the routine together. I'm never actually happy to work out, but after we finish I'm always glad we did it. 

2. Increase my monthly savings
Over the past two years I've gotten really good at aggressively saving (it was a goal from 2015!). I've been working with my personal advisor and twice a month an amount is pulled from my accounts and put into my savings. We've been at this number for about six months and I think we need to increase it! 

3. Get in control of my spending
I was doing my blog expenses for the year, looking over my past bills and spending from 2017 and -- woof -- I spent A LOT. I know it's part of the job, and I put a lot of money back into it, but I wasn't happy with how much I was spending. Just like I want to save more, I want to spend less. I realized I don't have much of a budget for purchases, and I'm not really paying attention to the income and expenditures. In some ways, this is great because I don't have that stress but it's also unnecessary because I could be saving more.

4. Write half a book
I think I mentioned this in a random blog post last year but I really want to write a book. I have the plot, the characters and the ideas all ready to go I just need to write it down. I realized adding another full-time job to my already busy plate was a bigger challenge than anticipated. So I'm setting a goal for myself to write half a book -- not the whole thing. But just 100/150 or so pages.

5. Wake up earlier
There was a month or two where I got in the routine of waking up at 7 and starting my day. I LOVED how much extra time I had to do things and I really would love to get back into that habit. It's just a mind over matter thing and something that is easily done so let's do it!


For the Apartment:
1. Get a new couch
I have this awesome blue couch from World Market that I love but it's getting old and isn't really the most inviting to spend a day on (it's more fashion over function) -- especially now that there is a new person in the apartment. So my goal for this year is to find a new (still blue velvet) couch that is comfortable, has a chaise and I would *love* (this is the hard part) for it to have a recliner but not actually look like it reclines. Any ideas?

2. Re-read the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and clean out the apartment
In the grand scheme of things, I really don't have that much stuff. We live in a 700 sq. ft. apartment so the option to have a lot isn't even there but I do feel cluttered by my things. I want to have an apartment audit and get rid of a lot. I read this book when I lived in my studio and was able to pack up about 20 trash bags full of items that I didn't need and it felt so good. I want to do it again and really get the apartment back in tip-top shape!

3. Shoot and video my apartment
I know I know I've been so bad about this!! But for a long time I never really looked at the apartment as "finished" but now that I think about it, I haven't really added anything new in months. So I guess that means we're done? I think after I clean out I'll get the apartment ready to shoot and we'll get this done. But you will see this within the year!


Blog:
1. Write a long form post once a week
Looking back on my popular posts of 2017, I noticed the trend that almost all of the top 10 posts were longer form content; ones where I got more personal, more in-depth and more real with you guys. I love to write (obviously) but I just fell into the routine of typing a paragraph or two and hitting publish (life gets busy!). So my goal is to plan more in advance and to find a time to sit down and write a longer form blog post. I just need some ideas about what to write about!

2. Show more everyday and casual style
I really love to wear dresses and skirts. They are honestly my favorite, but when I was looking back on 2017 I realized I didn't show you more of my everyday / casual side. I know we all have those "I just want to be comfortable" days and so my hope is to share mine with you more often. Less heels, more sneakers!

3. Be better about emails
I really really fell off on emails this year. Between how crazy work was and the influx of blog emails I got overwhelmed. I used to just reply to them when I had some free time but now I think I need to set aside time to specifically work through emails and answer not just some, but all, and hold myself to it!

4. Get back to YouTube
I feel like I was really great about this in 2016 but I totally fell off last year and only published 20 videos (zero in the past three months). I love recording videos and talking to you guys, but it took a backseat because life got busy! So I'll try to do one video a month and see how it goes. I'm not totally going to overwhelm myself but I'll get back in the swing of things and go from there. 

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If you guys want to see any individual blog posts about any of the goals above, let me know in the comments below! I'm happy to write something up and am looking for new ideas for posts in 2018!


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