My plan of attack to stay on track this year with my 2020 goals for both my business and personal life…

It is that time of the year again for we have rung in a new year AND new decade! What I love about a New Year is that it feels like a fresh start and I am never more motivated than the beginning of January to take on big and beautiful goals!

Twenty-nineteen was what I call a transition year for me. I was settling into mommy-hood and with that trying to decide how committed I wanted to be to my work and what being a working mom and entrepreneur looked like. It was a big showdown in my head (LOL!), and an important one at that. I knew for certain I needed to work smarter and not harder so that I could maximize my time and be the best possible mom I could be while also still running a profitable and fulfilling business.

One major plus of having maternity leave (or kinda having…) and being forced to be in a position to slow down (I was also on bedrest from week 22 on…yeah…that was fun…) was it gave me a chance to see the 30,000 feet high picture. Prior to this, I was really only seeing what was right in front of me and that was a big lesson. In hindsight, being in that position wasn’t giving me the clarity I needed to make important decisions. In truth, I was running ragged.

So, by taking a step back in 2019 and settling into my new role, it gave me a great advantage for leaping into 2020. I determined that YES, I do love to work, and YES I do love what I do. And with that resolution I decided to start fresh this year (notice this beautiful new website and branding, for example?).

Personally, I feel once I was able to make this decision everything started to click. Suddenly I got my balance back in all aspects of my life and I really hope to keep this upswing throughout this year!

Now, you’re probably wondering what are your actual goals and how do you plan to stick with them?

Well, I am going to tell you…here is my list of goals both personal and professional that I am aim to take on all while keeping in mind my WORD for 2020 — DECISIVE. Without being firm and decisive in my decision making none of the listed below will get accomplished.

• Keep my mind and body calm, rested, and active. Calm meaning to manage stress and eat more intentionally (not dieting per say, but eating things that will best nourish my body). I will stay rested by practicing continual self care and keeping stress at bay. Ways in doing this leads to being active. I function best when my body is moving whether that is yoga, walking, pilates, cycling, etc. Otherwise I feel stagnate, stiff and lack mental clarity.
• Building better relationships (and meeting new!) friendors. The saying is so true, it is way more fun to work with people you know and like. I will do this by saying YES! to invitations, more coffee and wine visits and giving back to my fellow creatives.
• Saying NO when it isn’t a good fit. This is both a personal and professional goal. I am really good at overcommitting and undervaluing myself and then becoming a ball of stress as a result. Keeping my calendar a little more open (and allowing time for my first goal listed), and only saying YES when the project or activity is right for me and my family.

Also, here are a few tips for how I was able to set these goals for myself…

• Create a list of your Top 10 Best Moments of 2019 in both your personal and professional life (so essentially 2 lists). Knowing what it was that was most important to you or made you feel your best will also help you decide how to attract more of this.
• Create a list of what didn’t work in both areas of your life. The best way to learn is to acknowledge where things went wrong and improve from there.
• And finally, be intentional. Don’t rush this process. Really thinking through your goal setting and knowing the WHY will help you better stay on track in the New Year.

A few tips to help keep you accountable

• Set manageable and specific goals. Say you want to attract new clients in 2020, great! But, how will you do this? Ask yourself where you will find these new clients, what interests does your new client have that align with your product or service? Alternatively, if your goal is to lose weight…how much weight do you really need to lose and why? Set incremental markers — by March I hope to be 1/4 of the way closer and when I get there I am treating myself to this (fill in the blank).
• Which leads me to, reward yourself. Once I get to this milestone I will have earned (whatever it is you really want). Having incentives helps keep you motivated and on track.
• And remember to take things set-by-step. Little goals along the way is more manageable than trying to tackle the whole enchilada at once.

So in review…

What lead me to my goal setting for the New Year is that I was running too fast and wasn’t able to see the full picture. I was only seeing the surface level and what was right in front of me, which was limiting my scope and ability to innovate and be decisive. Taking time to reflect and ask myself questions like what were my best and worst moments/decisions of 2019 helped me realize what goals I should and want to set moving forward.

Remember to set incremental goals and celebrate the wins along the way. I am rooting for you and I am rooting for me. GO US! 🙂

And please, I would love to know, what are some goals you plan to set for yourself and even better, I would LOVE to know your best moments of 2019. Tell me in the comments or send me a note (allie@alliemarionphotography.com). I can’t wait to hear from you!