February Goals

Hey! It’s February! How are those goals doing? I feel like it can be easy to 1. go strong in January and burn out by the time February rolls around or 2. not start off too hot and get discouraged. If you haven’t checked out my Facebook live from last week, definitely head there after reading the post! I shared the system I used to check off nearly every goal from January!

JANUARY RECAP

1. Finish VMP processes. I’ve been trying to work on this for a while but am finally ready. It might have to do with the new year kick in the pants to get organized and seeing my sister’s fancy notebook that she made for her business. ; ) Yes!! I am so glad to have this done!

2. Find a mentor. I have been thinking about this for so long but it’s time to seek one out and not wait for someone to walk up to me and say “Hi! I’d love to mentor you!” ; ) Yes! We met once already and are meeting again on Friday. It was so refreshing to my soul and I feel like I tell everyone I see they need a mentor now. 😉 Post coming on how to do this.

3. Finish reading Philippians inductively and start Zechariah. I’m have only been doing this a few days and it’s been so refreshing! Yes! I decided to read 2 Timothy next instead of Zechariah though. 

4. Switch to ConvertKit. This is a bit more challenging than I thought! I am using a few great resources from Elle & Co and Spruce Road. Yes! The open rate of our monthly emails as gone up almost 20% so I’d say it was worth actually doing this.

5. Fast from sweets for 31 days. To get a little nerdy science-y, I have been having some foot issues and it looks like the cause may be too much inflammation which sugar causes. I have done a 7 day fast but NEVER a 31 day. Yes and no. I changed things up around 13 days in and did limited sweets. It was actually getting easy to not eat it but I knew that wouldn’t be real life and didn’t want to go back to binging on sweets. Not going to lie. I totally over did it at our local If Gathering but I am getting more aware of my decisions. 

6. Plan Favorite Things Party. I threw one of these two years ago for Galentine’s Day and am excited to do it again. I’m focusing on a fun time with friends and less on presentation and the fluff. I’ve already decided FB invites instead of paper. Kind of a big deal for a paper designer! 😉  Yes! I am so excited for this!!

7. Create ideal week based on yearly goals. I have made an week before but I wanted to rework this in light of my goals so I am realistically planning for them. I can’t say I want to spend time doing something and then not actually make room for it in my week. Check! 

8. Plan yearly budget. Because it’s a new year and we kind of have to. Done!

9. Write a book proposal. For a real life publisher. 🙂 I don’t want to share too much too early, but I was asked to submit a proposal to publish with a national publisher. Friends, I covet your prayers!! I really want God to speak through me, not only as I write the book, but through this proposal as well. I have no idea what God has planned, if it’s to be shared on a bigger scale in bookstores nationwide or smaller self-published like The Finishing School but God knows. Pray for the words to flow and my heart to be accepting of whatever the outcome is! Yes. It’s mostly done. I am just working on revisions based on my agent’s feedback. 

10. Write out family rhythms. As we are about to enter that dreary part of winter, I really want to embrace how every season has something special. I’d love to have little traditions that flow around the seasons so we can look forward to something in any season. I’ll be utilizing this book. I didn’t finish this but I created the outline for this. I mentioned in my newsletter the new journal that will be coming based off this so hopefully anyone hoping to put together a family vision won’t have to take months to do it like I am. 😉

FEBRUARY GOALS

1. Do survey about new collection. I actually already created this and would LOVE your feedback on what you’d like to see more of or new product ideas. Fill out here!

2. Participate in the Kindness Challenge. I listened to a podcast with Shaunti, the creator of the Kindness Challenge and knew I wanted to do this for Tyler for this month!

3. Read Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. 

4. Write proposal revisions and turn in to publisher. Would love your prayers!

5. Compile list of ailments. Ok so this sounds depressing, but in light of my goal to “marvel at what my body can do“, I want to be proactive in healing the things that feel broken.

6. Get a house phone. For reals. I still spend way too much time on my phone. Part of my excuse is needing it nearby in case Tyler or mom or sister calls, because that’s mostly of my calls! 😉 My plan is to put my phone away early afternoon for the rest of the evenings. It’s like $13 a month and I think that’s totally worth it if I spend less time on my phone each evening.

7. Talk with Bailey about VMP Giving. I am so excited for this one! If you own a small business and want to give more through your company, go check out her company, Abel Impact.

8. Plan a garden. The flood has had our yard looking pitiful since August.

9. Finish family vision. For real, for real. 🙂

10. Host a Facebook Live. Got this done on Feb. 1. 🙂 See it here!

If you are looking for a way to set goals and take action on them daily, weekly and monthly, check out the Powersheets! Besides prayer, this is the single biggest factor for how I’ve been able to focus my goals and make things happen over the last 3 years!

DECEMBER BOOKS

• Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
• Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen

BOAZ FUND

After hearing about what The Seed Company is doing during If:Gathering this past weekend, I knew I wanted to be a part of their mission!! I had no idea that there are still over a billion people that do not have the Bible in their own language. To the girl who is able to see two Bible just from where I’m sitting, this breaks my heart. Donating $35 basically funds the translation of one verse of the Bible. You can donate directly here! Or if you order anything from our shop, we will be donating $.50 for every journal sold! Shop here!