Against my better judgment, I created a list of goals last year that I wanted to accomplish. I say against my better judgment because I had a strong suspicion I wouldn’t complete them all. But I suppose that really wasn’t the main purpose in setting the goals. The purpose was to set the bar high to motivate me to accomplish more.
Well, I failed. Literally–if it had been a test, I would have gotten an F. Still, I’m glad I set the goals–it did help me to push myself more in certain aspects. At the same time, I realized some of my priorities shifted through the year and what seemed important at the beginning were not so much later on.
So, what did I accomplish? Let’s take a look.
1. Improve album design workflow to deliver the proof layouts within 2 weeks of the wedding. Nope! Well, to be honest, I changed my entire workflow–including album design–to where this wouldn’t even make sense now. So, I’m not surprised I didn’t accomplish this one, and I don’t plan on keeping it for next year.
2. Attend one photography workshop/conference (heh, I know I’ll be doing this one when I attend WPPI in March). Yep! I actually attended 3 this year! WPPI, Zack Arias’ OneLight Workshop, and the Foundation Conference.
3. Shoot an e-session at Kennywood (I really want to do this). Check and check! I actually photographed TWO engagement sessions at Kennywood. It was so, so fun!
4. Train for Pittsburgh’s half-marathon and run it at a 9 minute mile (or less) pace. I know this is ambitious–I was closer to 10 minute miles last May. Yep, I managed to accomplish this, too.
5. Improve packaging for DVDs and albums to match brand (already working on this one!) Yes! I love my new DVD packaging.
6. Visit a national park. Yes, I actually accomplished this, too, when I visited the Flight 93 memorial site this fall.
7. Read one book a month. I almost accomplished this one. I read a total of 11 books this past year. Kind of pathetic, really. But when the summer got super busy with weddings, I just didn’t keep up with it. I’m still glad I had the goal because it pushed me to read more than I might have.
8. Shoot two Trash the Dress sessions. Again, I accomplished half of this one. I held one workshop where we did a mini trash the dress shoot.
9. With that in mind: Hold 5 workshops (some can be small!). Um, I did not come close to holding 5 workshops. I did manage to do two, though. Again, things were just too busy this fall to focus on anything else but my couples and their weddings.
10. Do 3 photo walks of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Another partly completed goal. I only got around to doing a photo walk along the North Shore, but it was enjoyable!
11. Create client anniversary cards. Sadly, no, still haven’t decided what I want to do with this. I’m going to give it more thought this winter.
12. Cook 1 recipe from every cookbook I own. Well, this was ambitious…and I failed miserably. I probably only cooked a handful of recipes from a couple of favorite cookbooks. Still, I’d like to try something like it again this year.
13. Submit work and have published in two magazines or blogs. Another half-way completed goal. I had a wedding published in WHIRL’s wedding guide.
14. Finish and launch studio. Yes, I opened my studio in April of this last year and love using it to meet with clients.
15. Go horseback riding once (I really want to do this!). I fit this goal in on our trip to Kauai.
16. Host a game night at my house and place Settlers of Catan (nerd alert). While I attempted to host a game night back in February, the blizzard kind of ruined those plans, and we never found another time that worked for folks. I’d still love to host one this winter.
17. Exercise 5 days a week for a month. That one definitely wasn’t easy.
18. Create custom thank you cards. I checked this one off but never blogged about it. Oh well.
19. Keep my dresser top clean for a month (it attracts a lot of clutter–Jay really laughed at me for this one). I’m sure Jay is not surprised by this, but I never managed to keep my dresser top clean for a month. There were a few days or weeks it was clean…but inevitably things got busy and I found other more interesting activities than cleaning my dresser. But, I’m happy to say it’s currently spic and span. So, maybe this will be the month!
20. And my most ambitious goal: triple my blog’s subscriptions. Right now I’ve got 32 subscribers. Can I get to 96?? This was kind of a silly goal, really. And while my blog’s subscriptions didn’t triple, they did more than double! I think I’ve got 72 last time I checked. But really, it’s not about numbers…I want to create quality content that folks enjoy reading. And if that’s only a few folks, so be it.
So what’s in store for this year? Well, I haven’t sat down and laid out all my goals yet. I still want to spend some more time thinking about them. Thanks to all who encouraged me this last year and helped me accomplish the things I did. Here’s to a new year and more wonderful couples, families, and stories!
by mary
Nicole - It looks like you accomplished a lot in 2010. Bravo!!! And even though I don’t subscribe I read your blog regularly because the content is good and you provide beautiful eye candy with your gorgeous photos. Its one of my Safari Top Sites.
Katia Forero - Mary!Congratulations in accomplishing many of your 2010 goals!!!I was inspired by your post and decided to write my own for 2011…thank you for the inspiration!Hey, how about that coffee? I will be out until the 26th but maybe after?
Steff - I am going to do this as well. Especially after having coffee with you, I’ve had a lot on my mind. If I don’t get some of it written down, my head may really explode.