goals

It’s February, Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

Just for Fun

The thing about making goals (resolutions, etc.) is that they are not set-and-forget sort of things. In order to keep up with them, we actually have to look at them and, you know, make an effort!

I don’t know if I’ll post about it each month (unless you want to read it, then absolutely), but I figured at least right now, after the first month of the new year, I’d do a public check-in on all those goals I set last month and see how I’m stacking up.

First up was house projects, and we’ve definitely gotten the first big one underway (our downstairs bathroom remodel progress so far can be found here: week 1, week 2) and we’re still trucking right along with another update to come this Friday. The smaller project for the beginning of the year was a recycling sorter and that’s functionally done.

Our semi-finished but fully functional recycling sorter

Our semi-finished but fully functional recycling sorter

By that I mean the sorter is up and in place, though it technically lacks the hinged top and front pieces. Still, we’re using the bins and even made our first trip to the recycling center last weekend on our way to Lowe’s for the umpteenth time (okay, only the 4th, for January). Todd can take his time on the finishing touches to the sorter once the bulk of the bathroom work is completed.

So far we’re 2 for 2 (the other house projects being for later in the year).

On the family goals front we’re still not to those tasks, yet. March and April for the birthdays (though planning is definitely underway) and we’ve been hunting through the dog listings on about 4 or 5 sites looking for a likely candidate but it’s not realistic to bring one home in the messy middle of the bathroom project. For this category I’d say we’re on track.

Career-wise things are a little slower. I’ve been checking listings regularly (and have a saved search over on Indeed) and almost got an interview, but the position didn’t pay near enough to cover my bills. Shame, the hiring firm really liked my resume. BUT! They did ask if it would be okay if they kept in on file in case something else came up that fit both my skills and my salary requirements. Of course I said yes! I also put in for some part time work and created an account over at 99designs and UpWork (though I need to update my portfolio that came over from eLance) for freelance work. I’m still not 100% sure about 99designs–it’s technically spec work, but the jobs do pay out as opposed to the contests for **exposure** that I flat-out refuse to participate in. We shall see.

Print Your HeART Out kit contents from The Crafty Branch.

Print Your HeART Out kit contents from The Crafty Branch.

The Crafty Branch released it’s newest kit yesterday, the Print Your HeART Out kit is all about monoprints and the gelli plate and I’ve had loads of fun using the plate myself to make kit samples as well as a couple of other projects. The gelli plate is definitely not going to be leaving my work table any time soon (though I may move up a size since I’m enjoying it so much). And I’ve begun implementing my social media strategy, but realize it’s something I really need to work up to rather than jump in with both feet (because the latter is rather overwhelming). I’m also looking into a VA for those tasks.

No movement on the book projects, yet–I need to start putting that on my to-do lists or it’ll never get anywhere–but the house project updates are helping me keep my weekly video goals (though I need to get quicker on the editing) and I created my 2016 Editorial calendar for Scraps Of Life.

For career I’ll say 3 out of 4 in progress. That’s not bad for the first month.

Finally, in personal goals, I had three: move more, be more productive, and art every day.

I know that the remodel is definitely getting me more active on the weekends but I’m not even up to an average of 7,500 steps a day with the activity band, much less the 10,000 “norm” so I’ve got a ways to go. What I have noticed is that it’s going to take a little bit of a mindset shift, but not the one you might expect. I’m really big on efficiency, so I group tasks together: everything from stacking items to go upstairs together so I only have to make one trip (usually when I head upstairs for bed) or grouping tasks away from my desk at work so I can minimize time away from my computer (and the space where I do much of my work). This efficiency of tasks is costing me movement! Now, sure, it’s well-reasoned, but is it what I need to stick to or can I change it without losing the “grooves” I get into on tasks that increase how much I can get done.

Good question. One I don’t yet have an answer for.

Speaking of productivity, we’re going to go about 50/50 there–I’ve gotten a fair amount done this month, but I know I’m capable of more. Take Sunday, for instance–we had things we wanted to get done, both Todd and I, but we independently and simultaneously decided that a 2 hour nap was what we were going to do. Productive? Nope! But it felt really good!

And then there’s my Art Every Day personal challenge. Yeah, I know this one hasn’t happened, I’ve missed some days. But to figure out just how many I missed, I had to flip through my photos and journal to see how many days I was creating something versus not.

My Art Every Day Results for January

My Art Every Day Results for January

If I count things like video (which I do, because it is creative in its way) I managed definite creative pursuits in at least 18 of the 31 days, or 58% of the month. Not stellar, definite room for improvement. Of course, some of those days I worked on multiple projects but only listed the larger one. But the point is to make a conscious effort to exercise my creativity EVERY day. So I’ll work on that for February.

I have one other goal that I didn’t actually list in January but it’s one that I’m actually doing well on, so let’s end on a high note: I’ve gone 34 days without impulse shopping or superfluous spending of any kind! More than a month–that’s a record for me, I’m sure! I’m being very strict with myself over my budget right now (it needs help) but I’m really committed to it so it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it might. And it’s not that I can’t buy anything fun, I just have to plan and budget for it (hence the no impulse shopping). And I didn’t use my credit cards this month, either (well, okay, less than $5 on my Kohl’s charge because it was tied to the discount code I was using, but the other $50 of the purchase was covered by a Christmas gift card and it was a planned purchase on top of that; so I’m not counting it against my record). Remember my budget worksheets? All of the balance trackers will show down arrows on the February sheet and that’s definitely a good feeling!

Have you checked in with your goals so far? How are you doing with them?

2016 Goals, My Word of the Year, and More!

Everyday Adventures

I feel like not doing a resolutions post in the early days of January is like breaking some sort of blogging rule. Add to that, I like to put my goals out there and hold myself publicly accountable, so here we are!

A few nights ago, as part of the Bloggers Get Social January Instagram/Periscope challenge, I did a ‘Scope on my Resolutions (which aren’t resolutions, but goals, and it’s an important distinction, even though it all boils down to the same thing in the end). If you haven’t heard of Periscope yet, it’s okay, it’s a twitter spin-off (as I understand it) and it’s live video streaming–raw, unedited, whatever happens, happens–and then it’s available for viewing for the next 24 hours. Thanks to a service called Katch, though, you can archive your videos for replay past the Periscope window.

So if you want to see/hear me chatter about my goals so forth, here you go:

(Direct link for the feed readers: 2016 not-Resolutions Periscope via Katch.me)

But if you’d rather just see everything in a list, why, I can certainly accommodate you there!

House Projects

  • Downstairs Bathroom Gut job renovation, starting soon (sooooon!), though we just added another element to the project that we hadn’t previously discussed. I’ll leave you with two words: Pocket. Door. Ooooh!
  • Driveway and Fenced yard Driveway is iffy, depends on getting City approval for it and there are a couple of things that make that less of a certainty; one being the proximity to the main water valve/access thingy and the other being a city sign that would need to be moved a few feet farther down the sidewalk… yeah. And there’s really only one place to put a driveway, so it’s not like we have a lot of options. But even if we can’t get the driveway approved, we still want to and will fence the yard, the driveway potential just determined where a gate needs to go.
  • Recycling Sorter A honey-build for Todd, this is projected to be done this weekend and it’s so we can stop being lazy and get back into the recycling habit. The sorter will have three large, removable tubs that fit into a wooden frame with covers and a space underneath for additional stuff (the cardboard recycling can flat-pack its way under there). This way we can grab the totes that are full, pop them in the car, and take them downtown easily.
  • Compost Bin I know we could just designate a far corner of the yard for a spot to put compostable kitchen waste, but I’d prefer something that’s more than just a heap on the ground for a variety of reasons. I’ve seen some that involved rotating parts and a hatch to keep any odor contained and I think that’s more what I’m looking for. This is a mid-year project.
  • (Extra) Back Hall/Mudroom Once the bathroom is finished and the wall between the hall and bathroom is redone as part of it (more on that another time), the rest of the back hall/butler’s pantry/mud room area is largely cosmetic. Of course, I say that, but we’ve had discussions on what to do about the supremely sloped floor in there so, yeah, maybe  not quite as cosmetic as it seems. But this is an extra project, if it gets pushed to another year I won’t be heartbroken.
  • (Extra) Utility Room–Currently the home of the washing machine, dryer, and chest freezer, this room isn’t exactly destined for greatness. It is, however, destined to hold the water heater and fridge from the current kitchen (which requires moving gas lines and adding some more outlets) before we can redo the kitchen. A remodeled kitchen is high on my list of projects for 2017, I think, so yeah, if could get this out the way, all the better.

Family

  • Get a dog! Finally! Every place we’ve lived together I’ve made sure we could get a dog because I knew Todd really wanted one and I’m not exactly opposed to the idea, either. In fact, I’ve had major puppy fever for the last couple of months and it is not abating. That’s part of the reason for wanting the fenced yard (the others being privacy and a noise-break), but with the current chain-link fencing on the side we could easily install a doggy door in the back hall and the pup-to-be-named-later would have safe, easy access to the back porch and shaded side yard. It’ll be at least another month, but the clock is ticking and we are perusing the rescue orgs and PetFinder on the lookout for our new family member.
  • Celebrate some milestone birthdays! Todd turns 50 in March and I turn 40 in April, and plans for parties for both are in place. I’m super-thrilled Todd gave me the go-ahead to throw him a party this year (he generally prefers not to mark the passing of his own years) and it was because he came up with a theme he likes (Hawaii 5-0!). And my friend L has been planning my 40th shindig for months.
  • Visit Savannah, GA. It’s not too far away, it’s some place I’ve always wanted to see, and it just seems like a good year for it. I’m not going to specifically say I want to do this for our anniversary, like last year’s goal, but just when the opportunity strikes.

Career

  • Career change. Oooh, sounds big, right? Before the end of 2015 I’d put in for a job in Thomasville but, just after the calendar change I got the word that they were no longer looking to fill that position. Bummer! So I’m keeping my eye out for something that suits me, but this goal is a little shakier than it was when I first wrote it down in December. Of course, the side business(es) could take off, and that’d be a freakin’ fabulous way for this to work out, but I’m open. It’s not that I *have* to find a new job, but I’ve been with my current company for 21 years, I’m ready for a change. And to not have an hour commute one way.
  • Book Projects Okay, this is left over from last year and the one goal I really didn’t even touch. Granted, there were good reasons for it (ahem, The Crafty Branch), but that doesn’t make them any more done than they were this time last year! So the eBook of What to Feed Your Raiding Party is actually in progress, and the Low-FODMAP book is in a verrry rough draft form. The sequel to Raiding Party is more in my head than anywhere else, but it’ll get there. And there are always a few more on the back burner.
  • The Crafty Branch Speaking of which, TCB is technically one year old come the end of this month, but is, in reality, only 4 months since launch. February will see our 5th kit released and my main goal for this year is to implement my marketing strategy and see continuous sales of the kits. Gotta pay those bills!
  • Scraps Of Life Yes, I consider this under the career umbrella, even though a successful blog-as-a-business-model is as rare as hen’s teeth these days. Still, it’s part of my whole package, and I mean to keep it going and growing. I want to do a video a week (be it YouTube or Periscope), I want to finish our initial trek through the 64 Arts. And I want to build up the Senses Project that I stumbled into this week into a regular (at least monthly) feature. And I’d love to do some sponsored posts for brands I use in my normal, everyday life.

Personal

  • Move more. While I’m sure my doctor would love me to put “lose xx pounds” here, I’m not gonna (write it, that is). I don’t actually care about the number on the scale, I’m comfortable in my body the way it is now and my weight/size doesn’t stop me from doing anything I want to. I do agree that my sedentary lifestyle isn’t the best and will make a more concerted effort to be a bit more active this year. Todd and I got Garmin Vivosmarts as Christmas presents this year and we’re both trying to hit those step goals each day.
  • Be more productive. Don’t get me wrong, I know that I get a lot done on a regular basis, but I also know how easily I get distracted and how ineffectively I put my available time to good use, leaving me to scramble sometimes to meet deadlines. I want to be more consistent in my output and feel good about what I accomplish each day instead of fretting over what I didn’t get done.
  • Art Every Day. This can be anything from sketching/doodling to working on a painting, to making something for the house to whatever. Just so that at the end of the day I can say yes, I did something artsy or creative today. I’m usually thinking about projects on the daily, but doing them comes in fits and spurts, and I want to be more consistent. In the last week I’ve sketched on several occasions, drawn some digital art, and designed some bookplates. Not bad for week 1.

Which leads me to…

Word of the Year

My word for 2016 is Show. As in show up (be present), show out (put my best foot forward), and show me the money (I’m in business, not charity, right?!). Last year’s word was forward and I really feel like it kept me from getting down when things didn’t turn out like I’d hoped, planned, dreamed. The Crafty Branch is the best example–the first plan didn’t work so I kept moving forward and took a different approach. Now it’s time to take that momentum and have something to SHOW for it!

And speaking of show, look who’s showing up on the Imagine Crafts blog today: me!

One Word Planner Dashboard for Imagine Crafts

One Word Planner Dashboard for Imagine Crafts

Just before Thanksgiving I got the word that I was accepted onto the Artist in Residence team for 2016 and this is my first project for them. Our first prompt was all about organization so a planner dashboard featuring my word of the year seemed like the perfect thing. (That’s a stunt planner, up there, I made a similar wrap cover for my planner inserts, too.)

Their products will also be showing up in more of my Helmar projects as the months go by. Like in today’s Reading Road Map Bookmark where I used their great StazOn ink pads to embellish the decoupaged bookmark.

Reading Road Map Bookmark for Helmar Adhesives

Reading Road Map Bookmark for Helmar Adhesives

What are your goals for this year? Any exciting news to share???

RBBiz Day 4: Sam Bennett

Creative Business

Procrastination is Genius in disguise…

IMG_20150312_133044

Or so The Organized Artist and Day 4 interview subject Sam Bennett claimed early on in Thursday Summit session. I appreciate anyone who joins together organization and artistic pursuits, bucking the stereotype that all artists are disorganized, flaky, and otherwise irresponsible. It’s pretty important, if you want to be a successful artist, that you have some sort of system that keeps things flowing smoothly!

Procrastination is one but one problematic trait of creatives (and others, of course, but we’re focusing on right-brainers at the moment), as is perfectionism. Bennett had a suggestion for dealing with that, as well, at least when it comes to goal setting. She suggests that we set goals in tiers: what I must do, what I’d like to do, and what would be amazing (the ‘drinks are on me’ level). That way, as long as we meet our level 1 goal we can accept the accomplishment and move on to whatever’s next.

I do this when I go to conventions, though I never really thought of it in this light. My must-do number is however many books I need to sell in order to break even for that event (usually around 16-18). My second goal at each convention is to empty a box, so we’re taking one less box of books home that we arrived with (average of 22-28 per box). My third tier goal shifts, depending on previous sales. The most books we’ve sold in a 3-day convention was 54, and that was an outlier of a show for us on several levels, so while it’d be great to beat that one day, it’s not always realistic. Instead, our highest “normal” show is in the 32 range, and any time we start approaching that number I get very, very happy!

Finally, she reminded my of a piece of advice I’ve given often, and even follow myself (most of the time), though I haven’t lately. You can do anything for 15 minutes. Setting aside 15 minutes for the projects that matter most, each day, every day, is a sure-fired way to actually Get It Done (also the title of her book). While I plan to spend way more than 15 minutes on The Crafty Branch’s business plan this weekend (my third-tier goal would be to finish it altogether, but I’d be thrilled with just organizing all the facts I have now and completing the playsheets–see what I did there?), making time for those 15 minutes during the week can be a bit more challenging.

This week has gone by so fast, already–only one more session before we’re halfway through–but there’s still another full week ahead. And you can still sign up for your free pass to the second half by clicking the image below. And if you want to catch up on the earlier sessions whose replays have started to expire, upgrading to the Booster pass gives you forever-access and other downloads, too. You still have time to upgrade to the Premium pass, which comes with hundreds of dollars worth of additional business-building resources, and the first of three coaching calls is Wednesday the 18th.

grab-your-free-tix-url

It’s 2015… Now What?

Everyday Adventures

The last few months of 2014 were one bit of bad news after another. For us, for our friends and loved ones, for our country in some cases. While I know that “bad things” happen all the time to all sorts of people, it seemed my little local community’s number came up in the bad-luck lottery more times that usual, lately.

Which is why I’m so happy that 2015 is finally here.

Sure, the changing from one calendar year to another is, technically, an arbitrary designation. It’s not like it’s tied to the equinox or certain planetary alignments, it’s just a page turn. But we need markers in our lives–birthdays, anniversaries, school starts and stops, or even a calendar’s page turn to serve as handy reminders of the passage of time. And, of course, these reminders also sometimes spur us into action. That still small voice reminding us that there’s no time like the present to catch up on one project or start a new one.

Picking a word for the upcoming year is a fun thing to do. Two years ago my word was Growth, last year’s was Respect. This year my word is Forward. Especially in light of recent events (not meaning to be vague, just choosing not to dwell on the specifics), it’s important for me, in 2015, to keep looking forward, to keep moving ahead with plans and dreams, and to not spend more time than absolutely necessary worrying about the past. It’s not ignoring history (thus dooming me to repeat it, right?), it’s moving on from it!

Along with the word of the year, I like to set goals instead of resolutions. The difference is semantic, but words have power and I prefer the associations I have with goals over the alternatives. Last year one of my main goals was to buy the Dollhouse. We all know how that ended up (difficult process, ultimate victory). Another goal of mine was to be on the guest list for 6 conventions in 2014 and while I don’t talk about What to Feed Your Raiding Party business much over here, I managed to achieve that goal, too, even though we ultimately had to cancel one appearance this fall. There were others, but those were the biggies, the ones I really worked on.

I haven’t decided on all my goals for 2015, yet, but I have a few that are already pretty important:

Take a vacation for our second anniversary.

Does this really count as a goal? Absolutely! All those conventions we went to last year? They ate up all our vacation time for 2014. It was something we knew would happen, going into it, but it doesn’t change the fact that every weekend away in 2014 was a working weekend. We had fun, but I want more for us this year. Which, yes, means doing fewer conventions (more on that in a bit), but it’s sort of like paying yourself first: you plan that downtime in and work around it rather than trying to find it later.

Publish 2.5 books.

This, in part, plays into the fewer conventions. I’ve been travelling with the original Raiding Party cookbook for 2.5 years. There comes a time when you need to have something new to show people, but writing the next book while actively touring with the first one just hasn’t happened. So I’ve “grounded” myself from conventions until the next cookbook is ready. In addition to the next cookbook, I have a supplement to the first one that I’ve been picking at for over a year–that’s the .5 book in my goal–and I need to get that out of the way once and for all; both because people are asking for it and to get it out of the way of the next book. The final book is also food-related, but not part of the Raiding Party series: it’s a book on Low-FODMAP living that combines what I post about here on the subject with the rest of my experiences and the answers to the questions I get emailed.

Not that those are my only book projects for 2015, they’re just the main goals. I have a creativity workshop I’m working on, and I just published a printable planner in my Etsy shop–the same planner I designed to be just right in 2014 and road-tested all year is now updated and expanded and ready for the world!

You can find my planner in my Etsy shop: Helper Monkey Designs

You can find my planner in my Etsy shop: Helper Monkey Designs

I’ll be going over some of my organizational strategies in the next few weeks if you’re curious about how I developed the different parts of the planner.

And now the big one…

I’m a big believer in putting things out to the Universe, and while I’ve mentioned it to some friends in private, here goes for the big world-wide reveal: I want to open a store this year.

Not an online shop, not my Etsy store, no. I mean an honest-to-goodness, brick-and-mortar, mailing address-having, lock-and-key, clients-walking-in arts and craft supply store.

(Okay, that was a little fun-scary to type out.)

I’ve always wanted to work for myself, to be more in charge of my own destiny. Up until a few months ago, though, that plan always looked like working from home as a writer and artist. And that’s still part of the picture more or less, but in November I was reading our community newspaper and something just jumped out at me: they are building/fostering a Creative District as part of the downtown shopping area and, yet, there’s no craft stores in the city. There’s a small craft section at the local WalMart, the usual small drawing supply section in Office Depot, and teacher supplies at a downtown store catering to childhood development and creative play. But for everything else, Thomasville residents have to go out of town or order online.

Fast on the heels of the realization of the gap, came the certainty that I could be the person to fill that gap. I’ve got the business know-how thanks to 18 years keeping books for a small corporation. I’ve got the craft chops, not to mention the wonderful people and companies I’ve been fortunate to have relationships with thanks to being part of various Design Teams over the last few years. The business plan I’m developing includes provisions for classes–hearkening back to my days as a Wilton-Method cake decorating instructor and my time spent writing tutorials for eHow.com!

Basically, this is what I’ve been building towards without even knowing it.

So the hunt is on for the perfect location, the building of the business plan that will convince a bank that it’s as good an idea as everyone else thinks it is (that’s the biggest hurdle, I think), and the personal preparations for the total upheaval this would mean for my life (and Todd’s, for that matter–thankfully he’s 100% supportive of this idea; I don’t think I’d even try without it!). It’s not something that’s going to all happen tomorrow, but it’s something I’m working towards and, for now, with a few steps forward each day, I’ll get there.

I have a lot more goals. Things like updating a room in the Dollhouse, creating a video series for the cookbook, reading 75 books (and keeping track of them), painting 10 10×10″ canvases, becoming more active in my local community, create some art licensing collections, do more freelance work, etc. They’re all valid. Even little goals are important. But I signal out those three because they are the benchmarks that I’ll eventually judge 2015 by, judge myself, that is. They represent big leaps forward.

Feel free to question me about these goals: today, 6 months from now, 9 months from now. That’s the whole point of publicly stating them: public accountability.

Are you making goals for this year? I’d love to hear them, and I’d love even more to see you achieve them!

I Have Yet to Unpack the Witty Title Vault…

Just for Fun

Labor Day weekend was slightly less productive than anticipated, but certainly not a total loss.

While there’s still work to be done in the living room and library, I did manage to get the majority of The Abyss boxes unpacked and sorted onto their shelves. Amusingly enough, it’s the eight boxes marked ‘desk’ that have yet to be dealt with, and yet me desk is rather cluttered already. Sure, I have two desks if you count the art table and they each have a fair amount of shelves and cubbies, but I’m still a bit flummoxed at how all those boxes are going to unpack into these two spaces.

Time will tell.

Our other big project was assembling our new storage shed, thus enabling us to clear off a lot of what’s clogging up our back porch. The ground was cleared (by me, thank you very much!) and the bottom frame laid in place. And that’s it. The ground is far from level out there (a fact which really shouldn’t have surprised us) and we lack a shovel to deal with a medium sized root that’s in the way. How we’ve gone this long without a shovel is beyond me, but there you go.

After some deep thinking by Todd, a combination of bricks, pushed-around earth, and maybe some sand will be used to level the corner I cleared and we’ll be able to proceed at some point.

On the upside, I did get my last round of pattern designs submitted this weekend, which reminds me: I had some goals I was going to work on this month. Let’s see how I did on those:

  • Unpacking: we’re getting pretty far along on that, though there are still a fair amount of areas needing attention. I’m going to call this a win, though, as all rooms are functioning with their stuff.
  • Planning the housewarming party: still up for debate. Had we gotten more done this weekend I’d be all set with it on the 13th, but now I’m wondering if we should push it to the 20th just to be safe.
  • Scrapbook 10 pages: hah! This didn’t get done at all. Resetting that goal for September.
  • MIID Summer School: complete! While I wasn’t really loving my second round of submissions, with a bit more work I think they’ll be closer to what I had in mind. The last set I love, though.
  • Portfolio redesign: begun, but far from complete. Definitely still on the list for September.
  • What to Feed Your Raiding Party substitutions supplement: considering I just found the forms and notes for this project last night I’d say it’s safe to say I’ve got a ways to go on this one, still.

Of course, the question then becomes what fresh goals to set for this month, or if there’s really room for more with the continued unpacking and the work still waiting on the portfolio and book supplement. After a half-second’s reflection, I think I’m going to stick with what I’ve got this month, and maybe try to blog a bit more.

Speaking of blogging, I’d set a schedule for myself that just isn’t working with the current time constraints and feelings of chaos at home. So I’m saying screw the schedule and I’ll post what I’ve got when I’ve got it. So expect a lot of house stuff, because that’s pretty much my life at this point, or ramblings of one sort or another. And then, once life finds it’s new stride, I’ll revisit the whole schedule idea.

We good?

Cool.

Got any goals of your own for September?