Starting Over: 101 goals in 1001 days!!

Hi friends! As I’ve been over-excitedly hinting at these past few weeks with the newness of 2012 upon us, I’ve just now drafted a brand new 101 in 1001. AKA, 101 goals I hope to accomplish in the next 1001 days! My first and most recent list was created back in March 2010, and although I fulfilled about a quarter of those goals, about 75% of them became tasks I either wasn’t at all passionate about any longer or things that just didn’t seem achievable within the given timeframe. So! I’ve decided to create a list of goals that are much more specific, measurable, and reasonable! Because let’s face it.. I was never going to “go on a hike” or “join a book club.” I mean, f’real… And just a fun little note about this list. You just might call it my “To Do Before Having Babies” list. Because so long as things go according to our plan, that is exactly how the timing would work out! BAYUM. Let’s do this thang!!

OH! And before you read on and see that I’ve only written 69 goals… Be aware that I’ve given myself the permission to re-evaluate this list on a regular basis. Adding to and taking away from it as I feel necessary! Otherwise, I’d probably try filling the gap with “capture and befriend a pet squirrel.” Just to push it to 101. And that’s just silly! So, here we go, Internet! Here are the goals I hope to achieve by October 16, 2014!! Let me know what you think!!

1. Change my name (I’m slow when it comes to these things!)
2. Get a freaking iPhone already (Completed 2/5/12)
3. Buy our first home (Completed 6/14/12)
4. Get a sectional sofa that’s more conducive to cuddling (Completed 9/18/12)
5. Find fun ways to display personal photos in our home and then DO it
6. Purge our home of unnecessary clutter on a regular basis (AKA, live SIMPLY!)
7. Create a legit cleaning schedule and try to stick to it
8. Make a habit of doing my laundry on a regular basis (I work from home, okay?)
9. Complete five DIY projects for our home
10. Give only handmade gifts for either Christmas 2012 or Christmas 2013
11. Learn to knit
12. Send out our raw wedding day images for editing by Colorati
13. Design and order our wedding album
14. Give wedding albums to both sets of parents
15. Do something nice for someone anonymously
16. Randomly send someone some small item they mention wanting
17. Mail someone a card and small gift to encourage them in some random way
18. Read through the whole Bible
19. Learn to keep Sundays as a day of rest
20. Literally count my blessings
21. Read five new books (AKA, try to love reading)
22. Make a habit of cooking more homemade meals for my husband
23. Make a legit wedding-worthy cake of fanciness
24. Hold a Martha Stewart-like dinner party for a small group of close friends
25. Get Sully to let me dremel his nails (Cutting them is a nightmare!)
26. Take a stay-cation
27. Visit Europe (namely, Ireland and Denmark)
28. Visit Seattle (I’ve always, always wanted to!)
29. Go back to NYC for a weekend
30. Be in a wedding (MOH duty, baby!!) (Completed 9/23/12)
31. Throw two kick-butt bridal showers for my sister (Completed 7/27/12 and 7/29/12)
32. Photograph one of my dear friends’ delivery of twins (Completed 2/9/12)
33. Take a martial arts or self-defense course
34. Become CPR certified
35. Try out a yoga/zumba class
36. Reach and maintain goal weight of 1_5 pounds (Like I’d really let that cat out of the bag!) :)
37. Make a habit of drinking more water every day
38. Make a habit of taking my vitamins every day
39. Make a habit of exercising three days a week
40. Grow out my hair as long as it once was and DO NOT CUT IT (only trim) (Completed)
41. Schedule a massage to enjoy after a particularly hard-on-my-back wedding (Completed 5/14/12)
42. Be better at keeping a schedule like someone who DOESN’T work from home (AKA, showering in the morning, getting dressed in real clothes, etc.)
43. Force myself to work outside of our home semi-regularly
44. Get updated head shots now that I’m 20 pounds lighter and my hair is longer (Completed 3/5/12)
45. Shoot an updated promo video
46. Conceptualize three shoots, have them styled by local vendors, and shoot them
47. Improve (AKA, finish) killer product packaging
48. Develop after-booking gifts/client kits
49. Purchase canvas gallery wraps for our office space
50. Double AFP’s profitability by at least 50%
51. Increase Twitter followers to 1000
52. Increase Facebook followers to 3000
53. Increase Google Reader subscribers to 300
54. Institute three new blog categories
55. Purchase 27” iMac for in-office work
56. Upgrade one of our Nikon D700’s to a Nikon D4
57. Begin using ShootQ (Completed 6/1/12)
58. Implement the Git Kit
59. Take a seminar on time-management (Completed 2/12)
60. Institute an internship program
61. Start Alyse French Photography workshops
62. Revamp my album ordering process (possible outsourcing)
63. Order new sample wedding albums
64. Create a “for photographers” page for our website
65. Create a “press” page for our website
66. Learn to shoot landscape orientation with more intentionality and creativity (Habit formed!)
67. Experiment with film photography
68. Blog about the majority of these goals as they are accomplished
69. Routinely evaluate the goals on this list and write down new ones (AKA, goals 70 through 101) ;)

SOME UPDATED ADDITIONAL GOALS (in no particular order)…

70. Be selected as a Little Black Book vendor for Style Me Pretty
71. Snazzy-up the blog a bit (Completed 3/22/12)
72. Complete the CLEAN Program
73. Write a systems manual for the business
74. Trick out my office/meeting space in our new home
75. Establish vendor referral system
76. Establish strict 9AM-5PM office hours
77. Retake the Myers-Briggs test again
78. Complete The Challenge
79. Vacation with my family in Bar Harbor, ME

To be continued…

Now feel free to share some of YOUR goals below!! Happy 101’ing!!