Three Goals I’m Setting for the Rest of 2018

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So, fun story, we have a little over two months left in 2018. And then…a new year will be here. What the HECK??? I will probably be saying this over and over again as we start to wrap up the year but, damn, 2018 flew by.

The past few months have truly been a blur. New house, big projects, lots of travel, and did I mention a new house? I had some time last weekend to sit down and just breathe. While it was good to relax for a few days, I also ended up doing a little bit of housekeeping for LaurenElyce.com and I am not super happy with where I’m at as we approach the end of October.

Like many folks, I set goals for the year. I’m big into goal setting versus resolutions and while I definitely accomplished some major things this year, as of October 22nd, I still have a few things that I’ve barely moved the needle on.

Instead of putting extra pressure on myself, trying to finish these things 100% before the end of the year, I decided to re-evaluate my goals, set some new timelines and create a few shorter term goals to accomplish for the duration of 2018.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t put things off. I used to be that girl that would start her new diet on Monday or get back to regular posting on the first of the month. That changed this year for lots of reasons, mainly I got my shit together. Well sort of.

Unlike those things, that’s not my intention with this new approach for my 2018, now 2019, goals. I’m not saying I’m putting them off until next year when I can start fresh. Although that sounds wayyy better, in all actuality, I just feel like I’ll be able to be more successful if I can prepare myself ahead of time to better reach those goals – something I should have been doing earlier in the year.

So, here we are. The end of October and I’m setting some NEW goals to rock out for the end of the year so come 2019, I’m ready to roll.

GOAL NO. 1: HAVE AN OFFICIAL 2019 PLANNING WEEK 

This is something I usually do in one day towards the end of December…if that. I always write down things I want to do in the year ahead but am horrible about making a true business plan. This year, I will be acting like the BOSS I am and am officially getting down to business. I already put TWO planning weeks on my calendar, one for November and one for December. During these two weeks, I will not be posting new content and I will be putting my OOO on so I can truly buckle down and start setting strategy for the next year.

I really want to focus on content, elevating my brand + voice, creating a storytelling strategy, monetization, new opportunities for growth and the business side of things (i.e. setting up a better process for my accounting).

This is obviously a super short-term goal but it’s something that I need to make happen in order for me to truly crush 2019.

GOAL NO. 2: CREATE A SOLID BUDGET FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER…AND STICK TO IT

I’d say this is pretty self-explanatory…but for some reason, my brain can’t seem to wrap itself around how to actually stick to a budget. With the end of the year coming, you already know that means holidays which means travel and parties and gifts. Not to mention, I need to start getting my accounting in order for end of year reports. So, my goal is to create a budget before the end of this month – i.e. how much I’m allocating to all expenses, some misc spending, savings – and then not going outside of those parameters. Any new income will go towards savings and 2019 expenses. Writing this one for accountability – hold me to it guys.

GOAL NO. 3: SECURE AT LEAST TEN (10) NEW PROJECTS FOR LAURENELYCE.COM 

I know this goal is pretty specific – but I hear that’s how they’re supposed to be. To be honest, 2018 was my best year yet in terms of income for the blog. I’m pretty proud of that. But, as we wrap up a great year, I don’t want things to slow down financially and I definitely don’t want to lose momentum on my end. I want to keep pushing through the end of the year so I’m challenging myself to secure at least ten new projects between now and December 31st. I ‘m hoping that won’t be hard but because this industry is SO up & down, I am going to work extra hard the next two months to ensure I’m bringing in extra income and putting my brand out there even more.

Did you set goals or resolutions for the year? Did you totally knock ’em out of the park or are you playing catch up and reset with me? Comment below!

Photos by Shelby Gordon