As you probably know by now I am very passionate about two things in my life setting goals and getting organized. (I am also passionate about business and marketing but I will save those topics for another day). Since I was a kid I have always loved to write to-do lists for each day, goals for each month and goals for each year. I would organize my closet, bathroom and pretty much any area in the house that my mom allowed me to. That habit of organization carried over into my habits in school and now in my business. I believe staying organized and having goals can be one of the key factors to success in your business. Why? Because, if you know exactly where you want your business to go then you are more likely to reach that goal. I know that seems simple but most people do not have goals. If you do not know where you want your business to go how can you get there? “Did you know that a staggering 92 percent of people that set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them?” That’s according to research done by the University of Scranton. That is crazy! That means that only 8 percent of the population that set goals or resolutions actually achieve them. Did you also know that some of the most successful people in the world set goals and have actually achieved them? Here are a few famous people that set goals. Hopefully, this inspires you to set goals and follow your dreams: J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Shania Twain, Emily Blunt and the list goes on and on. The one common thing these famous people have in common is that they not only had goals they wrote them down to view them on a regular basis. ” Dr. Gail Matthews researched goal-setting thoroughly and discovered that by the simple fact of writing your goals down, it gives you a 42% greater probability of achieving the goal. Just by writing them down!” Teri Savelle Foy. If writing down goals means you are more likely to achieve them well then I think that is one easy task for you all to do today! Let’s dive on in how to set effective goals and get organized!

Five ways to set effective goals: 

1. Set specific goals– Do not be vague. For example, I will run this year vs. I will train to be able to run a 5k this year. The more specific you are the better because it means you might actually follow through with it. If you have a vague goal you do not really know what you want to achieve so, therefore, you can not reach your achievement. On the flip side if you have a very specific goal in mind you can start to take action and chip away at reaching that goal.
2. Set a date– This is so important! Like all things in life, you need a deadline. You will procrastinate and most likely never accomplish your goals if you do not have a date in mind for your goal. Set the month and year you want to accomplish the goal by.
3. Write your goals down– This is key. If 42% of people that write down their goals are more likely to achieve then that must mean something. It means that when you see it every day your mind processes it and is coming up with action steps on how to reach it every day. Now does that happen all in your head? No, you need to write down those action steps on paper. I am simply saying that the more you see your goals the more you are reminded of where you want to be which pushes you to persevere.
4. Make an action plan– For every goal come up with 3 action steps on how you will get there. How can you set a goal without a plan? You simply cannot. You cannot run a 5k without training just like you can not double your profit in your business without a plan. For example, if your goal is to double your income this year your action steps might be something like this: Raise my package prices, take on 10 more this weddings and come up with a product to earn passive income. Whatever you choose to write down make sure you take the action steps needed to reach your goals.
5. Check it off the list– When you have accomplished your goal check it off and if you feel like you want to add one more do it!
6. Bonus Tip: When making your yearly 10 goals make them achievable for that year. Save the crazy dream big goals for your 3 year, 5 year and 10-year goals. If you make all unattainable goals for this year you will be discouraged that you did not reach any of them. However, if you see you are reaching attainable goals every year as baby steps to get to your crazy dream big goals then you will have more hope and motivation to keep on working hard to achieve your goals.

 Products that aid organization: 

1.Project Planner: This was one of the best gifts I have ever received. My dear friend Kailey just gets me. Each year for my birthday she gives me a thoughtful gift based on my personality. This past October she gave me this project planner because she knows I love to plan and I love projects! This planner has a section to write the projects name and 11 action steps for you to write how you will follow through with the project. It even has an area where you can write when it is due and when you will start on it. It is pretty amazing! I use this to plan out blog posts, styled shoots, rep shoots and really anything that has more than one step. I highly recommend you buy this project planner!

2. Rifle Paper Company Journal: I have a confession to make, I own more journals than I can count. I love writing. I have a journal for personal goals, spiritual goals, business goals, random ideas that come to my head, monthly budgeting and life goals. Honestly, I have way more than that but I am not going to bore you and list them all. This one is my favorite journals. It is my dream journal. In this journal, I have my goals for the year, dreams for my business for the future, random ideas for my business and a section where I write down what I learn from classes online, books and workshops from the year. It is important to me to keep a record of all these things that way I can label it 2017, 2018 etc. This helps me to see how far I have come and allows me to look back on what I learned each year. I highly recommend getting a journal and keeping track of your goals, dreams and journey as an artist.

3. Make it happen power sheets: This one is amazing! The only downside is that it sells out within days of Jan. 1st. I would recommend looking up other versions of Powersheets online. Basically, this goal planner asks you a million questions to figure out why you want to set the goals you do and how you will achieve them. They have whole pages for one goal and have you write out action steps to get there as well as what reward you will give yourself when you do achieve it (Chocolate is always my go-to or Sol Food my favorite place to eat).

4. Stay organized by having your mail on your desk and post it reminders on your computer with to-do lists for the day and week. In addition, I have a to-do list by my side of the bed so when I wake up I can see exactly what I need to do for the day. The second thing you need as a business owner is binders! I have one for my business plan, one for my contracts for the year and one for receipts & checking account monthly statements. I got my binders, post-it notes and mail organizer from Target but you can really get these products anywhere!

5. Keep your gear organized. I have my SD cards protected in this Pelican Case and my pictures protected on this LaCie rugged mini portable hard-drive (I recommend you have multiple hard-drives and a backup plan online so that you are extra protected). I also keep my gear always in my camera bag ready to go for when I need it.

I hope this all inspires you to get organized and set some goals this year!