Goals For 2018 (Late, But I Have a Reason)

It’s that time of the year again. My husband was gracious enough to give me an hour all to my very self this morning and even though I feel more tired than I have in my entire life, I’m trying to piece together a few brain cells to really carve out some intentions for 2018.

Honestly, I feel like 2017 was kind of a hot mess, between selling our much-loved first home and buying a new home that completely changed our lifestyle. The entire process was a rocky one, filled with a lot of stress and drama and many painful emotions from yours truly.

And then, just when it felt like we were due for some kind of reprieve from the madness, I picked up the kids from school before Christmas and as I hopped out of the minivan, I was hit with a wave of nausea. I didn’t think anything of it, but decided to take a pregnancy test when I got home, you know, just in case.

While the kids were corralled in the living room, I took the test and saw it was negative. I tossed it in the trash, then walked back out to the kitchen and actually took a big swig of a Mike’s Lime drink from the fridge I have stashed in there for special occasions.

About an hour later, I went to the bathroom again and casually pulled the test out of the garbage can to re-check it, something I have done countless times with many, many pregnancy tests. Except this time, a faint second line was staring back at me.

For 9 weeks, I lived in a state of hope and fear. For 9 weeks, I was pregnant. And now I am not. This time, I was able to see my baby and see its tiny, struggling heartbeat and it hurts again more than I thought possible. It’s a long story that maybe I’ll tell later, but right now, I find myself in a limbo again. Needless to say, it’s a little difficult for me to carve out any significant career goals right now. Is just surviving a goal? Because that’s where I’m at, to be completely honest with you.

Let’s take a look at what goals I accomplished/didn’t accomplish from 2017:

• Save 6K for Hawaii. Nope. Not even close.
• Put down the phone more. Nope. Still terrible at this and it’s another goal for 2018.
• Enjoy the kids more. I actually feel like I have done this. I’ve slowed down on the work end a lot and have just focused on hanging out with all of my kids.
• Take more date nights. Nope. Ben’s business has revved up even more, leading him to pretty much work non-stop, so that ship sailed a while ago.
• Travel writing. This was a success! I took two press trips and had an acceptance for a travel piece for The Washington Post, which is finally, finally going to run this weekend, yay! I had a wonderful experience on both trips and would love to do more press trips in the future. I actually plan on taking a travel writing course next year to learn more about how to build up a profitable travel writing career.
• Take on one more copywriting client. Also a success! I started copywriting for an Amazon beauty brand and I love it. It’s been a great experience and I hope to keep doing more of it.
• Get published in a glossy. So close, but so far.
• Finish my novel by May. Hahahaha, again, no. I did work on it more though! It’s still incredibly hard for me to balance writing for money with novel writing.

Overall, I think I did just fine on my goals, but I had a few professional guffaws I wasn’t proud of this year and I am hoping 2018 will be a year of getting my groove back. Here are my goals for next year:

Professional

• Maintain 5-6k/month. I don’t have a clear income goal yet for 2018, but I’m hoping to get some clarity on it soon. I’ve had six figures a year as a goal for a long, long time, but to be honest, that has come with a price. This year, I’m hoping to maintain around 5-6/a month and rev up more passive income with my writing courses. Or, just be ok with making a little less and use that extra time and energy to work on my book.
• Enjoy writing again. This might sound silly, but it’s the truth. After making a few mistakes in my work, I’ve been struggling with a major case of imposter syndrome and have lost some of my passion for writing. My goal for 2018 is to regain some of the “fun” in writing and enjoy it again. I’ve already made strides in this, as I’ve tried to relax and focus on writing stories I love.
• Go on a writing retreat. I have this scheduled for Feb and I’m so excited! I’m combining a trip out to California to meet up with some writing friends and see my sister and I couldn’t be more excited for some sort of break from the Michigan winter, the beach, fish tacos, and meeting the women who understand this crazy freelance life and who have virtually supported me through the wins and losses of life and my career.
• Make a writing schedule. Obviously, my book isn’t going to happen unless I dedicate time to it seriously. I’d like to carve out a real writing schedule for book writing, maybe one morning a week or something to get it done.

Personal

• Stay sane. I hired a housekeeper to come once a month to help me keep up on the new house. She costs $15/hour and I am counting on even a few hours of help as totally worth it. I might even bump it up to twice a month if it works out. My life has become significantly more complicated with driving so much every day now that we have moved just to get the kids to and from school.
• Stay healthy. I would still like to make it to the gym as much as possible and Ben bought me weights for Christmas, so I can work out at home now too. My big goal this year is to incorporate yoga more into my routine. I went to my first yoga class yesterday and loved it. I know it’s exactly what I need in my life right now. Anyone have any recommendations for videos or yoga I can do at home??
• Practice self-care. I started doing more self-care this year and it’s been beneficial. For me, self-care is taking a break from work every now and then, getting a massage, and most recently, it’s included getting lash extensions. It’s so silly, but it’s something small that helps me feel better about myself because I have absolutely zero hair or make-up skills and I look pretty frightening 99.99% of the time. I also have looked up some therapists that are closer to me and have been thinking about trying therapy again.

Financial

• Get our finances in order. We are still kind of reeling from buying our house and I’ve been letting the dust settle with our first round of bills and mortgage payments and adjusting to what the new utility bills will be. Once all of the checks clear, I’m hoping to reevaluate where we are are financially and go from there. My big goals are to: 1) continue making an extra mortgage payment every month 2) fully fund our farm payment 3) save all of 2018 taxes for my business 4) budget FOR REAL YO. (I suck at real budgeting.)

And that’s about it. There is a ton of other, smaller stuff I want to work on, but overall, my goal for 2018 is to maintain and stay sane. (T-shirt with that slogan coming soon, ha.) I’ve spent a long time building up and saving and eliminating debt and I’m trying to tell myself this is why I worked so hard. And now? It’s time to focus on slowing down, being healthy, and enjoying the kids I am so blessed to have here with me.

What are your goals for 2018??