New Years 2014 Resolutions: I'll Tell You Mine, If You Tell Me Yours

The time of year has come where we all look at the start of a new year as the perfect opportunity to improve -- and with that comes the New Years Resolutions list. I'm not going to lie, for years I skipped out on the whole list idea, simply because I felt that waiting for the start of a new year to change was well, silly. But, as I get older I find that the start of the year makes it easier to meet a lot of goals -- mostly financial goals -- that I wouldn't be able to start mid-year as well as I can on January 1st.




Freelance Goals
Every freelancer should set professional goals for each year and there's no better time than before January 1st to get your freelance goals down on paper (or a Google Doc if you're like me). This year my freelance goals are probably a little more ambitious than they have been the past few years, but I have faith my youngest child will gain some independence this year so I can actually complete some of these goals.

My goals for this year include:

1. Creating a website dedicated to my brand, Shailynn Krow.

2. Publish a short story ebook every other month on Amazon.

3. Earn a consistent $2500 per month.

That's it for freelance goals. While I have A LOT I would love to accomplish in 2014, I'm still going to be realistic about how much my kids will let me do. I would like to publish my actual novel this year, but I don't know if that's in the stars. I think I'm setting a goal of 2015 for my novel so that I can refine it.

Personal Goals
I have more personal goals than professional goals for 2014. These goals aren't outrageous and are all something I can probably pull off if I put a little effort into it. For 2014, some of my resolutions include:

Being more organized -- no more clutter in this itty bitty house.

Working out twice a week (yes I put in the classic "i'm going to work out more" resolution).

Visit California (where I'm from) at least once this year -- instead of once every three years.

Create photobooks for my kids...It's embarrassing I don't have any.

Finish remodeling this little house.

Build a college, Christmas and emergency savings.

Pay off at least two debts AND my car.

Writing a Goal Down Isn't Enough

You know I'm a big list person. I have to-do lists everyday and I'll list everything I need to do just so I can accomplish a bigger end goal. When you're writing down New Year's Resolutions, it's not about writing down the goal -- it's about working to achieve that goal. Writing it down or telling people you're going to do something for your "resolution" means squat. When you write them down, you need to also sit down and create a strategy so you CAN DO IT. For example, having a decluttered house means I can't wait until one week to do the whole thing, I am creating an organizing schedule that breaks it up week by week into small projects so I can actually get my house as clean as I want. 

Be Accountable for Your Goals!

I'm sharing my goals and resolutions this year so that I'm more accountable. I'll follow-up on this blog and let people know if I did what I said I was going to do. I think if you're accountable, you're more likely to do something. 

What about you all? What are your resolutions or goals for 2014? Share them here, with friends, family and be accountable. I think 2014 should be the year everyone does what they say they're going to do!