December Goal Review and New Goals for 2013

We saw the end of another year and are welcoming in this new one with open arms. Just as last year I'm going to work on some ongoing goals over the year. Before I get to those, let me share how December's goals went.

PERSONAL
1. Exercise: We did a GREAT job this month going to the gym almost every weekday and doing something active at least once during the weekends. SO PROUD of us!
2. Eat right/better: It's been really hard to eat right during the holidays. There's been parties and potlucks and holiday feasts. Overall, I did okay with these events in general. What really killed me in the end was my sweet tooth and wanting something sweet after dinner. If I can manage that craving (and my appetite for cheese) I might be okay.

3. Read more books/watch less TV: I didn't read as much as I'd like and watched more tv than I would have liked. Blarg. This goal is being revamped for this new year.
4. Make a real effort to keep the house clean: Overall, my house stayed pretty clean throughout the month. However, it wasn't exactly as spotless as I would have liked. I'm getting there I think.
5. Discover new music: Nope. . .just didn't happen. There was Christmas music to be listened to. THAT was important!
6. Grow some plants inside and out: Dead. . .all dead.
7. Make my visions of my dream house and this house co-exist: I did some Christmas decorations that are more in line with our ideal, but not much permanent decorating.

8. Declutter/organize at least one drawer/cabinet/area a week: I did get two big areas sort and de-cluttered this month before the shopping craziness happened. I'm pretty happy with that.
9. Have a yard sale: Nope
10. Take better care of my face and skin: I started off really strong at the beginning of the month. Seriously strong. But, the busier the month got, the more it dropped off. I'm picking the habit back up again.
11. Go to the doctor/dentist: Nope

BUSINESS/CRAFT
1. Make a real effort with my blog: As you may have noticed, my blogging has been sporadic over December. This was especially true as Christmas approached. I apologize. There's still a lot I wanted to do with my blog that just didn't happen this past month or the whole year. I plan to re-focus and try again.
2. Include more tutorials on the blog: I pretty much got two tutorials up this month and am really proud of that. I'd say it was a win.
3. Keep the craft room more organized: At the end of the month, I started going through thhe craft room, but basically ignored it the rest of the month.
4. Discover my passion: I've got the discover it part down. . .it's just a matter of getting in there and focusing on it to get some items made.
5. Get published: Sent in more submissions this month!

6. Create something everyday: It was the craftiest time of year and I did get some crating done, but not near as consistently as I would have liked. There were Christmas decorations and custom gifts and a few magazine submissions made. . .but that was it really. Such a busy month. . .
7. Explore other venue options for selling my jewelry: Just hasn't happened
8. Find a way to use what I have instead of buying more: With all the other shopping I did over the month, there wasn't time for craft shopping. So that worked out well for me.

GENERAL
1. Figure out where my time is wasted and put an end to it: Of course some time was wasted throughout the month, but I don’t feel like I did overall. I can't really justify it, but my "wasted time" was really just a little down time.
2. Find some confidence and exert it: Other than handing out my card to one person at a party and talking about what I do at Pat's work party, there wasn't much confidence being thrown around. However, that was more than in previous months.

3. Think outside of the box: All my notes just say that I'm 'trying' with this one. It's very much hard to measure. . .especially when you aren't creating much.
4. Be Grateful/Thankful: I recognize it, but haven't immortalized my thankfulness. . .sigh.

So. . those were my goals for 2012. I knew they all wouldn't be accomplished in a year, but I'm pretty pleased with what I did do. Some of these will be carried over to 2013 and some just aren't. Here's what I've decided to work on over the course of this new year.

GOALS FOR 2013

PERSONAL
Eat right/better
Read more books (again, I'd like to try for two a month)
Make a real effort to keep the house clean
Grow some plants inside and out
Make my visions of my dream house and this house co-exist (get the house decorated the way I have it envisioned)
Declutter/organize at least one drawer/cabinet/area a week
Take better care of my face and skin
Go to the doctor/dentist

BUSINESS/CRAFT
Make a real effort with my blog
Include more tutorials on the blog
Continue to get published and submit to magazines
Explore other venue options for selling my jewelry (in the community)

GENERAL
Find some confidence and exert it
Think outside of the box
Be Grateful/Thankful

NEW
Learn to sew
Learn to operate my nice camera better
Craft other items than jewelry (make 2 non-jewelry items a month)
Learn photoshop better
Start buying Christmas presents earlier in the year
Use analytics more efficiently
Support my local bead shops and other etsy sellers more

Let me quickly recognize the goals that I decided to remove/change
- Exercise: I think we've gotten in a good pattern with this and don't need to make it an ongoing goal
- Read more/limit tv: Changed this to just read more, the tv factor may not change ever.
- New music: I'll just let this flow naturally rather than having it as a goal.
- Yard sale: If it happens, it happens. It's not that life-changing.
- Organize the craft room: Took it off as it's something that just needs to be done without having a 'goal' of it.
- Discover passion: I think I've accomplished this. I just need to keep it in mind.
- Create everyday: There's just no way to achieve this. It's life.
- Use what I have, buy less: Removed this as I think I've done pretty well enough over the past few months that I don't have to continue to work on it.
- Wasted time: I just need to remember to use my time wisely, not make it a goal.

So that's the plan for 2013. I don't think it's too ambitious and most of them are just goals without a timeline. I liked working this way for 2012 and am looking forward to growing some more this year.

Thanks to all of you for the support you've shown me this past year. I'm totally looking forward to what this year may bring.