In 2019 I had a lot to deal with and most of it was not fun. I do not want to complain about the past but there are some things that did not go the way I wanted them to. I had nothing to hold on to. I need precautions for the future. That is why I give myself guidelines for 2020:
I set goals for the end of the year and monthly milestones for my arts, health and financials. Having a big goal in front of me never really motivated me for a marathon. I think that does not work for anybody. What I know is that little achievements work for me. I heard of milestones before but I never tried them. Small dailies or for the weekend, maybe, but not backed up by a specific number. It is about time to give it a try!
I thought about it for a while, divided my goals into small parts, wrote them down in a journal and it is already motivating me. Instead of 48 designs I only need 4 in a month. Sounds like a piece of cake. And I can not delay my yearly goals all into December and stress myself like crazy. Instead, I am under less pressure at the end of each month. Not crazy pressure but motivating enough.
Here are my goals
I upload photos to stock platforms.
Goal 2019, missed: 300 uploads to get the adobe photography plan for free.
Goal 2020: Get all my holiday photos edited and uploaded. Since I did not count them yet, 408 this year which means 34 per month.
Recently, I started to upload designs to print-on-demand platforms.
Goal 2020: 48 designs this year, 4 per month.
I write a blog… obviously 🙂
Goal 2019, missed: 1 blogpost per month.
Goal 2020: 12 blogpost this year, 1 per month.
I love cooking and collected a couple of recipes over the last years in a rundown notebook. It takes me minutes to find a recipe that I want to cook in that thing, so I decided to make a proper cookbook. Easy start: Food illustrations.
Goal 2020: 80 illustrations this year, 6,5 per month.
Health goals to tick off monthly. Frankly, I am not so strict with these goals but I still want to live more healthy. Let us see how far I will come. 6 month would be nice:
Sport twice a week.
No alcohol.
Financial goals: Either for being pennywise or earning extra money through stock and print-on-demand platforms.
Goal 2020: Save up 50-60 € extra each month.
Did you set your goals for 2020 yet? I feel well prepared and motivated. I can do it. You can, too. To quote a postcard: Dear past, thank you for the lessons. Dear future, I am ready.