June 2014 Goals
Looking back at May, I had an epiphany: my biggest battle fought within my daily life lies in the decision between the following:
The Urgent v. The Important
Most of my days, I would dare to say I choose the urgent 95% of the time over the important. There are deadlines, emails, schedules to follow, appointments, weddings, blogposts, and phone calls. Then, there’s the physical side of urgent: “I’m so hungry!” (aka hangry), “I need to go for a run right now! I can’t stay cooped up any longer,” “I’m going to bed – I can’t stay awake another minute.” Everything in life seems so urgent on a daily basis.
This photo of strawberries will always remind me of the important. One Sunday in May, Will and I decided to pick strawberries on a farm (pictured above), cook a meal at home, and watch a movie together. It ended up being one of my absolute favorite days of this year so far. We went on to watch About Time – a movie that instantly earned a spot on my Top 5 Movies of All Time list. What a beautiful reminder to truly focus on the important – every. single. day. (Just trust me and watch it.)
Looking back at May, I honestly feel really good about keeping up with work and relationships. The NRP studio photographed 6 weddings in May (along with several sessions), and we’ve maintained a good turnaround time. I wasn’t perfect at managing emails, but I caught up by the end of the month. My voicemails are clear. I’ve spent time with our families on several occasions: watching 24 each Monday night with my Dad & fam, strawberry-picking with Will, having a cookout with Will’s fam, visiting Nashville and then hosting my Mom here for a few days as well. I had lunch with my girls (aka the “minkies”), we visited our friends and their sweet newborn baby, I had dinner with the Thomases & Terhunes, I met friends for a new Bible study.
May was really good.
As I look back and look forward, I think the biggest thing I want to change is prioritizing the important in my business as well. I want to crystalize our mission at NRP. I want to clean out and maintain image files that are still on my computer from last year. (It’s an annoying and time consuming and very important task.) I want to sell some furniture and equipment for a branding and studio refresh. I want to take a good hard look at my finances, instead of glancing in my bank account and letting Will take care of the rest.
So, this June, the saga continues between the urgent and the important. No doubt there will be plenty of urgent things yelling for my attention daily – especially as we catch up from all of our April and May weddings. But I am determined to keep my eyes equally focused on the important! Not to do one or the other, but to focus on both the urgent and important, prioritizing them daily.
June is going to be so memorable in regards to family and relationships. I’m excited to know so many important and fun and restful things are already on our calendar! :
– Spending time with my cousins and family at the US Open
– Camping and hiking with friends in Boone
– Celebrating Will’s grandparents 60th anniversary with his whole family!!!
– Celebrating our 6th anniversary
– Visiting family in Nashville and bringing some special friends along for an editorial shoot, too!
With all of those thoughts swirling in my mind, here are my “important” goals for the next 30 days. I decided to omit anything seemingly urgent – that voice is already loud enough in my life.
June Goals
Read 20 in 12: Crash the Chatterbox, The Holy Spirit: an Introduction, The Storyteller
Send letters to our sponsored kids
Studio refresh
– furniture + decor
– file clean up
– sell old computerNRP missions statement: finalize and print for the studio
Cut back to 1 dessert / week
Celebrate 6 years of marriage at the Fearrington
Do something really special for Will’s grandparents as we celebrate their incredible 60th anniversary
Finish an Artifact Uprising book for our first 5 years of marriage
Have a full rest day once a week
Take our boat out at least twice, and waterski for the first time in 2 years! (my darn ankle sprain kept me off the skis for all of 2013!)
What important goals are on your list for June, 2014?