2018: August Recap + September Goals #powersheets
I haven't done one of these all year as I was doing them on video and didn't include a full blog with them. This spring was crazy busy with travel (Israel in March, Honduras and NYC in April) and then moving in May/June. During this time, I focused mainly on making sure my clients were well taken care of and didn't leave much time for my own business. And you know what happens, if you've been here a while...its 3 months after the fact and I can see the implications of my lack of marketing (social, blogging, emails, etc). It was finally time for me to get back in the game and I obviously used my powersheets to help hold me accountable. I'll be including business and some personal goals (as I feel comfortable sharing).
August Recap
MONTHLY GOALS
Pay Bills First
Most of my bills are due towards the middle/end of the month, but I really hate having money that isn't mine sit in my account. I'm also adjusting to new budgeting (a goal for a while, but lacking personal accountability), so I wanted all that money out asap. I did this pretty well in August, and it was so great not to have that extra cash sitting around!
Get Rid of Box of Clothes in the Garage.
Nope. They're still sitting there. I actually took them to my sister's house for her to look through, but we ran out of time, so I put them back in the garage. If anyone wants to come look at them before I just give them all way, let me know!
Blog About the Book, Imperfect Courage.
Done!
Run the Midnight Flight.
Not my Personal Record, in regards to time, but this is the first 5k I've ever run without a family member or friend right with me. So I'm pretty darn proud!
WEEKLY GOALS
Budget Update.
This did not happen. I've tried using digital tools like You Need a Budget and EveryDollar, but being a paper and pen girl, I just can't get in the groove. I did pay all my bills first, so maybe I'll give myself a half-check, but overall I did not succeed (more on this in my September Goals).
Clean My Room.
Yes, I have to put this on my to-do list or I'll ignore it until the last possible minute. I don't typically care what my room looks like, but I'm trying really hard to care. I'll give myself a 2/5 on this one.
Hang Out with a Friend.
This one I did accomplish each week! he first two weeks were really fun because I got to hang out with lots of different friends in Atlanta. Then I got to re-connect with new business Friends at the Tuesday's Together Group in Greenville and meet a lot of new ones! It is so much fun to meet other entrepreneurs. If you're not part of some type of group, check out Rising Tide and find one near you.
One of the best things about being home is spending time with my family and oldest friends. I got to hang out with my niece and nephew a lot in August as we waited for their little brother to be born. Give me all the baby snuggles! I also got to meet my two cousins' newest babies in August and we're waiting on the final one in September! One of my closest friends from k-4 and I attempted Yoga in the Park this month. It was all I could do not to laugh at myself at some points, but we did it!!
Marketing
I've started lumping everything into one weekly checklist - blog, Social Briefs, social media, and #tendinglisttuesday and trying to get back into video. I did really well in August with scheduling out social and my newsletter and even put out two new blogs (The Number One Thing to Grow Your Blog and Put Your Boss Pants On). I'm still not where I want to be, but progress!
DAILY GOALS
Read my Bible
26/31 days - SUCCESS!! I’m reading through this Bible* and I’m only just now finishing the “April” readings, but I am totally okay with that. My goal is to spend time in the Word every day, regardless of what the date says.
Write in my Prayer and Gratitude Journal
Again 26/31! I asked for the Val Marie Paper Prayer Journal last year for Christmas and have been using it to record short prayers and gratitudes each day. Because of this, I have put my long-form journal on the back burner a bit, but I just can’t keep up with everything.
Workout
Lots of people have asked how has it been moving back to SC, well it seems that every time I move back I get on a workout kick (same thing happened in 2012 after college). I knew I wanted to run the Midnight Flight again so I set my Nike Running Club app up to train again. I still need to get back to weights and eating healthier, but this running is a good start!
Daily Business Hour
I didn't track this very well (meaning I didn't officially check it off each day), but looking back over what I did accomplish shows me that I did work on my own business pretty frequently.
September Goals
August was a bit of a relaxed month for me, but September is pretty booked up! On top of 3 weddings, Georgia football has started back and I’m joining the Anderson Junior League which means I have to attend 2 meetings a month. I’ve got some travel this month as well, but thanks to my Powersheets* (2019 on sale in October) and and my Emily Ley Daily Planner* , I can stay focused while I’m working!
MONTHLY GOALS
Start a Bible Study
I’ve had a few friends interested in joining a Bible study and I want to go ahead and get it going this month. I am planning on doing this one on Ephesians from Well Watered Women. Last summer I did the Colossians study and loved it. You can do it in 5 minutes a day or spend 30 minutes or more on each day, whatever your schedule allows. Plus the Ephesians cover looks perfect for Fall, doesn’t it?
Finish & Mail Blankets
Since I had a lot of down time in August, I finished 2 blankets I had already started (and read over 20 books!). Now I just need to finish one more and get all three in the mail. I’m pretty sure this is a goal I can complete, haha!
Abby’s Email Sequence
My email welcome sequence is something that I’ve needed to work on for forever. My friend, Abby, had a 7 day free challenge in August. I started working through her course, but need to finish it up this month and get it up and running. You can still sign up for it on her website!
Youtube Bootcamp
Another business friend, Trena has a paid Youtube Bootcamp course that I’ve been in for almost a year. I’ve slowly been working my way through the different modules. Now that she’s updated it some, I want to be more active in the Facebook group and finish out the last few modules while I build out more of my Youtube content plan.
WEEKLY GOALS
Marketing Plan
For The Social Walker, my weekly content plan is the usual - Blog, Tending List Tuesday, Week Day social posts, and sending out a newsletter. I’m debating moving my newsletter to twice a month, but if I can get it back on schedule for writing it Thursday AM to send on Monday, I think I can still keep up with the weekly ones.
Budget Check-in
So this has been a weekly goal for a while, but I haven’t followed through because I haven’t found a system that works for me. This is really more of a “money check-in” as I am still determining my budget. I’ve printed off an excel spreadsheet to record everything I spend this month and what category it goes in. I know I can do this with a google sheet or an app, but I think I need to handwrite it for at least a month to hold myself accountable. There have been a few printable budget trackers that I like, but they mainly have you budget per category and there isn’t room to track every single expense. So I’m going old school for at least September. I’ll check in to let you know how it goes next month.
Hangout with a Friend
Last year, I wanted to hand write a letter each week to a friend; which happened like once all year. This year I decided to change that and connect IRL with a friend. This has been easy and fun now that I’m back in SC to connect with old friends I haven’t seen in a while.
DAILY GOALS
My Daily Business Hour
This is to help me keep on track with my weekly and monthly goals! Gotta get each day scheduled down with one task that will move my business forward!
Read a Chapter a Day
I read a lot of fun books in August, but realized I’ve put off reading some amazing non-fiction books that I already have. I’m already behind on this but this is a goal to keep me motivated!
Have My Quiet Time
For September, I decided to combine my Prayer and Bible time into one item. I do them pretty much at the same time, so I thought I’d simplify my checklist!
Workout
Now that I’ve been back into running I want to add some weights back into my routine. I have the free Tone It Up app that I’ll use to incorporate some weights because I don’t want to pay for a gym membership right now. This hasn’t always worked well for me because I need that accountability, but you will be my accountability okay??? Thanks!
I’d love to hear your goals! Leave them in the comments below or link to your blog.
*Please note: any thing marked by * is an affiliate link. I’ll get a small commission from the company, not from you.