I have a love/hate relationship with new years resolutions. On one hand, I love dreaming and planning out a fresh start and what I would love to accomplish in the next year. As a Capricorn, I look forward to getting reorganized, planning, and strategizing. However, I can also find it very overwhelming and I can load up my plate too much so to speak and I don’t end up accomplishing everything I want, which can be frustrating. In 2022 I have a lot of goals, but this year I plan to be more intentional with my planning to set up smaller goals to work towards the big picture. Seems obvious, but in the past, I know this is a big reason I’ve failed at my new year resolutions.

I haven’t touched my planner since having Josie in June, but I’m looking forward to getting back into my work routine and using it to help me stay on track. I’ve used this planner for the last two years and it’s my favorite! I not only love the aesthetic of the brand, but it’s also simple with just the right amount of space. I mostly use my planner as a to-do list, so I love using the weekly notes side for random things I don’t want to forget, and use the weekly side to remember appointments and plan out my daily to-do’s.

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How to Stick with Your New Year resolutions

Break down big goals into weekly goals

It’s so important when coming up with new years resolutions to not only dream big but really focus on the small, everyday ways you can build up to bigger goals. Without checking off those smaller steps along the way, you will never get to the big goals on your list. So technically, the smaller goals are actually more important! Make sure to be intentional with planning backward each and every week. Some goals will only need monthly focus, while bigger goals will need extra time weekly or daily to achieve them.

Set realistic expectations

If you overload on tasks, you will end up with nothing accomplished. Speaking from personal experience, you have to set up realistic expectations for yourself and what you can accomplish on a daily and weekly basis. I’m so guilty of putting 7 different tasks on my plate for a day, and I end up feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything at the end of the day when that happens. In order to not overwhelm yourself, try and prioritize your tasks by most important to least important. Each day focus on THE ONE thing you must accomplish for the day, once that is finished, move on to the next. If you get to your top 3, I’d call it a success! The rest of your tasks are simply bonus points.

Don’t give up if you fall off track

Remember, a resolution doesn’t just start on the first of the year. Goals and resolutions can happen whenever you’re ready for them to happen. Change is a process and doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient with yourself in the process. If you notice you fell off track from your goals, you can always reset and start again!

Have an accountability partner

You are way more likely to achieve your goals if you have someone to help hold you accountable. Whether that’s your partner, a friend, or a family member, tell them your goal and ask for them to help support you. Even better, have them join you in the process so you can help keep each other accountable!

My Goals for 2022

personal goals

A lot of my personal goals this year are focused on improving my mental confidence. This last year, I was pregnant and became a new mom, and I still feel like I’m learning to find myself in this new chapter, so a lot of my personal goals also reflect ways I can feel more “myself” again. I also think I spend way too much time on social media and work on my computer that I want to take a step back and give myself more rest.

Refresh my personal style

I usually feel blah with my wardrobe during the winter months, but since becoming a mom my wardrobe is needing a major refresh. I’ve been living in leggings for over a year, and although they’re great they aren’t making me feel great.. and your wardrobe should increase your confidence and inspire you every day. In order to refresh my personal style, I plan to do a closet declutter, find inspiration on Pinterest, and be more intentional when building my wardrobe over the next few months. When I started blogging I loved putting together ultra-feminine outfits and I feel like 2020 and more recently motherhood caused my style to significantly change into a more casual, comfy personal style. There is nothing wrong with that, but this next year I want to find a better balance between the two so I can feel more like myself again. I plan to do a video all about this and how I’m refreshing my style in the new year, so stay tuned 🙂

I have a huge pile of clothing already pulled from my closet to sell on Poshmark and donate, so the first thing on my to-do list is to start there. I’ll share when things start to go up for sale on Instagram stories.

Get ready 5 days a week

Like I said above, I’ve been living in leggings and oversized tops. Since I work from home and rarely leave the house these days, I haven’t been motivated to get ready daily. I still love a lazy, make-up-free day and think they’re completely healthy to embrace, but I think it will boost my mood and productivity to get dressed and ready more regularly in the morning. I want to start small here and get ready and dressed 3 days a week and work up from there.

Reduce screen time and mindless scrolling on social media.

Because a lot of my work includes screentime and social media, I spend the majority of my time on my phone during the day but it isn’t always productive. I know I waste a lot of my time scrolling social media when there are much better ways to spend my time and will leave me feeling more refreshed and fulfilled.

I plan to tackle this goal by having device-free hours for a period of time, ideally the first hour I’m awake in the morning and again in the evening. I usually catch up on IG DM’s and post during this time, but I think I’ll move my posting to earlier in the day to have a more “normal” work schedule in the new year.

Go to bed earlier

Tim and I have been saying we need to go to bed earlier for months, but we’re so stuck in our routine we haven’t made any changes. I’d like to go to bed earlier so I can wake up an hour earlier before Josie gets up for the day. It’s nice to wake up and sip on coffee or get a quick workout in before getting her up and ready for the day. Right now I usually wake up when she does around 8:30 and by the time I start my day I end up feeling like I miss so much of the morning. My goal is to start small, maybe get in bed 10-15 minutes earlier at a time to adjust my circadian rhythm to an earlier bedtime.

I do pump before going to bed, so I don’t plan to adjust my bedtime significantly right now, but even just 30-60 minutes earlier will make a big difference!

Read 1 book a month

I think I’ve had read more on my new year resolutions list for a while now and it usually starts strong then I end up spending most of my evening on my phone or I feel like I should be working on something. Occasionally I read on my phone, but this year since I want to decrease screen time I want to read physical books. I had an audible subscription but I usually end up working and multitasking answering DM’s and comments when I have them on so while it’s great for that, I’m not actually checking out and getting lost in a book, which is what I think is the biggest benefit of reading is.

My goal is to read one fictional book per month. I usually read self-help books because I feel more productive when I do, but again I need to stop feeling like I need to constantly be productive, so I want to prioritize books for fun! I’m going to start with this book, it was a top recommendation when I asked on IG! I rounded up some of your recommendations in the LTK app here, here, and here.

business goals:

I’m not going to write out all my business goals, but I want to share a few I think may be helpful for those of you looking for ideas in this area.

Be more intentional with tasks and time management

It’s easy for me to get lost on the internet working with too many tabs and switching between tasks. I plan to use an app called Toggl to start and stop tasks intentionally to keep me on track. I’ve used it before but have gotten out of the habit. To go along with that… I also need to avoid sitting on the couch during work hours because all my productivity goes out the window when I sit on the couch, haha.

Get my accounting and fincances in order

There are a few things in my business I still need to automate and I’m looking forward to getting those in order.. it’s been a burden this last year and I’m looking forward to having things more buttoned-up this year. Some of the tasks I need to do are hire a new accountant, reconcile my quick books more regularly (or ideally hire someone else to do it), and automate retirement payments.

Have more routine

While it’s a benefit working for yourself and being able to do what you want when you want, I also have a desire to have more routine and plan ahead instead of working last minute on projects. Most of my youtube videos are filmed and uploaded within a day or two and I’m in a constant cycle of creating content. I want to be more intentional with planning ahead for collaborations and my content so I feel like I’m working ahead instead of constantly spinning my wheels (although we’ll see if this is even possible.. there are a lot of tight turnaround requirements in this industry). I also want to work on having a better schedule day to day and I plan to achieve this goal by scheduling myself one morning a week to plan out my content for the week.

Branding and website refresh

I have a big re-brand coming up this next year and I’m SO EXCITED! Since starting my blog 8 years ago I’ve done all the branding myself (logos, colors, etc) and I’m excited to work with some of the best in the business next year to give Strawberry Chic a fresh new look. This will not only give my website a much-needed update, but it will also carry over into my Youtube channel and newsletter to bring you better content. In this industry, it’s easy for everyone to start looking the same, and it’s important to me to have my own look. I’m finally investing in a custom look next year I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Let me know what some of your goals are for 2022!

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