Here we are on January 6th and I haven’t formally written out my intentions for the year – even though I started planning my business marketing and promotional calendar back in late November.

And while I won’t make excuses – the impact of the effects of 2020 & 2021 has been significant.

That being said – its never too late to start. So start we will – and with an open heart and mind to what I am being called to this year.

Words(s) of The Year

This year I’ve selected a guiding phrase instead of a singular word – intentional consistency. I had originally selected consistency but thought it needed more, well structure. As a multifaceted business owner and a busy mom of almost three – juggling all the things is a daily happening which often results in the prioritization of urgent to dos versus necessary to dos. Yet – its those necessary to dos that ultimately move the needle forward.

Things that often are traded for the urgent – are more often the things I feel most disappointment about not working on. Hence the desire to select intention – a word that speaks to being purposeful and more calculated (in the best way) when making decisions

So this year I am working on developing more well defined/purposeful rhythms & routines – ones that will help me anticipate what is coming, stay a step ahead, and add a little more white space into our daily/weekly/monthly lives {another lesson from 2020/2021 – margin is critical}.

It is my hope that by constructing predictable timing for specific repeatable things in our family/personal/business lives {with room for flexibility – because baby#3} that we will help define/order/promote a more consistent approach to how we do things in our home, in my businesses, and how we foster the things that matter most – relationships/time together/doing things we love.

This is where intentional consistency comes into play. The rhythms and routines will help to outline the priorities in a month. They will give structure to when each priority should be worked on/tackled in an effort to allow for assurance that all urgent/emergent/necessary tasks have space & time for each.

The implementation of this plan is where the consistency comes into play and my goal is to commit to the plan for a quarter and reevaluate each quarter moving forward {quarterly planning days are when I plan to do this!}

Intentions For The Year

So what intentions have I set – well I’ve broken these down into four categories to help focus and drive my desire for intentional consistency forward:

ONE. Refine My & Our Schedule

draw boundaries around work & play 

This is a big one for 2022 – so much of the past two years have resulted in many of us {including myself} working what feels like 24 hours 7 days a week. Which more often than not results in severe burnout – something many of us faced or are still facing today. In order to prevent this, I’ve been working since October to identify, refine, edit the rhythms and routines alluded to above in hopes that they help to create boundaries around work and play. This is something I am committed to putting to pencil and paper and then implementing for for the first quarter in 2022.

So what are the action steps for Jan/Feb/March:

• Define all the tasks that are needed to run a peaceful home & then schedule them
• Identify all the tasks that are needed to run a profitable business & then schedule them
• Batch tasks using a themed day approach – to allow for more focused and less reactive work
• Identify deadlines and schedule the tasks needed for the deadlines weeks in advance
• Put to paper boundaries and then practice sticking to them

TWO: Refine & Make Financial Goals Happen

Make & Save In Order to Work Towards Big Dreams

I almost was on the path to opening a brick and mortar in early spring of this year but plans fell through – so this dream is shelved for the time being. I absolutely love the work I did to get it started and plan to return to it in the future – when the timing and place are just right. But I have some big plans to grow my businesses this year in a really intentional time well-spent way. As a family we are working towards some really important financial goals but balance is also key for decisions this year – which is why I am focusing on being very intentional with sustainable & scalable growth {another nod towards being intentional & consistent this year}.

What exactly are these big business growth goals? I’ll be revealing them over time – so my intention here is not to be cryptic but these are the things I am choosing to focus on in Jan/Feb/March to keep moving forward:

• Consistency – specifically in my marketing efforts. I have spent the past two years building and this year I want to focus on sharing what I’ve built
• Working ahead – specifically for February and early March – to allow for time to rest & recover
• Diversifying – this is another biggie. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what my version of success is after the past two years its changed radically.
• Chipping away – in the past I set my expectations too high. This year its about smaller more achievable goals – and then allowing those to snowball from there!
• Start to work on opening an online shop – more details coming next quarter..

THREE. Rediscover & Prioritize My Personal Wellbeing 

I spent much of early 2021 getting into the best shape I had been in years and then well the first trimester hit and wedding season kicked into over drive and my consistency was lost. I credit my early 2021 wellbeing to consistency – with both nutritious food and exercise. After a scary medical test result in November, I promised myself I would get back to that place of health & wellbeing in 2022. My hope is to restart my fitness and meal prep work in March – giving myself February to simply just be. With plenty of rest after welcoming baby #3 planned for the month of February.

My hope is to also focus on filling my personal well each day/week/month as well – with things I love to do, great conversation, and consistent refinement in who I am as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I want to be better this year in all these areas and in order to do so I have to fill my well so I can pour into others.

So what are the action steps here for Jan/Feb/March:

• Spend the rest of January prepping for rest in February
• Fully embrace resting in February and fitting in what feels right
• Once cleared commit to a slow and steady return to exercise and noom based eating.
• Follow through with reading goal – 50 books in 2022 – follow my progress here
• Make space and time for gardening, fostering deep relationships with my children and husband, time for our extended families, and for time away to just be.
• Fall in love with motherhood in a a totally new way – something I plan to share more about in the future but something that has been working on my heart these past two years.

FOUR: Let Three B’s Guide Decisions Made 

Boundaries. Better. Boldness. These are how I will step into the intentional consistency and make progress.

• Boundaries will guide the rhythms and routines that ensure I am on the right track. They also will ensure I am keeping specific priorities top of mind
• Better will help remind me that my family and my business deserve the best of me. In order to give that, I need to make taking care of myself a priority as well. I also will use better as a reminder that where I am at the end of year can, could, and should look better than it does today.
• Boldness. This just may be my favorite one. I’ve let fear hold me back for so many years. Not this year. Dreams don’t manifest themselves they need a someone to do the work. To take the risk. To fight for them.  And don’t be afraid to fail – failure today doesn’t mean no forever

Here we go 2022!

 

Tell me in the comments or over on social – have you set your 2022 intentions? Blogged them – share your post link below, I’d love to take a read!