15 Before 2015: A Goal-Setting Challenge

The end of a calendar year EXCITES me! I’m a hard-core self-reflectionist, and for me, there’s just no better fun than an end-year review. I absolutely love goal-setting. I’m overflowing with new ideas + exciting challenges to help you achieve your best year ever.

That’s why I can’t stop smiling after releasing my latest product into the world! Your Best Year: 2015 Productivity Workbook & Creative Business Planner is selling like hotcakes and getting rave reviews. Thank you all so much! And if you’re just hearing about this now, you can find Your Best Year 2015 on Amazon (printed version), or you can download it here or on Etsy.

Win a Copy of Your Best Year 2015

Today, I’m listing 15 goals I want to complete before 2015, and I’m challenging YOU to play along. In exchange, I’ll be sending 5 goal-setting bloggers a free printed copy of Your Best Year 2015: Productivity Workbook and Creative Business Planner! This contest has ended and copies have been sent.

You have until the end of 2014 to complete the list of goals you create on your 15 before 2015.

A few prompts to get you started

• Consider what you need to clear out of the way before you can really get to work on next year’s big goals.
• What unfinished business needs attended to so you can end this year with a clean slate?
• Which projects need more research, or simply let go of, so you can make room for more of what you want to enter your life?
• What or whom do you need to say “no” to right now?
• Which people, activities and events do you want to be present for with the rest of 2014?
• What would have to happen in this last quarter to make 2014 feel like an absolute success?

 Here are my:

1. Blog ahead on my editorial calendar. I’ve had a series of big launches in the last several weeks, and I’m desperately behind on blog posts (often writing them the day before their publishing date). I like to work ahead on my editorial calendar … it really helps me to feel calm and in control of my work load. Therefore, I’d like to be blogged at least two full weeks ahead of schedule.

2. Do a fall cleaning. Scrub the house, organize the closets and cupboards and be holiday-ready and relaxed.

3. Visit my hometown. I’m long overdue for some small-town love, familiar faces and all of my favorite foods from Pittsburgh!

4. Carve out crafting time with the children. Oh my goodness, 2014 has been a whirlwind of activity. Between the sports schedules and the product launches, I’ve come very close to losing it! I want to carve out time in the last two months of the year to pull out the art supplies, modeling clay, ornament DIYs. I’d like to take a winter afternoon to gather my babies and just paint feathers!

5. Savor the season. Last year’s holidays were a blur. We felt obligated to see everyone and do everything, and I missed my family and quiet moments with just them. Autumn is my favorite; I want to breathe it in before it passes me by.

6. Play hooky with my oldest daughter. I have four children, and they take turns playing hooky with me one day per school year. We get manicures (the girls), play video games (the boys), go to Chuck-e-Cheese (it’s empty!) and eat at their favorite restaurants. This season, it’s my oldest daughter’s turn and I can hardly wait to see what she plans for us to do on our special day together.

7. Have a date + shopping day with my husband. Every few months, my husband takes the day off work, and we enjoy a glorious date day while the children are in school! After a lazy morning, we might go see a movie or have beer and wings for lunch – it’s always so much fun. Our next date day will include Christmas shopping for the children – a shopping mall on a quiet afternoon where we can think of each of them and buy thoughtfully sounds absolutely dreamy. I can hardly wait.

8. Launch the Movers & Makers Summit. I’ve been hinting at this upcoming retreat for 20 creatives for months. In the picture above, you’re getting your first sneak peek at the new website! More details coming soon.

9. Have a holiday plan! Too many holidays come and go where my busy family looks back and says, “Oh, we forgot to watch our favorite movie!” Or, “We never made those cookies this year!” I have a quiet and lovely block of time reserved for the upcoming holidays, and with the help of my children, I’ll be crafting a Christmas plan full of baking and crafts we must do.

10. Go on a winter adventure. I don’t have anything specific planned, but I’m open to the idea of a lovely winter adventure. Bonus points if the experience includes horses + hot cocoa.

11. Lose five pounds. This is a tough one for me! I like to indulge during the holidays, but I have no wiggle room at my current weight. I want to enjoy the season in moderation and increase my activity so that I won’t start 2015 feeling bloated and miserable.

12. Perform a personal and professional end-year review. Of course I’ll be using my copy of Your Best Year 2015: Productivity Workbook and Creative Business Planner for this, and I hope you will too!

13. Update The Little Black Book for Creative Business. Since it’s release, I’ve created a membership program and switched web hosts in just a few short months! I decided I’ll need to update this informational wonderland quarterly.

14. Enjoy my annual wrapping day! This is my favorite to share because each year, more and more readers adopt this tradition. It’s so fun! I block my schedule for a day in December when the children are in school. I play Christmas movies and music all day, drink wine and eat delicious breads and cheeses for lunch, pull all of the presents out of hiding and just wrap! It’s one of my favorite days of the year.

15. Post The New You for The New Year 7-day series! Every year, we meet here to work through a series of review questions and prompts. It’s a reader-favorite, and this year’s 7-day series starts December 29, 2014.

I love reading other people’s goals, so I can hardly wait to see the list you come up with! If you’re ready to accept the challenge and create your own 15 before 2015 (and be entered to win a printed copy of Your Best Year 2015), leave a link to your post below. Thank you so much for sharing!