I’ve never been much of a goal setter. Well, let me explain. I have set goals in the past, but I usually forget about them, then I feel guilty that I didn’t follow through, so I don’t start setting goals again, for fear that I won’t finish them. I beat myself up about it, and I just decided to stop doing it entirely. Recently though, I’ve seen all of these blog posts from people that I follow, both photographers and non-photographers, about 101 goals in 1001 days. I kind of felt the same way at first – I didn’t want to start something only to not finish it, then feel guilty and blah blah blah. So why do it, why bother right?

Because I need to.

I need to set goals. I need to look at where I’m going, where I’ve been, in a tangible way that I can really look through and count. The reason that the 1001 Days appeals to me is because it’s a fairly good length of time. 1001 days is quite awhile, over two years. This is a long list, but it is a list that is doable, and will give me time to really work towards my goals.

So, here it is. And this scares me by the way. To make a list of goals is one thing, but to put it out there for everyone to see is quite another. And in case you’re wondering why I have 111 goals instead of 101, I couldn’t take any off! Here’s what’s funny about this whole thing. Once I started the list, it was hard to get to 101. I was at about 60, and then all of the sudden things kept coming to me. It was kind of addicting! Every time I added something to my list there was this little voice in me that was like “ooh yeah that’s a good one, keep going!” Kind of like Oreos, right? The list just kept growing. I realized that I had some duplicates on there, but I think I’ve removed them all. Tom likes the whole idea of the numbers with the list, so he will have to be okay with my 111. Or maybe he can just help me with 10 of them to bring it to 101. ;)

A lot of these are business oriented, but not all of them. Some of them are serious, some of them are silly – and I’m okay with that, that’s me. Some of them seem like no-brainers, but I have to keep focused on them because things are so crazy right now.

So without further adieu (isn’t that a fun phrase?), I present to you, my 111 Goals in 1001 Days. I am starting this journey on August 1, 2011. 1001 days later will be Monday, April 28, 2014. It seems like so far away, but I know that it will fly by! It’s a good amount of time though, and will allow me to really work towards my goals and grow. Grow personally, spiritually, and as a business woman.

1. Organize and redecorate office and studio space, and KEEP it that way!
2. Outsource cleaning
3. Get married to Tom!
4. Return home from wedding and honeymoon with sanity in tact!
5. Photograph the Colosseum at night in Rome
6. Order a studio sample wedding album
7. Complete my updated website and launch
8. Begin working on my second website
9. Complete my ProPhoto blog and launch
10. Develop system to keep portfolio and blog header up to date with current photos.
11. Book and shoot 10 weddings from October 2011 – December 2012
12. Set up mailing list and start newsletter
13. Streamline all processes for my business, including work flow and all basic business practices.
14. Design and order my own wedding album – do NOT put it off!
15. Book and shoot 30 boudoir sessions from October 2011 – December 2012.
16. Buy a home with my guys!
17. Attend WPPI for the first time
18. Attend an in-camera and business workshop by Zach and Jody Gray
19. Pay off wedding entirely!
20. Read all of the Harry Potter books with Kaden.
21. Add 500 addresses to the mailing list and client info, without friends and family unless they are clients.
22. Continue once monthly date nights with Tom.
23. Get published in a local wedding magazine.
24. Get published on a local wedding blog.
25. Get published in a national wedding magazine.
26. Get published on a national wedding blog.
27. Read one business book per month for 2012
28. Teach or lead a free workshop or class for new photographers.
29. Orchestrate three specific style shoots to have fun with my creativity.
30. Orchestrate three specific (different style) style shoots to have fun with my creativity.
31. Speak with Kaden’s teacher – phone or email – once a month to catch up on his progress.
32. Really develop both wedding and boudoir brands – complimentary but separate.
33. Improve and streamline product packaging
34. Get new headshots done that really show my personality for website and marketing
35. Submit each and every wedding to publications based on the right fit.
36. Create yearly albums for family photos.
37. Create yearly collage frames of family photos.
38. Create postcards for vendors to pass out
39. Develop various client gifts and streamline timing
40. Take the Myers-Briggs test with Tom
41. Create canvas collage over the fireplace to move with us to our new home
42. Continue going to our new church
43. Video me shooting and get it online!
44. Create Facebook landing page
45. Write a letter to myself at the beginning to open at the end of 1001 days.
46. Attend a Disney pin trading event at Disneyland!
47. Write in and KEEP GOING with my gratitude journal
48. Go to dinner (or have someone over) with friends or family at least once a month, just because.
49. See an outdoor symphony performance
50. Adopt a family for Christmas again
51. Write a will
52. Complete a home station/control journal for home
53. Update all legal paperwork and organize in one place just in case (wills, insurance, etc.)
54. Encourage Kaden’s vocabulary (scary thought) with a word a day like we’ve been doing – keep going!
55. Sponsor a child with Compassion, encourage Kaden to write to them, us too!
56. Get a new desktop computer
57. Streamline my backup process
58. Decorate Kaden’s room with easily-movable items
59. Get a new lens
60. Upgrade both cameras
61. Leave my day job to photograph weddings and boudoir full time
62. Rebrand and complete my online presence entirely
63. Go on a cruise
64. Take Kaden to the gator farm in CO
65. Go to the sand dunes
66. Set up feedback/survey for weddings
67. Set up feedback/survey for boudoir
68. Set up process for anniversary cards to past clients
69. Get involved in a small group at my church
70. Aim to create branded and signature images during my shoots
71. Get a photo of me shooting at all weddings, and Tom shooting
72. Set up and/or nurture relationships with six wedding vendors in different areas, NOT photographers
73. Get a telescope
74. Attend a Boudoir Divas workshop
75. Create an inspiration board in my office with photos that inspire me
76. Choose a cause that I feel strongly about and use my photography with that cause
77. Blog each item I check off my list
78. Feature a local wedding vendor on my blog every month – ongoing theme?
79. Spend a weekend with Tom to celebrate our anniversary, whether in another city or at home, no work, no kids, just us relaxing (San Francisco?)
80. Order a studio sample engagement guest book
81. Order a studio sample boudoir album
82. Have a girls night out every month with girlfriends or family
83. Go to the four corners and get a photo, that I can actually KEEP
84. Start doing Zumba, and do it three times a month minimum
85. Re-do the Beth Moore Bible study about the fruit of the spirit
86. Get my visual exam done (I haven’t had new glasses in about 8 years… yikes!)
87. Buy a filing cabinet or filing system to be used
88. Buy a separate cabinet/table for business purposes
89. Continue (hopefully both) the friendsgiving tradition, as well as the family thanksgiving the weekend after thanksgiving – if not both, at least one
90. Create and order my own stationery
91. Play pool with my dad in his tournament thingy (he might not like this goal, I suck.)
92. Set aside one night at the end of each month to go through all PERSONAL photos and put on Facebook, prepare for blog, and organize/cull/edit
93. 94 Set up a wedding contest for a deserving couple to have free wedding photography
94. Eat at 25 new restaurants (no chains if possible!)
95. Post this list on my blog (SCARY)
96. Eat out only once a week for a month
97. Drink only water for one week
98. Get a deep rock bottle for our coins to keep them OFF my floor!
99. Have a caricature drawn of the three of us together
100. Set aside one day per month that I will comment on other blogs, at least 25 that day
101. Write five blog posts about people who inspire me and why
102. Write five blog posts about books that inspire me and why
103. Host a giveaway on my blog
104. Have a featured wedding on Style Me Pretty
105. Continue our Black Friday tradition – early morning shopping, Starbucks, and a movie!
106. Photograph a bridal session
107. Finish Promise Tangeman’s e-course and really work on the workbook for branding
108. Work through my list of 5 businesses I would like to work with
109. Write five blog posts about photographers that inspire me and why
110. Develop a system for touching base with past clients
111. Find a photographer just starting out that I can help in some way