Happy Friday! Last year I shared my 2018 goals and some advice about how to stick to them, around this very same time. I’m a big fan of easing into January and have a work schedule that encourages this. I love it is because it gives me time to decompress and also contemplate what I want the next year to look like, without getting swept up in the “new year, new me” January 1 mindset, which I personally think can be really toxic. Anyway, here’s a peek into what I’m planning for 2019!

In mapping out this new year, I wanted to make a combination of goals and resolutions. Goals are specific and time-sensitive, or SMART, (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). Resolutions, on the other hand, are more concrete changes you wish to implement. I’m sharing the basic goals in this post, but keeping all of the details to myself since I’m super self-conscious about sharing all of my hopes and dreams! So, you won’t see all of the specifics for each goal here, but I promise you, those exist.

Professional

2018 was not a bad year, but it definitely had more peaks and valleys than typical for me across all areas of life. At work, I had some great wins because two of my books were published (!!), I went to some great conferences in new-to-me cities, and won an award! But, I also faced a fair amount of rejection, felt overwhelmed more often than I should have if I didn’t procrastinate, and had to make some tough choices. So, for 2019, I’m hoping for a little more intentionality and fewer ups and downs.

If you’re new around here, I’m a tenure-track professor in communication at a research-focused university. You can read more about my job in this post and in this one. 

• Continue to move projects through to completion and strive for publication in my field’s top journals
• Grow my new baby (an online PR agency I started, eekk!) with purpose and precision
• Resolve to find joy in the most mundane tasks so that I can wake up with energy and excitement each day.
• Continue to cultivate meaningful relationships with co-workers, colleagues, and students.

Personal

Personally, 2018 was one of the toughest I’ve had, like ever, and not because it was all bad. It was actually harder because although there were tough times, there were so many amazing times, and together, it was just exhausting! Sometimes it felt like the really great times were hard to enjoy because of the not-so-great times, and other days it felt as though the bad days would never end. My faith was tested and deepened last year, and I’m looking forward to growing in this area more. However, I’m already seeing the reasons for the challenges, which is so encouraging!

• Resolve to drink water each day before coffee (so far, so good!)
• Continue seeing a therapist for self-care, relational health, and life maintenance.
• Share in the success and happiness of my friends and family wholeheartedly.
• Resolve to operate my life with grace but NOT excuses and keep track of all the things I do for reference when feeling down.
• Continue traveling and exploring.

Blog

The blog is one of my biggest disappointments from last year. This baby is hard to keep up with, despite how much time I spend dreaming about it. I’m really hoping to recommit to this space in 2019 and focus on quality over quantity, but it’s not like that’s hard, since the quantity last year wasn’t very high! HA! Nonetheless, I do really want to grow this blog so that people look forward to reading each new post over their coffee, as a way to relax each day, or simply to find a great style steal that makes them feel confident.

• Stop second-guessing content and stop comparing my blog and the growth of my blog to others (this is so hard).
• Resolve to make more time to write meaningful content without inhibition.
• Continue to grow an organic and engaged community.

I’d love to know what you’re planning for 2019 – maybe you have a fun trip planned?? Let me know in the comments! 

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Photo details: Striped pad | To Do List pad | Pen | Pineapple Paperclips