Who says you have to set goals in January? I had every good intention to write this blog post earlier in the year, but life happened. Even though it’s the beginning of March, I believe it’s never too late to reflect on the past year! A little exercise I do prior to setting my yearly goals is to take an in-depth look at the past 12 months (i.e. my 2021 Year In Review). Essentially, I look at both my business + personal life and ask myself the following questions:

• What worked and didn’t work this past year?
• Did I accomplish everything I wanted?
• Are there certain things I want to accomplish in the year ahead?
• What was my revenue and expenses?
• Where can I cut expenses? Increase revenue?
• In what areas did I earn the most revenue? The least?

Asking myself each of these questions (and writing down my answers) provides clarity on areas in my business that thrived, areas that suffered, goals that were achieved, and allows me to see where I need to spend more of my time in the year ahead. I began doing this reflection in 2020 and it has been fun to see how my business/life has changed just in the past 12 months. If you haven’t done a 2021 year in review for your business yet, I highly suggest setting aside a few minutes and think about the questions I listed above in relation to your business and personal life!

Word Of The Year

I selected the word “progress,” which means “movement toward a goal, to grow, develop, advance,” as my 2021 word of the year. There are many goals I want to achieve this year and instead of getting stuck in paralysis of the analysis (and not moving forward at all) — I simply want to make progress on each goal. From launching my upcoming course to completing home projects to personal growth — these things will be done with the goal of moving the needle a little closer to accomplishing my overall goal. I tend to get overwhelmed when working on projects because I seek perfection in everything. Going forward, I’m choosing progress over perfection.

2021 proved to be another dumpster fire of a year, but despite it all, I still made advancements in both my business and personal life. Read on below for all the good, bad, and a few of my 2022 goals! Let’s go!

2021 Year in Review | The Good

• Participated in Julie Paisley’s Pivot Mastermind January-June
• Went on vacation to Florida with my 4 kiddos
• Welcomed our baby girl to our family: Millie Kay Mathis
• All the love, support, cards and meals we received while Millie was hospitalized
• Brought baby Millie home after spending 9 weeks in the NICU
• Finished our stairs and bedroom renovation
• Put together a new office space for myself
• Was a guest on two podcast episodes (Listen to Tea with Jaine and The Stay Focused Podcast)
• Had a gorgeous wedding published on Style Me Pretty
• Decluttered my entire home
• Organized my children’s school items and finished updating two baby books
• Traveled to Charleston, SC and spoke at the JP Summit about how to pay yourself as a creative
• Participated in the Belle Lumiere Creative Collaboration x 2
• Purchased a new Apple iMac computer (in purple!)
• Tore down two sheds and cleaned up our yard
• Photographed a dream wedding at the Villa Terrace
• Had our own family photos taken by the talented Talia Laird Photography
• Attended my 15 year high school class reunion
• Traveled to Park City, UT and spoke at the Hybrid Collective Conference about Profit First
• Photographed 11 beautiful weddings & elopements, 29 senior sessions and 7 engagement sessions
• Finished Financial Coach Master Training & started work on launching my coaching programs
• Took a family vacation to Three Bears Lodge
• Grew the education side of my business
• Made some amazing new industry friends via masterminds and conferences
• Built my husband’s new workshop with cash
• Read 9 books
• Planted a vegetable garden
• Paid of $20k on our home mortgage (getting closer to paying it off completely!)

2021 Year in Review | The Bad

• I contracted COVID in January when I was 21 weeks pregnant. Luckily, I came out okay!
• The day I returned from our Florida vacation, I ended up in the hospital for two days with pregnancy complications
• A week after landing in the hospital, I gave birth to Millie 10 weeks early via emergency c-section due to continued pregnancy issues
• I had to split my time between the NICU and my other four kids for 9 weeks — it was torture trying to decide how to spend my time!
• We’ve had to navigate Millie’s various health issues. At 3 months old, she contracted RSV and had to spend three days in the hospital, she’s had issues with some stiffness in her legs and severe anxiety around other people.
• Family medical issues/scares
• I wasn’t able to launch my course or coaching programs
• Utilizing a block schedule each day didn’t stick
• I didn’t achieve some of my financial, personal and business goals

2022 Goals

Every year I utilize Lara Casey’s Cultivate What Matters Powersheets to help layout my business and personal goals for the year. I always have so many things I want to accomplish, but these powersheets really help me to hone in on what is most important. As a way to hold myself accountable, here are my following goals for 2022 (in no particular order):

• Follow a block schedule each week
• Organize heirlooms (i.e. update kids baby books– only 3 to go!)
• Read 1 book per month
• Simplify + declutter our home
• Complete basement renovation (we will be adding a playroom for the kids + a bedroom for our 2 older boys)
• Add doors to our kitchen cabinets (we’ve been living in our home since 2014 and I STILL don’t have doors!)
• Batch out content for newsletters, social media and blogs quarterly
• Launch The Entrepreneur Blueprint Course, Coaching Programs and Profit First Intensives
• Do daily rhythms each morning (Make bed, clean up kitchen, get myself ready, clean up bathroom, throw in a load of laundry)
• Book 12 weddings for 2023
• Work with 35 seniors for 2022
• Document my personal life more
• Monthly date nights with my husband
• Communicate better (this is hard for an Enneagram 9!)
• Nightly dinners as a family
• Take one vacation as a family per year
• Less screen time

There has been so much good and bad that has happened to us all in 2021, but everyday I continue to focus on the good and keep pushing through. What is something that happened to you in 2021 you are grateful for? Is there something you can’t wait to forget? What is one of your 2022 goals? Tell me below and let’s have a conversation!