NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2014

I can't believe it's already mid-March!  We are almost a quarter of the way through the year and here I am just now talking about New Years Resolutions. Better late than never right?  I'm not much of a resolutions person.  I made some business goals for 2014 which I will share with you in another blog post, but I figured that this year it would also be good to set some personal goals as well.  In order to stick to my resolutions, I figure simpler and fewer is better.  Most of them center around work/life balance (or lack thereof).  So here goes. 

Separate home and work time.  It's hard to step away when you run your own business.  Because Bryan is at nursery school part time and with me the other 2 days of the week I try to shove everything into Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when he isn't home, but there tends to be A LOT of overflow.  As I grow my business there is a never ending list of things that need to be done, not to mention having to process all the orders that keep coming in (a good problem to have).  Because things keep piling up, I end up doing work after Bryan goes to bed and rushing to get things done while he's napping the other two days of the week. This year I'm trying to prioritize the work I need to dp (and get help on other aspects) so I can turn off when it's not work time. 

Spend more time with my husband.  Scott and I had been going out on fairly regular date nights but after I got pregnant, date night sort of fell off our radar. Perhaps it was the nesting instinct and all of the things we suddenly had to do to get ready for baby. Or perhaps it was the fact that going out to dinner and not being able to enjoy some wine with it didn't seem appealing.  However, we recently went on a little baby-moon to New York (originally we were going to Charleston but Mother Nature decided otherwise). Regardless of the thwarted plans, it was so nice to reconnect, wandering around the city and treating ourselves to some great meals.  After Baby #2 arrives I imagine it will be even more difficult but even more vital to find those alone moments, but I'm determined in 2014 to make that happen.  One thing that Scott and I are doing is scheduling Tuesday and Thursday evenings as family time - no staying late at work or bringing work home, no to-do lists.  This should help both with resolution #1 and #2. 

Take more "me" time. I am inherently a busybody - I just keep going - which allows me to get a lot done but it's hard for me to sit down and relax and stop working or doing house stuff.  Being pregnant makes this challenging and frustrating.  A good example is that I kept saying to myself that I needed to take a long relaxing bath.  How hard is that?  I literally had been saying this for months. It wasn't until we went to the city for our baby-moon at about week 29 of my pregnancy that I actually found time to do this.  There will always be things that need to be done but I need to move "me" time to the top of my to-do list from time to time.   

Be less jealous.  As a competitive person it's hard not to envy other people. I find that when I read other blogs, I often feel a pang of jealousy as I look at all the pretty homes people live in, amazing food people are eating, easy but stylish outfits people are wearing and generally how perfect things seem to be on the lifestyle front.  Of course, these feelings drive me to do things better in my own work and life, but sometimes they just aren't healthy.  I'm trying to be less envious of other folks out there and to remind myself that especially in the blog world, everything is seen through a filter.  You make people believe what you want them to believe with pretty photographs and inspiring text, but in the end everyone has their own challenges and battles they are fighting.  Along with limiting myself to reading just a few of my favorite blogs, remembering this as I peruse the web is key. 

Usually I don't talk too much about this sort of personal stuff on my blog, but I figured writing it down and putting it out there would help me stick to it.  I know there is no true work/life balance and it is what you define it as, but I'm hoping that by making these goals 2014 will be a great year. What resolutions have you made for the rest of the year ahead?

- artwork by Cori Magee