Happy new year!! As Logan and I sat close to each other during the last minute before midnight, waiting for the ball to drop, I whispered to Logan, “2015 has been a good year, but this year is going to be amazing.” We know that this year went way differently than we had imagined at the end of 2014 and for that reason, we know 2016 will be full of adventures that we will figure out together.

We all know what that at this time of the  year, everyone is talking about goals- losing weight, going on a trip, making more money, being a better friend, etc, etc. These lists are made by a lot of people, but how many of us give up, forget about, or decide to not do something because it’s not constantly in front of us or reminding us to do things? How many of us are really honest with what is working in our lives and what isn’t and then setting goals to change those things? Let me tell you about our goals last year… The new year was already here and we hadn’t taken any time to really set any goals. We took advantage of some time that we had while driving and set a few random goals and I wrote them in the notes section on my phone. Being honest, not one of those goals was accomplished. We couldn’t see them, be reminded, and motivated to cross things off. This year, we knew we wanted to make specific changes and make things happen! That meant we needed to try something new with our goals and find ways to motivate ourselves.

A couple of weeks ago, we sat down together to talk over what really worked for us in our business and lives during 2015 and what didn’t. That was a hard, honest conversation to have. And we didn’t just talk about it, we wrote it all down on a poster-board. I felt like we kept adding those didn’t work items to the list and I was feeling kind of beat up, but it was a conversation that really got us thinking about how to make the coming year better!

2 things that worked for us this year- 1. Changed the business name to Michelle & Logan 2. Blogging was consistent on our Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

2 things that didn’t work  1. Michelle texting to communicate with clients and anyone really- if you’ve ever texted me, you know I’m awful!! 2. Logan’s Instagram and social media presence.

We finished up that first poster board and started listing different goals for videos, photos, personally, and as a couple. Again, we wrote them all on big poster boards that are now hanging in the office. Now we see these things EVERY DAY. I know it’s not a list for us to accomplish in one day. There is a lot of goals and things to work at, but they are all things we can make happen if we work hard and hustle!

2 of Logan’s “business” goals- 1. Increase social media presence: post to Instagram once a week 2. Shoot 10 wedding videos

2 of Michelle’s “business” goals- 1. Read 8 business books in the year 2. Start the blog series that has been on my mind for months now…

And while we love doing business goals, we know that we need to have personal ones to enrich our lives and grow as a couple and individuals-

Michelle & Logan goal- Family over phones. When we are at our families homes, we don’t want to be on our phones during meals, game time or while we are all chatting, unless it has to do with something we are doing or talking about. We want to make those times we have together more intentional and meaningful

2 of Logan’s personal goals- 1. Read 8 new books- business or just for fun! 2. Write Michelle more notes- I’m a sucker for those love notes! 🙂

2 of Michelle’s personal goals- 1. Drink 64 oz of water a day- I rarely drink 32 oz in a day and we think I’m usually dehydrated! Does anyone else have this problem?! 2. 30 minutes of no phone or computer when waking up in the morning. I have a bad habit of instantly scrolling through Instagram and checking my email as soon my eyes open. That needs to change!

Instead of just setting those same goals you set every year, take time to really evaluate what worked in your life this year and what didn’t. Write it down and then come up with ways to change those things that didn’t work. Set goals and deadlines for those goals to make things happen!! Here’s to a new year, full of achieving goals and adventures!!