2020 Goals Review

 

I am a bit early for this review, but now that I am looking forward to 2021 in earnest, this seems like the best time to reflect on the goals I set in January. 

Personal Goals 

• Exercise twice a week 

I have to say that considering all that has happened this year, I didn’t do too badly with this goal. No, I am not doing aerobics or Pilates, but I am walking every day, which is more than I was doing last year. If I can get the bonus room cleaned up, I can create an exercise room. We are talking about buying an elliptical machine. We have a treadmill and my barre for workouts. The punching bag will need to be replaced, since once of the kids' friends damaged it.

•  Read the Bible daily 

This is a goal that really needed more of my attention. I read a verse almost every day and attend Bible study on Sunday nights, but that’s really not enough. I am thinking the only way to accomplish this goal is to get up early every morning and dive right in. 

• Dedicate one day a week to meal planning 

I started off strong with this goal, but the dedication waned as we all found ourselves at home more. At this point, I don’t have a full meal plan in place, but I do know what protein I’ll be using, so that helps. 

• Make smarter food choices 

This was the largest challenge for me this year. I am such an emotional eater and a junk food junkie, so that doesn’t help. Trapped inside with the family for months probably didn’t make it easier. I’m fairly certain once the girls move out my eating habits will improve—don’t buy it, I can’t eat it—but what do I do in the meantime? 

• Re-assess my commitments 

I did fairly well this year. I resigned from one organization, though I still support them monetarily. The slower pace because of the pandemic and logging into my meetings instead of driving to them certainly helped as well. Since I will be president-elect of the local real estate board next year, assuming the presidency in 2022, I know I will need to stay on top of this goal going forward.

Professional Goals 

• Put together a solid business plan 

This was the first year since 2014 that I didn’t put together a business plan. I had a huge decision to make early in the year. That decision shouldn’t have interfered with creating a business plan, but it did. Well, I allowed it to. 

By the time I knew where my head was at, COVID arrived. Two weeks later, the events that unfolded at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and would lead to my father-in-law’s death, became my focus. It has literally taken me until this month to fully get invested in real estate again. Though there remains no closure in regards to those tragic events, I can stop my mind from agonizing over them all the time. Now, if the ringing in my ears would stop, I could really focus.

•  Commit to weekly prospecting 

Considering the year this has been, I feel I did really well with this. Though there were a few weeks I didn’t prospect at all, I prospected more this year than usual. I have also been better about staying in touch with former clients and reaching out to new leads. Living in a pandemic world makes you stop and think more about how you can help people. That’s why my volunteering ramped up this year, too. 

• Read two business or leadership books this year 

I met this goal by reading one book on self-publishing and one on creating systems. The latter is where I feel I always fail. Either I don’t create the systems or I create them and abandon them when I get busy. I bought daily planner sheets to help with that in 2021. Those will be easier than the journal I tried to keep. 

• Take my Broker's Test 

This moved to 2021 because the testing centers have been closed. They have reopened, but they have been backed up. 

• Make an important decision by January 10 

I made the decision and am confident I made the right choice.

What were some of your goals this year? What have you been most satisfied with accomplishing? What is one of your 2021 goals?

2019 Goals Review

So here it is mid-November. How have I done? Pretty much blew these goals. I had more success with my writing ones. Let's take a peek.

PERSONAL GOALS

GOAL 1: Read the Bible this year

I made it through June before this fell apart. I am still reading from my Bible, but haven't caught up since I feel behind this summer. 

GOAL 2: Exercise on Tuesday and Friday mornings

I don't know how to manage this unless I find a way to change my internal clock. I've been a night owl my entire life. It's almost 2 am as I am typing this. If I could simply go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, I might have a fighting chance. 

GOAL 3: Learn to say "no"

Maybe I should just strike "yes" and "how can I help" from my vocabulary? LOL!  Volunteering is in my heart. I can't help it and I don't apologize for it. We are called to serve one another.  

REAL ESTATE GOALS

GOAL 1: Time block my calendar

I made it to April with this goal. I despise time blocking, so that is an obstacle. I am going to try choosing a theme for each day in 2020. 

GOAL 2: Double my volume

Systems. Systems. Systems. It all boils down to that. I will increase my volume again this year, but I didn't double it. This will be a 2020 goal for sure. 

GOAL 3: Read at least one business/sales related book each quarter

DONE! I read four books already. I might squeeze another one before the end of the year.

Did you set goals for 2019? How are you doing?  

Task it Tuesday - Jan 8

Originally created by The Geeky Blogger, Task It Tuesday is a weekly meme to help you--and me--get things done. The challenge is to post a task or list of tasks you want to complete before next Tuesday. These tasks can help you with your blogging life, reading life, personal or professional life.

So much to do at the beginning of the year. Most of it is fun stuff. Here is how last week's to-do list ended up:

• Set my goals for 2019: writing, real estate, and personal. Deadline 1/2. First things, first. DONE
• Finalize my 2019 Business Plan. Deadline 1/11. DONE
• Finalize my President's Award application and submit it to my office for review. Deadline 1/10. DONE
• Complete three marketing proposals. Deadline 1/6. One done and two to go.
• Write all my known meetings and vacation days into my work calendar. DONE
• Put together my 2019 vision board. DONE 
• Pack for NYC. We are taking a short trip into the city. Deadline 1/3. DONE. Trip was fun.
• Start reading books for January virtual book tours. The first one is coming to NYC with me for the drive down and back. Started Tandem Demise by Duffy Brown.
• Start my Read Through the Bible in a Year with a Chronological Bible Reading Plan. Seven days done. 

So what does this week's list look like? 

• Daily Bible reading.
• Exercise - though day or days are up in the air because most mornings I have something going on. Right now slated for Wednesday.
• Finish two marketing proposals. Deadline of 1/9.
• Finish time blocking this week's calendar. I have to complete Wednesday and the weekend days. 
• Stick to my 5-5-5-5 plan for reaching out to more people: 5 calls, 5 texts, 5 emails and 5 handwritten notes every day. (I failed on Monday, but I sold a house this weekend so I won't beat myself up too much.)
• Update my CRM. I need to create some regular distribution lists. I have one of 100 people. I would like to expand that for marketing campaigns.
• Finish cleaning the office. Probably won't happen, but most of it is done. The closet is the only thing left.

What is on your to-do list this week? What are you striving to accomplish? 

2019 Personal and Professional Goals

Alright, let's get down to brass tacks. Here's a bit of help in case you don't know what I mean by that. It's time to set those 2019 personal and professional goals. Looking for my writing goals? You can find those here.

PERSONAL GOALS

GOAL 1: Read the Bible this year

A group of my friends and I are reading the Bible together in chronological order. Hope you'll consider joining us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadBibleChronologicalOrder/ Right now, I am reading before bed, which is working out great. 

GOAL 2: Exercise on Tuesday and Friday mornings

I've come to the conclusion that I need to start small. Two days a week is better than no days a week. If I manage to meet this goal, then I can increase to three days a week. This might require me getting up earlier than I like, so bedtime might need to be adjusted.

GOAL 3: Learn to say "no"

This will be the hardest goal this year. I stink at it. Anytime someone asks for a volunteer, my hand goes up. I swear it might take me attending meetings with hands tied behind my back and my mouth taped shut. 

REAL ESTATE GOALS

GOAL 1: Time block my calendar

I also stink at this. I am a paper calendar person. This means to be effective and accurate, I need to write it down in my paper calendar, and then, transfer all the data to Outlook so it transfers automatically to my phone. Think this might need to be added to my calendar as a Sunday evening chore. I pulled out my business plan and it has a great daily calendar, weekly calendar, and activity tracking sheet. 

GOAL 2: Double my volume

Without meeting Goal 1, Goal 2 will be impossible. I know it. I've known it for a long time. Here's what I need to do: time block the calendar so that I can contact the people I know regularly; set up a system where I mail important information to people at least once a quarter (prefer once a month); spend one day a month creating listing and buyer kits so they are handy when I need them. Just these few steps will make a huge difference. 

GOAL 3: Read at least one business/sales related book each quarter

I have several here that I want to get through: The Seven Deadly Sins of Sales and Outrageous Authenticity by Leigh Brown, Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller, and Reach Your Greatness featuring James Malinchak and other leading entrepreneurs and professionals. Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell is on my list to read this year too.

Have you set your goals for 2019? Anything you want to share? Get ready tomorrow for Task it Tuesday. It's helping me stay on task better. It could help you too. 

2018 Goals Review

I'm a bit behind with this. I did it in my mind, but it never made it to this blog. Whoops!

Before I set my goals for the new year, I review my progress from the year that has passed. I'm not someone who beats herself up about missing the mark, but I do use those moments to gauge how I can do better.

So here's what 2018 looked like for personal and real estate goals. You can check out the review of my writing goals here.

PERSONAL GOALS

GOAL 1: Daily Bible verse reading and prayer

I did much better in 2018 than I had in previous years. I've found if I read right when I get up or right before bed, I am much more successful. Having the YouVersion Bible App on my phone is a big help.

GOAL 2: Schedule days off in my calendar

This goal still needs a fair amount of work. I did pre-schedule days off. I just didn't honor a lot of them.

GOAL 3: Exercise three days a week

Never happened. I think I worked out four times in 2018. This must be a priority this year.

GOAL 4: Pamper myself once a quarter

Maybe not once a quarter, but I've made great progress. I spent more on clothes, got my nails done a few times, and made a point to go out to eat with friends more often.

REAL ESTATE GOALS

GOAL 1: Time block my calendar and add to Outlook 

This is such a hard thing for me. It's kind of like asking a panster to write book outlines. I hate it!!! That said, I am committing to it for 2019 to make the most of this year.

GOAL 2: Review Class Options and Sign Up

Goal met. Not usually an issue for me. I end up with more credits than I need because I'm a big supporter of the RAPV and because continuing to learn is important to me.

GOAL 3: List at least 5 more properties than I did in 2017

Well, I didn't list five more--guess I didn't realize how many I listed in 2017--but I did list two more. If I count the four properties I assisted on, then I can claim to have surpassed my goal. My number of sales stayed consistent and my volume went up, so it was a good year.

GOAL 4: Read at least one business-related book a quarter

I read two last year and started a third one before the year ended, so this was at least close.

How did your year go? Is there anything you're especially proud of?

Task It Tuesday - Dec 4

Originally created by The Geeky Blogger, Task It Tuesday is a weekly meme to help you--and me--get things done. The challenge is to post a task or list of tasks you want to complete before next Tuesday. These tasks can help you with your blogging life, reading life, personal or professional life.

It's been a while since I posted a Task it Tuesday. There are still lots of tasks, but not a lot of posting time. I really need to time block my calendar better and more often.

I'm still focused on cleaning the house. That dumpster needs to get out here. Problem is I have so many work appointments I am rarely home. Hopefully, next week will start a slow down in the work schedule, but it's not looking promising.

There are two things I want to finish by this weekend:

1. Cleaning my office: the closet and supply cabinet are all that is left. Then I need to clean the bonus room so I can move the boxes of unread books from my little office into that room.
2. Put up some Christmas decorations. The kids are eager to get this place looking seasonal, and I truly enjoy doing it. We bought new stockings and a new Christmas tree skirt this year, so I would love to see how it looks.

What are some tasks you would like to tackle this week?

Task It Tuesday - February 20

Originally created by The Geeky Blogger, Task It Tuesday is a weekly meme to help you--and me--get things done. The challenge is to post a a task or list of tasks you want to complete before next Tuesday. These tasks can help you with your blogging life, reading life, personal or professional life.

Only one thing on my to-do list this week: finish reading the three books I have coming up for review.

Anything you're looking to accomplish this week? Share it with us.

Personal and Professional Goals 2018

My writing goals have been set. Why do I set those first? Because writing is like breathing for me: if I don't do it, I will die. Now it's time to consider personal and real estate goals for 2018. Since personal goals will always be more important than anything related to a career, I'll list them first.

PERSONAL GOALS

GOAL 1: Daily Bible verse reading and prayer

Might require getting up half an hour earlier, but this must come first every day. I have a Bible app on my phone, which should help, and I bought several devotionals last year. 

GOAL 2: Schedule days off in my calendar

I'm working on getting better about time blocking my calendar. The first thing that always goes when I get busy is a day off. Why is this a personal goal? Because it impacts family and my health more than anything else.

GOAL 3: Exercise three days a week

Another bad thing about being so busy last year is that I didn't work out the way I should. Three days a week--probably Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday--is manageable. The new workout DVD arrives tomorrow. I'm excited!

GOAL 4: Pamper myself once a quarter

I work hard. Why shouldn't I pamper myself? I have a gift certificate for a massage, which I plan to schedule soon. Maybe I'll get my nails done a few times. Maybe I'll just take a day to go off by myself and write. Who knows. I'll have to consider this more. 

REAL ESTATE GOALS

GOAL 1: Time block my calendar and add to Outlook (see above)

I'll admit I am a paper calendar kind of girl. The trouble with it this year is that I had so many appointments for work and family that I kind of lost track of things. So far I have scheduled my year's worth of several meeting dates, all the kids' days off of school and half days, our vacation, and even my blog tour duties into the calendar and in Outlook so it automatically goes to my iPhone. 

Next I want to plan one hour each day to contact people, followed by setting aside one day a month to work on marketing. 

GOAL 2: Review Class Options and Sign Up

As part of our licensing renewals, we need to have twelve continuing education classes every two years. In addition, there are classes for special designations that can be attended. I want to get as many of these scheduled within the first quarter before business gets really busy. My license expires this July, so I also need to make sure I have all the credits I need before then.

GOAL 3: List at least 5 more properties than I did in 2017

In 2017 I listed more properties than in the past. I want that trend to continue so that I can better manage my business. 

GOAL 4: Read at least one business-related book a quarter

I have several books here that will assist me in my business. Even if I have to get some of them on audio to listen to in my truck, I want to keep my mind focused on the positives and continue to grow. 

This list may change and be added to as the year progresses, but this is a good start.

Do you have any goals this year? How about any tips on how to effectively achieve your goals? Is there something on your list that has just been nagging at you? Let's support each other's goals and see what we can accomplish in 2018.