Happy New Year, friends! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season that was JUST the right mix of chaos and relaxation. If you read my 2017 recap, you know that my plan this year, generally, is to set some overarching goals and then do a deep dive quarterly.

2018 Goals

This was my first year using Lisa Jacobs’s Your Best Year, and I enjoyed all of the reflection work to set myself up for a successful 2018, both personally and professionally.

Keep learning.

This means staying current on book-publishing-related news and trends by attending industry conferences.

This also means reading. My goal is one book per week, alternating between business-related and pleasure reading. (2017 was the first year I met my reading goal -- hurrah!)

This does NOT mean overbuying courses (and then not finishing them).

Take better care of my body.

I’m a pro at drinking enough water, and I eat pretty well (I’m one of those lucky people who love veggies), but it’s not enough. I’m not getting any younger, so it’s time to get serious. This past year I realized the effect stress has on me physically as well as mentally. (Spoiler alert: It’s not good!)

I love to cook but it’s something that has fallen by the wayside the last couple years. I want to consistently cook at home at least five nights per week in 2018, with two new recipes per week. (Believe me: I know how lucky I am to have a spouse who equally enjoys cooking and trying new recipes, so we take turns cooking.) Using the slow cooker more would be a bonus, but I don’t want to be greedy.

Meal planning for dinner is something I’m good at; meal prepping and planning lunches/breakfasts are not. My sister, one of my sisters-in-law, and I regularly talk about how much smoother the week goes if we just suck it up and spend a couple hours on Sunday prepping meals and ingredients for the days ahead. And yet… So this is something to work on in 2018.

I switched to a standing desk last year, but I need to just MOVE MORE in general. Daily walks are great, but do they really count as cardio? (Yes, I know the answer to that is no.) A girlfriend and I are planning to run a 5K each quarter this year, which seems totally do-able — and yet not, if that makes sense, as I haven’t been a “real” runner since high school track.

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season that was JUST the right mix of chaos and relaxation. If you read my 2017 recap, you know that my plan this year, generally, is to set some overarching goals and then do a deep dive q…

Serve my clients well.

This isn’t a new goal for me, but it’s something that is always on my radar, in the spirit of continuous improvement. I want my clients to have a positive experience throughout the coaching and/or editing process, in addition to having a solid book that’s ready for publication when we’re finished working together. In 2018 this will entail reviewing and updating all of the tools I use with clients (worksheets, workbooks, and the like).

Embrace downtime.

Man, this was the best thing I did in 2017. Hands down. My husband and I decided that unless we were traveling, we would keep one weekend day unscheduled. This allowed for more date nights, more dinners on the deck, more glasses of wine by the fire pit, more movies on the deck — just more. It was glorious, and this year I think it will help with two other goals under this umbrella main goal: to nurture my marriage and to slow down/enjoy the holiday season.

2018 Quarter 1 Goals

Since I am not launching anything new in Q1, it’s generally what I call a “business as usual” quarter.

For me, here’s what “business as usual” looks like:

Accountability check-in call: weekly (If you don’t have an accountability buddy, you need one. Having one has changed my business — and provided me with one of my dearest friends in the process. Win-win.)
Connection calls/coffee chats: 1 per week
Book coaching clients: 2-3 per month
Book editing clients: 2-3 per month
CEO report: weekly on Fridays ( I learned about this from Reina Pomeroy and think it is BRILLIANT. You can learn about it here[LINK:].)
Quarterly retreat: prior quarter reflection, next quarter planning, batch-create content

I want to add a weekly coworking session, which some people call CEO dates. If you’re looking to add one, too, let me know. Maybe we’re a good match.

In addition, here are my “bigger” goals for Q1:

Prepare two presentations for March 2018 speaking engagements.
Outline “blog to book” workshop/masterclass (? - still playing with the format) for Q2 launch.

Word of the Year

I love choosing a word (or phrase) each year. I love to see how the word shows up as I move through the ups and downs, ins and outs, of each year. Sometimes I struggle to find the right word. This year, the choice was so obvious I didn’t think twice.

Presence.

2017 kicked my tail, y’all. Many more days than not, I ended the day feeling like I had let someone down. This year, I want to just be present wherever I am. On client days, that means giving clients my full and undivided attention. On days when I’m with my mom, that means forgetting about work and soaking up every second with her. On weekends, that means my husband doesn’t get the short end of the stick, which happened enough in 2017 that I’m embarrassed by it.

Presence will serve me, and my business, well.

Here’s to 2018 and all that it brings — both good and bad. Here’s to learning and adjusting and growing. What do your 2018 plans look like?

Jodi Brandon Editorial 2018 Goals