If you’re in the process of goal-setting, don’t forget this...


Hello Reader, I wanted to reach out to you to chat about goal-setting.

You might have joined this list some time ago with the 5 steps to a digital organization system, where I talked about this image.

Here's the hierarchy of fulfillment :D

If your holiday season went anything like mine, it traded ugly sweaters and family time with sweatpants and naps mostly because I tested positive with covid and stayed home.

Reflection is a commonplace for this time of the year and feels especially amplified with not only my isolation but also the rainy weather we’ve been getting all month in socal. It hasn’t been helping my sleeping habits either.

But you might say, “Jenny, what does reflecting on the past year have to do with goal-setting for the next?”

In order for us to create the goals that are RIGHT for our unique selves, we need to align them to our own purpose. And to discover our own purpose, we need to look back at evidence of who we are.

So IN comes reflection:

Some things to keep an eye out for are:

  • Which projects created an impact I was proud of?
  • What activities gave me the MOST excitement about doing?
  • What were some moments where I felt like I was living out my past-me dream?

Take the time to look at everything you were able to contribute to, and reflect on EACH one.

Here’s an example of what I did:

I started with simply “guessing” what things I did and wrote them in my travel notebook where I put all my observations.

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A messy page from my notebook.

Then after writing this list, I looked for photos and videos for the reel and just searched within 2021. Luckily, Google Photos does a good job of capturing photos from my phone automatically and I don't have to dig too long. There's a little timeline on the side so I could scroll through the year.

A snippet of August 2021 when I went to visit my classroom for the very first time and sign-painted the schedule for a festival our friends' put on.

This brought up a BUNCH of forgotten moments of other things I did this year and all I could tell my self was, different variations of “woah… I totally forgot about that.”

I loved these moments so much that I put them together for a little 2021 Recap Reel and it made me just really appreciate THIS point in my journey.

This is your moment to know that you're in the good old days BEFORE you've actually left them.

Rest on rhythm

I saw this tweet being shared in multiple friends’ stories

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I think it’s a solid reminder that as we stay indoors this holiday season and find more time to rest, rest AND reflection need to be a PART of our creative process. It helps us identify what is working for us and what is not

Doing that deep level of reflection makes it EASIER for us to figure out what our plan for setting up goals in the new year. :)

Thanks for spending some time with me right here in your email (you rock!).

If you have done all the reflection and are ready to MOVE on to the goal-setting, I created this video on the Hierarchy of Fulfillment so you can remember to break down those goals into ACTIONABLE things to do.

Respond to this email if you plan on doing some REFLECTING before your goal-setting.

P.S. If talking about bringing purpose into your creative work is your jam, I’m hosting a FREE Training at the end of January to discuss the 3 step method to create with purpose so you NEVER lose an idea. It’s my official LAUNCH for my 1:1 coaching program for creative professionals and I would love to see you there.

Sky Blue Jenny

I help creative professionals who struggle with organizing their ideas and tasks build a flexible system to achieve greater clarity, efficiency, and confidence in sharing their work.

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