My 2021 Goals

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By Jess
3 Feb 2021

When I started writing this post a few weeks ago I had absolutely no idea how quickly life would change. I’m sitting here writing this at 3am with red, swollen eyes wondering how it’s even possible to cry anymore tears. For those who might have missed it, I brought Nora to the emergency vet two days ago. And so far the results do not look good. She has a large mass in her nose, we are awaiting test results. I’ll be honest I never ever thought about this kind of possibility. I just felt like Nora would be around forever. I know that sounds ridiculous.

I’m trying not to spiral and I am holding on to hope so I will leave it at that. But thinking about goals right now is not a priority. Except for maybe one, and that is to make however much time we have left with Nora the best time. To make sure she knows how loved she is and to make her as happy and as comfortable as possible. So here are my 2021 goals, but for now, the rest can wait. Because if there is anything that 2020 taught me, it’s that my family is everything.

My 2021 Goals

My 2021 Goals

Personal Goals

More separation between life and work.

I think what I mean here is time management and better boundaries? When I’m working I want to work, when I’m not I want to be PRESENT. I don’t want to be on my phone around Marin, checking my email or Instagram. I want to give myself permission to take breaks and play with her outside, take the dogs for a walk. But I also want to work when I need to and not feel guilty about it. I don’t know that I’ll ever figure this one out but I’m going to do my best.

Prioritize myself.

It still makes me so uncomfortable to write and say this, and that is why I know it’s so important to do it. After a year of being pregnant (and sick for most of it), then having a baby (and suffering from postpartum hemorrhage and anxiety from D-MER), and then Covid-19 happening a month after I had Marin, I was at a breaking point. By the end of 2020 I was so fried physically and emotionally and I knew something had to change. I did not prioritize myself at all and everything suffered (my work, my relationships, my mental and physical health). I am looking forward to doing things for me, taking restorative time for me, and allowing myself to do it free of guilt or shame.

Move my body for fun.

I’ll be honest I really do not enjoy working out. I do it because I want to be healthy and strong but doing workout classes kind of feels like a chore. What I do love is sports. I always have. Being in Vermont this winter has been so amazing to exercise outdoors going cross country skiing or snowboarding (on the rare occasion we have family visiting to babysit Marin). Last summer I did some swim training with my Aunt (a personal trainer) and it made me feel so good. I am going to start playing tennis again too.

SAVE money.

Last year I got really serious about prioritizing my business financials and getting super clear and organized on that front. I also set up a budget for personal finances and did a pretty good job of tracking that but I’d like to take it a step further this year. First, I want to max out our retirement contributions to our IRAs. We set them up a few years ago but have not been taking full advantage and ultimately I know that if the money isn’t there, we won’t spend it. We’ve also set up a 529 College Savings Plan for Marin and will be contributing monthly to that as well. We need to build our rainy day savings fund up a bit more too.

Basically the big goal is save more, spend less. *This has changed a little in the last 72 hours with Nora’s health situation but will do what we need to as the days and weeks go on.

Business Goals

Focus on my blog.

In addition to going back to publishing content 5 days a week, I’d like to increase my pageviews by 50%. That’s going from 2 million to 3 million pageviews in 2021. I’ve never actually set a concrete goal around those numbers and had a plan to execute, but I believe I can do it. I look forward to writing to some more personal essay style posts and articles that look at issues in depth, including incorporating your experiences and voices.

A better and more consistent newsletter.

I am super excited to create more dedicated content for my newsletter subscribers (a weekly email that goes out on Sundays- I might do a poll and ask about what day of the week is preferred). You can sign up HERE.

Moving away from Instagram.

I talked about this more in this recent post but my main goal is to be less reliant on Instagram for my business (especially from a revenue perspective).

A product collaboration.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time but never found the right brand that I felt was a good fit. Well I am excited to share I have found a brand partner I really believe in (that I’ve worked with before) and we are collaborating on something for fall! I can’t wait to share more about this.

Getting clear on my vision and the future.

I tend to get a little sweaty anytime someone asks “what’s your 5 year plan?”. I’m actually not really a great planner in this way. Not that I never think about the future, trust me I do, but I’ve never been a 5 year plan kinda gal if that makes sense? That said I really want to get super clear on my vision for this community and what that can look like over time. I have a lot of ideas so lots of journaling, ideating (this word is so annoying, haha), and getting my head out of the weeds so I can think big picture. I’ve always seen this blog as so much bigger than me, and I hope to tap into the incredible power of the community we have here.

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12 Comments

  1. Sarah wrote:

    Sending you so much love right now and keeping Nora in my thoughts. Thanks for sharing these goals–I find this exercise so much better than “resolutions”. I think that for those of us who had babies during the pandemic (or right before), figuring out how to stay present and prioritize ourselves is going to be essential for us going forward in 2021. Thanks for creating a space that honors that. Looking forward to seeing what comes next here on the blog!

    2.3.21 | Reply
  2. Phyllis Williamson wrote:

    You, your family, and definitely Nora will be in my thoughts. I hope that you have answers soon.

    I really enjoyed reading your goals, and a lot of them resonated with me. I think 2020 taught us all that work is not everything, and I do hope you (and so many of us!) can work on finding that balance

    2.3.21 | Reply
  3. Christine wrote:

    Sending so many prayers to Nora. I have a rescue and they become our babies. Nora also knows how loved she is. It seems you guys have given her a great life!! ??

    2.3.21 | Reply
  4. Carolyn wrote:

    I know how quickly priorities can change when something happens to a much beloved pet – this was 2020 for us. Thinking about you all and Nora, and know you’ve got so many in your corner supporting you all around!

    2.3.21 | Reply
  5. Margie wrote:

    Sending hugs and positive healing energy to you, Nora and your whole family.

    2.3.21 | Reply
  6. amy wrote:

    So much love and prayers to Nora, you and your family. They are our fur babies, a member of the family. ???

    2.3.21 | Reply
  7. Rhonda wrote:

    My heart goes out to you. Our wonderful eight year old golden was diagnosed with cancer after an emergency splenectomy in late summer of 2019. Our vet told us we had a month to three months with her and she made it to February 2019 happy and pain free. We put all other life goals/plans on hold too. That time is a time I will always hold dear. These pets are our family and we love them so. The only thing you don’t have to worry about is Nora knowing she is loved. She knows. Sending you lots of love.

    2.3.21 | Reply
  8. Morgan wrote:

    Thank you for sharing these. So great to read about your collaboration in the fall! Can’t wait to hear about it. Thinking of you and the family and specifically Nora. ?

    2.3.21 | Reply
  9. Lauren wrote:

    I’m so sorry to hear about Nora, and I’m keeping you all in my thoughts! We recently lost our pup, and the pain, worry, and sadness of that loss and the prior weeks certainly colored the end of 2020 for our family.

    One of my goals is to start engaging with blogs in the way that I used to! I’ve missed long-form content in recent years as people have moved towards social, and I’m realizing that I have a responsibility to engage meaningfully in this space so that you can be here more! And yes – TENNIS! One of my goals is to start playing again as well. Like you, I love playing sports, and I want to incorporate that more intentionally into my life.

    2.3.21 | Reply
  10. Jessica Camerata wrote:

    I am so sorry to hear about Nora. Sending you all the positive vibes. I just dropped my dog Pork in this morning for a mass removal too and it’s just so scary.

    And yay for a product collaboration! Can’t wait to hear more about this.

    xo Jessica
    an indigo day

    2.4.21 | Reply
  11. Isabel wrote:

    So sorry to hear about Nora, I hope she’s feeling better and that you can spend some quality time with her. Being able to be present in my free time i’s also an important one for me, but so tricky to do when the real world is such a scary place and all I want to do sometimes is be the opposite of present.

    xxx
    Isabel
    https://isabelstories.com/

    2.4.21 | Reply
  12. Grace H. wrote:

    Hi Jess, I just saw the post on Nora and your lovely tribute to her on IG, I am literally in tears. I am so very sorry for your loss. She was such a great beautiful girl. I loved seeing pictures of her in your posts. I met her briefly one day when Craig went down the street with her when you lived at the other place before you bought the house in RI. She was such a well behaved dog. May she Rest In Peace.

    2.11.21 | Reply

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