March 2017 Goals

March 2017 Goals

Whew. February has come and gone, and spring is here! I keep checking the weather expecting it to get cold again, and it keeps not happening. I can’t say I’m sad about that! It’s much more pleasant to shoot outdoors this time of year when it’s warm out and the world is already starting to bloom. Have I mentioned that I love spring??

I was finally able to get some big things done last month, like make some updates to my website, and I feel like I have some space to breathe now. It won’t last long with all the sessions and weddings I have planned in the coming months, but it was important to get some of these non-photo-editing things done before I get back to shooting and editing most of the time.

To-do:

• Fix website – The website updates I did in February ended up being a much bigger project than I anticipated. Not only did I stumble across some problems I didn’t know about with my site, I’ve had recent trouble with my server and pages not loading correctly. I think I’ve got it mostly back up and running now, but I still don’t trust it, so getting that fully taken care of is a big t0-do for this next week.
• Schedule spring sessions – I’ve had many more inquiries for spring family sessions than I’ve had in the past, and I need to get them all on the calendar!
• Finish booking mini sessions – I’ve got a few more UNC mini sessions available, and I’d love for them to all fill up! These are some of my favorite sessions all year, and I’m really excited about all the graduating seniors I’ll get to work with.
• Go through educational materials – Spending money on photography and business education is always hard for me. It’s easy to feel like “I can’t afford that right now,” when it’s hard to see tangible, immediate results. But the longer I think about it, the more I realize that I actually can’t afford NOT to invest in education. It’s important to find ways to keep getting better at every aspect of photography and business, and in February I invested in a few online classes, eBooks, and other materials that I need to start working through this month. I can’t wait!!
• Read – While I have been doing more of this, it will continue to be on my to-do list until it’s more of a habit. I always feel so refreshed when I take a break from screens and settle down with a book for a while, but sometimes it’s hard to make myself do it!
• Continue Sadie’s training – I’m sorry to say this has been on the back burner with how busy we’ve been. We haven’t been as consistent with her when we’re walking on the leash or telling her to ‘come’ so she’s not getting better at those things, which she needs to. I also really want to start teaching her how to ‘stay.’

Done:

• Post ‘Best of 2016’ blog posts – I did finish these in February, though I had to wait a while to share the portraits post because of my website bugs.
• Update website – I’m so excited about the updates I made, particularly to my gallery and reviews pages. It’s so nice to see my best work up there now!
• Stick with social media schedule – Later, my Instagram scheduling app, has helped me stay on top of posting for the past couple months! I’ve never been so disciplined about it, and I have to say I’m really enjoying it. Here’s to many more months of discipled posting!
• Read – While I haven’t been reading everyday, I have been reading more, which I count as a victory.