As I’m writing this I feel pretty ecstatic. I like to keep most of my goals private, so I can fine tune how I’m planning to achieve them, but this time I thought – why not sharing my goals for the year 2022 with you so you can find inspiration from them and maybe set your own as well.
Usually I like to break down my goals in quarters; I know pretty well what the next 3 months in my life are going to look like.
But do not feel uneasy; it was not always this way! I learned through my own laziness and many setbacks that I indeed could be in charge of how my life turns out.
Some might think this is an overly positive way of looking at things, but I know it works for me and thats all that matters really.
It all started when I was applying to do my exchange in late 2016. That was the first time that I remember being dang determined in getting there. This determination felt like a wave that I was riding on, and knew it would eventually land me where I wanted to be.
Not every situation feels like this of course, but that one period of my life was a major reason I learned to start writing my goals down. And as I started doing so, I also clarified them for myself and learned to better know what they are and how I could reach them.
Make your lists appealing and easy to read
Since we are visual creatures, when building something detailed and time consuming, I like to make the task more fun by making it more aesthetic for myself.
This way it’s easier to go through it in the future but it also will communicate excitement and remind me that what my goals should feel like when I reflect on them.
I do 3 kinds of lists and each of them deals with my goals from a different point of view.
First I draw an infographic1 from which I will instantly see what feels to be imbalanced in my life; this way it’s easier to decide to focus on that specific task.
I would draw 8 pieces of a pie, where each piece represents an important area of my life. Each piece will look different, because we are often unable to balance all the aspects of our lives – though we think we should.
Then I pay attention which pieces are easy to fill; whether its your business, friendships or health. From here on it’s clear where my goals are going to be for the next quarter in my life.
As a personality, family and health are top priorities for me so I know that balancing them will be a simple one; it will flow on it’s own.
But seeing that I have been absent from lets say friendships or focusing on my creative practice, I will then move on to elaborating what it is I’m going to do differently in order to attain a different result.
My infographic on the areas of my life looks something like this at the moment
As you can see, some of my relationships have been less of a priority, but this is inevitable when focusing on yourself and your goals. The other one is obviously travel and through that – experiences.
This is a good way of seeing the big picture, which we internally probably already know. For me, most of the decisions that affected these outcomes were deliberately made.
Then from the infographic2 of the things I am going to be focusing on.
Here are my goals for the year 2022:
- Deepen your photography project with your mum and produce new material for the series
- Have a solo photography exhibition
- Produce a photobook
- Write 2 articles a week for the blog – consistency is key!
- Have 30k monthly readers on the blog
- Work to gain 500 subscribers on my email list – start small ☺︎
- Finalise and launch my digital course
These are just some of my goals, and are not as straightforward to achieve as it might seem. Many of them require other small action in order to be fulfilled. But I’m ready to do the work ☺︎
So what are the steps that needs to be done before I can achieve tangible results ?
Photography goals
- Start shooting more on film and challenge myself by moving outdoors to shoot
- Apply to exhibitions in Finland and abroad, refine the applications
- Produce a finalised photo book of my project (She wanted to be named) Rebecca
Blog goals
- Write 2 articles either in advance or during the week
- Go through the old articles and refine them in order to have more traffic (google likes specific stuff!)
- Tryout with a new layout on the website
- Upload a freebie every time I write an article (this is tough, but can be done)
- Put more emphasis on social media: Pinterest, IG and FB
There are more steps to be taken but I need to do more research on them!
After I’ve made it clear for myself what it is I feel i want to work towards, I break this list in quarters3; some tasks take more than others so they might be something I’ll work towards during the whole year.
Tangible tasks like writing and planning a photoshoot, I’m able to add to my calendar. Goals that do not have clear steps, like being able to exhibit my work – will require a bit polishing.
I will then just decide what it is I need to be selected (like a better portfolio or a larger body of work) and work on these.
I will apply to as many exhibition open calls as possible (of course emphasis on the ones I find interesting and which suit my theme) and make my application better each time.
Overall I am pretty aware of what needs to be done and when; thats the characteristic I do possess.
I hope this helps you clarify your own goals and ambitions – and will of course result in you succeeding in achieving them ☺︎
To make it even more easier for you, I’ve built this exact infographic pie chart for you to download and print. It will help you get started.
If you liked this article, you might also like these How To Do Realistic Goal Setting As A Photographer