The other day, I spotted a Tweet perfect for my frame of mind: “If you don’t have time to write down your goals, where are you going to find the time to accomplish them?”

I’m a big believer in goal setting. In the knowledge (and I think there’s scientific proof to this) that when you put down in words what you want to accomplish, you’re halfway to making it happen. Here are a few areas of my life I want to keep the focus on in 2012. To all of you writing your own 2012 goals, I wish you the best of luck!

REVAMP MY WEB PRESENCE: I’ve had a hard time with this because I love the look of my existing presence so much. But I recognize how important it is to grow and I have some unique ideas in mind for how I want to stretch myself creatively online. I’m enlisting the help of a dear designer friend in making this happen … now I just need to get serious and get to work!

WRITE MORE: This is a BIG one for me. I tend to put off writing in a way that pushes me because it scares me. The fear that I’m not good enough. The fear of rejection. The fear of thinking I don’t have anything worth contributing as a work of fiction to all those works of fiction already being read out there. But writing is one of my creative outlets and I want to push myself to do more of it in 2012—in reflective blog entries, in journal writing but also fiction. And (gulp) I may even share a few stories with you…it’s likely they’ll remain (as Anne Lamott loves to call ‘em) “shitty first drafts”, but I want to be brave in putting a few out there!

BE MORE OPEN—AND GET MORE SERIOUS—ABOUT MY FAITH: 2011 was the year I found my faith again. I’m a Christian, but for far too long I’d let my knowledge and understanding of my religion go lax. In 2011, I hunkered down and started reading my BIble in a way that felt like the best kind of homework. In 2012, I want to keep it up, continue exploring and understanding what it is I believe in. Furthermore, this is the year I want Nick and I to find a church family we can belong to (we’ve bounced around for too many years!)

FOCUS ON MY FAMILY: I got so busy in 2011, I wasn’t the best wife/sister/daughter/daughter-in-law I could be. I want to take strides to amend that—from more visits with family, to more phone calls and emails to a few scheduled family photo sessions for those near and dear to me.

DECLUTTER—IN HOUSE, MIND AND SPIRIT: Last winter, I did a huge purge of  stuff in our house we never wore or used or needed anymore. It felt SO GOOD. I intend to keep that up in all aspects—from the home, to the office, to my presences online. Simple and streamlined lets me focus on what I want to focus on, and not be distracted by clutter!

OWNING WHO I AM: Late last year, I wrote a guest post for Jasmine about striking a balance as someone working a full-time job and maintaining a photography career. To be honest, as I was writing it, I never once thought about the response to that entry. When it was published, I was overwhelmed by the number of photographers who reached out in comments and personal emails to me, thanking me for being a voice to them—someone to commiserate with in a position so little talked about. The experience taught me so much, but namely that I want to be a strong voice and pillar of support for other dual-career photographers. I want to embrace what it’s taught me, namely that IT’S OK TO RUN A BUSINESS YOUR OWN UNIQUE WAY. And that is what I intend to keep doing in 2012, friends!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

A week into June, but hey, better late than never, right? ;)

BUSINESS GOALS

• Post once a week over at the B School: I feel bad that I bought my subscription nearly two months ago and have only jumped only half-dozen times. Need to get better about this one!

• Have all June shoots culled and edited by month’s end: There’s a good chance I can get most of them blogged, but with a wedding on the 25th, well, that one’s probably not going to get blogged ’til July!

• Read a book to better my business: (I think I’m going to try and finish Jose Villa’s book this month — been sitting on my nightstand for a while and this will be a good way to incorporate a book on technique and style—which is just as important as these inspirational biz reads I’ve had at as of late)

• Fully implement SmugMug into my workflow: Aiming to have this program 100 percent under my belt in time to use for one of my weddings at month’s end.

PERSONAL GOALS

• Reupholster those chairs!: An April carry-over

• Finish knitting that beret!: A May carry-over

• Hang curtains in the living room, find and hang blinds: One of the final “finishing touch” steps I need to finish up for this room!

• Start yoga again: This is one that is LONGGGG overdue! I can’t believe I haven’t practiced in almost a year. For shame!

• Go waterskiing (or tubing): I’m SO chicken, so when we go up to Michigan later this summer to see U2, I’m hoping that if we get some boating in with our friends, I’m brave enough to try this one!

BUSINESS GOALS

• Have all May shoots edited and blog by month’s end —I hit 5 out of 6 on the editing, but have only blogged four. Looking forward to sharing these last two soon—one’s prepped and coming up later this week!

• Implement RPG Keys into workflow—Nope, didn’t hit this one. I need practice with these and I have such a rhythm to my editing, my busy season isn’t the time to try to do it. So I’m going to shelf this one for now but I’ll come back to it!

• Keep books current through May— This one feels good to have kept. It’s not fun to sit down for an hour and do it, but better in chunks than the weight of having to do it all at once (BEEN THERE!)

• Read a business book — Yep! Here’s the review!

• Watch Dane Sanders’ Seth Godin interview— Dangnabbit, this one’s still on the list. And since Dane also interviewed Tim Sanders this month, too, a recap of that conversation goes onto the list too!

• Sign up for a SmugMug account—Finally got the account going, now I just need to figure out getting my prices uploaded and how SmugMug works, and I’ll be all set!

PERSONAL GOALS

• Cycle three-four times this month with Nick—SO excited (and a bit proud) about this one. Making this happen was so important to me, I made it my self-portrait this month too.

• Hang up frames in living room; decide on new art to put in them—DONE! Prints are ordered and on their way!

• Reupholster chairs—Nope. Still not there yet. But I HAVE found some throw pillows I love for my couch and I think I’m close on finding a fabric for the chairs. What? Did you say I’m anal retentive? That’s what I thought I heard.

• Finish cleaning out our guest bedroom and have everything that’s been piling up in the garage (stuff we’re giving away) picked up by the local rescue mission— Dingdingdingdingding!!! DONEDONEDONE (can you tell I’m excited to have hauled all that stuff away? Feels GOOD to get rid of STUFF!)

• Finish knitting the beret I started—Well, I think I WOULD be done if I wasn’t doing a lace pattern that I started on, only to realize a third of the way in I was doing it wrong :( Knitters, there is no pain greater than ripping out and starting over, is there? This one should be finished in June!

• Finally start my Pinterest account — Yep! Now I just need to hop on there a bit more. Lovin’ it so far. Just finding it SO easy to suffer from visual overload!

• Write more and read a book about the art of writing—Yep, hit this one. But the book I chose? Well, it may not have been the best one to start this learning process with! (My GoodReads review here)

And with the weather getting warmer, I thought it’d be a good time to show off my (new) old swimsuit. Man, I still remember this suit and how much I loved it!! Kind of like how much I loved my Strawberry Shortcake trike I was too big for and those amazing jelly shoe heels I sported my entire sixth year. But let’s not get started on the perm my mom decided to give me. We’ll leave it as a rite of passage for an ’80s child, ‘kay? ;)

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Let’s put April behind us and move on to some goals for May. I’m not gonna lie, by “put April behind us” I totally mean “recycle some of April’s goals for a new month”. But hey, that’s totally allowed! It’s my blog! I make the rules :)

BUSINESS GOALS

• Have all May shoots edited and blog by month’s end (that’s six…which means this is lofty, but I’m gonna aim high!)

• Implement RPG Keys into workflow—half-way to this goal!

• Keep books current through May

• Read a business book (“The War of Art” this time around)

• Watch Dane Sanders’ Seth Godin interview (still haven’t gotten around to this and I love both these guys!)

• Sign up for a SmugMug account—Oh friends, this is one that will perpetually be on my biz goals list. It’s a task I’ve created a mountain out of a molehill in accomplishing, so on to May’s list it goes. I’ll be glad if it’s not still there come December.

PERSONAL GOALS

• Cycle three-four times this month with Nick—With my foot injured (stress fracture that’ll take up to six weeks to fully heal ), I’m looking for ways to still get a workout in without aggravating the pain more. I’m nervous to get on my road bike again because the last time I did, I was in a n-a-s-t-y collision. Like, cracked my helmet on the ground and everything. So here’s to sucking it up and getting back out there once more. Gulp.

• Hang up frames in living room; decide on new art to put in them—An April carry-over.

• Reupholster chairs—Another April carry-over because I can’t find the perfect fabric. Yes, if you couldn’t tell, I’m being way too Type A with this living room of mine.

• Finish cleaning out our guest bedroom and have everything that’s been piling up in the garage (stuff we’re giving away) picked up by the local rescue mission

• Finish knitting the beret I started

• Finally start my Pinterest account — The invite to join has been sitting in my inbox for literally 3 months now. Time to get on it!

• Write more and read a book about the art of writing—I’m making 2011 the year I get serious about this long-term goal of mine

BUSINESS GOALS

• Participate in the Becoming course from Brand Camp’s Kristin Kalp— I bombed with flying colors on this one. I had the best of intentions, printed off all the materials and then just found it way too hard to keep up — with the assignments, the Facebook conversations amongst group members…everything. It started to overwhelm me instead of excite me. And since that was never the intent of the project, I knew I was over my head with it. Sometimes, it’s OK to say no and walk away from things and this was one of those things for me.

• Create a ShowIt Site prototype to begin using with my 2011 wedding clients—Feels good to finally cross this one off the list! The prototype I’ve created for my 2011 wedding couples is simple and streamlined, just like my site. Part of me wanted more bells and whistles with this, but that was the same part of me that kept prolonging this project FOR more bells and whistles. So, I let the perfectionist go in the name of getting this one done! HOORAY!

• Sign up for a SmugMug account—(see May on this one)

• Learn how to use my RPG Keys—Yep, I half-crossed this one out. Because I bought the keys, had a Skype tutorial on how to use them, but have yet to get them ordered up the way I want. Using them takes practice!

• Keep books/receipts current through April

• Read a business book— Read the review of “Today We Are Rich”

• Set up my blog with the latest version of ProPhoto (I’m embarrassingly still using version 2!)— Didn’t get to this one and I’m OK with that for now because I’m at that stage with my brand where I’m starting to itch for a new look and I just haven’t decided with 100 percent certainty that I’ll be keeping ProPhoto for my blog format. So, this one might get done sometime this year yet or you might see a totally new look….stay tuned!

PERSONAL GOALS

• Work out three times a week—Nope. Didn’t make this one thanks to that foot injury. Matter of fact, I’ve been feeling sloth-like this month. I’m trying to keep a positive attitude and remember how lucky I am that this pain is temporary. Some people never get to run or work out or take long walks and so, coming at what I’m up against with that in mind has given me an attitude of gratitude toward this all.

• Stain the dresser and chairs for the living room remodel

• Reupholster said chairs (this involves a staple gun. Staple guns make me nervous): Decided I didn’t like the fabric I bought for this so back it goes for May!

• Hang up frames in living room; decide on new art to put in them: I did trace each one of the frames on newspaper so I have a collage to hang up of newsprint that will make it easier when it comes to doing the real thing!

• Skype with my niece and nephew: Nope…still didn’t get this to work with our schedules. So we’re taking a break from the idea for now.

• Organize my spare bedroom/guest bathroom/kitchen (to keep with my spring cleaning goals!): Another one I can go halfsies on…my kitchen is done! But not the bedroom or bath.

• Start a gratitude journal: While I haven’t been good about doing this EVERY night, it’s there on my nightstand and I’ve been trying to keep up. Feels good too!

And a shot of myself at, I’m guess maybe six months old? Since April was a month that felt sort of “off” to me, I want to finish May the same way as this photo— with a big ‘ol smile on my face! Hoping the warmer temps on the way help with this!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Whew…March came and went FAST! So here’s to a new set of goals for this month and a check-in on how things went last month too….

BUSINESS GOALS

• Participate in the Becoming course from Brand Camp’s Kristin Kalp

• Create a ShowIt Site prototype to begin using with my 2011 wedding clients

• Sign up for a SmugMug account

• Learn how to use my RPG Keys

• Keep books/receipts current through April

• Read a business book

• Set up my blog with the latest version of ProPhoto (I’m embarrassingly still using version 2!)

PERSONAL GOALS

• Work out three times a week

• Stain the dresser and chairs for the living room remodel

• Reupholster said chairs (this involves a staple gun. Staple guns make me nervous).

• Hang up frames in living room; decide on new art to put in them

• Skype with my niece and nephew

• Organize my spare bedroom/guest bathroom/kitchen (to keep with my spring cleaning goals!)

• Start a gratitude journal

BUSINESS GOALS

• Buy BlogStomp actions (while I do have a set of the BlogStomp actions, I’m actually excited at how this goal I wrote about prompted an exchange with a Michigan photographer friend of mine, Dustin Francis. Dustin’s working on a set of blogging actions that make blogging doable in ONE CLICK—I’m already in love with them!! Pretty awesome stuff…I’m excited for him to launch it so I can write more about them!

•Back up my blog This only took about 4 hours!

• Read a business book (Creating Customer Evangelists) You can read my review here.

• Become vested in The B School LOVE this forum already — Becker has really done a lot to make this an awesome place for photographers to network, learn and get to know one another better. Check it out!

• Clean out all 2010 shoots off computer and make sure backed up properly — fresh start to 2011

• Become a member of Canon Pro Services

• Re-order marketing materials (running low on stock on certain items)

• Recreate new pricing PDFs that reflect new images from 2010 weddings

• Keep receipts/books current through month  :( I didn’t get to this one! I thought I’d cut myself some slack though since I know a lot of photographers are still working with their accountants to pay off 2010 taxes! So here’s to tackling this (and maybe a little bit of Quickbook action) in April

PERSONAL GOALS

• Exercise 30 minutes at least 3 times a week (this can include walking)
aim is to do this for the last 3 weeks of the month; I will have to start after a work trip I’m taking to NYC March 7-11 Proud of this one!

• Buy paint for our living room; get the primer up — this will be a monumental task Not only did I get it bought, I actually got the room painted! (with help from Nickolas!)

• Sand down the dresser and wing chairs going in our living room as part of the remodel Again, could NOT have done this without Nick!

• Get birthday cards/greetings out to all EIGHT members of Nick and I’s families who are celebrating their big days this month (yes, that’s right– EIGHT) I even squeezed in a few cards and gifts for friends—whew! All right, everybody, no more birthdays until after the Fourth of July, ‘kay? ‘Kay.

• Skype with my nieces and nephews A few forgotten meet-ups and some last-minute changes prevented me from getting to this…but we’re on track for April!

• Organize my office/den (I want to tackle each room in my house this spring in stages, with the goal of eliminating 1000 things from my house (overall) — the idea is so overwhelming that I figure if I start in baby steps, that might help) On to the next room(s)!!!

Yep, another baby photo. What, like you aren’t jealous YOU didn’t go to a Halloween party at 5 dressed like a gypsy? And people, seriously, by the time this whole scanning adventure is over, you are going to see a LOT of brown and gold and burnt orange and avocado green in my parent’s house. Prepare yourselves ….

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

I’m a monthly goal-maker but, for a long time, have kept score of those goal lists in my head. After seeing a few of my fave super-with-it photographers (from Jamie Delaine to Katelyn James) tackle their monthly goals in a more public fashion on their blogs, I thought, why not? Putting those goals out there makes you more accountable. To yourself. To what it is you’re trying to accomplish. And while it doesn’t mean I’m going to hit every one, I’ll sure try. With that in mind, albeit a wee bit late, here’s my monthly goals for March:

BUSINESS GOALS

• Buy BlogStomp actions

•Back up my blog

• Read a business book (Creating Customer Evangelists)

• Become vested in The B School

• Clean out all 2010 shoots off computer and make sure backed up properly — fresh start to 2011

• Become a member of Canon Pro Services

• Re-order marketing materials (running low on stock on certain items)

• Recreate new pricing PDFs that reflect new images from 2010 weddings

• Keep receipts/books current through month

PERSONAL GOALS

• Exercise 30 minutes at least 3 times a week (this can include walking)
aim is to do this for the last 3 weeks of the month; I will have to start after a work trip I’m taking to NYC March 7-11

• Buy paint for our living room; get the primer up — this will be a monumental task

• Sand down the dresser and wing chairs going in our living room as part of the remodel

• Get birthday cards/greetings out to all EIGHT members of Nick and I’s families who are celebrating their big days this month (yes, that’s right– EIGHT)

• Skype with my nieces and nephews

• Organize my office/den (I want to tackle each room in my house this spring in stages, with the goal of eliminating 1000 things from my house (overall) — the idea is so overwhelming that I figure if I start in baby steps, that might help)

And since one of my long-term goals for 2011 is to scan in all of Nick and I’s baby photos, what better way to get a jump on it than incorporating the project into this new blog topic of mine :)

For the record: Those weren’t REALLY my glasses (I didn’t get my own pair until I was in the first grade; I’m about 4 here), but a pair floating around in my parent’s cupboards. Other observations: Who wasn’t a child of the ’80s growing up with at least a few leftover decorating remanents of the ’70s in their parents’ homes (shag carpeting, shades of orange and avocado green, floral couches) Right?! And yes, that tattered rag behind me would be my beloved childhood blankie.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.