On Saturday night my husband and I, inspired by our friends Melissa & Tom, went out for dinner to check in with each other about our goals for 2012 and beyond.

The only thing more cliche than writing about new year goals and resolutions is whining about how cliche new years goals and resolutions are – so I’ll try to spare you. I looked at the start of the new year as an opportunity to evaluate, re-adjust, and check back in with my hopes and dreams and what not. Goals work well for me. I am a strategist by trade and as Whitney Hess recently said: it’s impossible to put a strategy in place if you don’t know the end goal. One important and helpful step for me is writing them down and sharing them as a means to hold myself accountable.

Businessy things

• Get an accountant and organize finances. Prepare for tax season and look at the state of my $$$$ with a professional. Change my business structure.
• Work out a budget for this year for both business and personal expenses. Start saving receipts. Take more care with how/when I use credit cards to maximize points/benefits and minimize impact on my credit score. (I joined Learnvest and it’s already helping me work toward these goals! – Also signed up for a premium Harvest account to help me keep track of invoicing -KM 2/27)
• Take an intro to business and/or accounting class.
• Look into part-time MBA and Masters programs. Study and take the GRE.
• Mentor and develop managerial skills (As of next Monday I will be supervising two interns from B.U.)

• Deepen my Yoga practice. Improve strength, balance, and flexibility and gauge growth in these areas through crow pose, headstand, and hanumanasana. (Signed up to attend Wanderlust Festival in June! 2/27 KM)
• Read 10 books. Get 3 2 new tattoos. Attend 5 concerts.
• Travel at least twice on my own for pleasure. No colleagues. No husband. One of those times should be to visit my friend Liz in Nashville.
• By the end of the year I want to have a more clear vision of where I want to live in 2013. Rent or buy? South End condo? Artist live/work space? London? California?
• Start a bucket list. I have a lot of items on my mental bucket list, but, again, writing them down is a good thing. So far my bucket list includes swimming with dolphins, writing a book, and getting my Master’s degree. There’s also a mental travel bucket list that includes Amsterdam, Ireland, and Vancouver.
• Update my wardrobe. Finally take the pile of jeans that don’t fit to the tailor and weed out all the second-hand art school clothes that I don’t wear any more.