2015 is here!

I have loved the above quote/image for several years. I found cards with it and have one hanging just over my desk to remind me of all the things that I should be striving for. In looking back over the past few years, I feel pretty good in what I have accomplished, including several of the items listed above:

- quitting a stressful and emotional job to focus more on doing what I love,
- not watching as much TV
- seizing opportunities when they come up
- and, meeting new people who are also excited about what they do.

Some of the items are still a challenge for me, though..."stop over analysing"...that is a hard one to conquer as I am continually analysing what I should do rather than just taking the step to do it. I plan to work on this point this year and have already taken some "tip toe" steps to change up my business in the coming year. More to come on this point :-)!

To start 2015 with a clean slate, so to speak, I've been busy doing the following things to clear some of the clutter that was bogging me down:

1. E-mail cleanse - I had more than 1000 emails in my inbox that were driving me crazy. Now I have 4, all of which are pending an action. This one action has already made my month!

2. Organize files on my computer - are you the type to just save files to your desktop so they are easier to find? Well, that was me...especially since I got a new Macbook this past year and am still figuring out some of the basics of how to save the files where I really want them to go! I had LOTS of things on my desktop and have now managed to organise it to only have 3 folders for my business stuff, "Projects", "Blog pictures", "Business stuff". This makes it much easier for me to find the documents/files that I need.

3. Blog refresh - as you can see, I played around with my blog during the holidays and have added a few things and freshened it up a bit. What do you think?

4. My office - it is always a bit of a "work-in-progress" because I love stamping and sewing and, therefore, have DOUBLE the stuff... I can never seem to toss out that scrap of fabric OR scrap of paper. The goal this month is to sort through my entire office and (hopefully) get rid of things I haven't used for a few years or that are no longer my style. Maybe I'll have a big 'ole scrap party and invite all my friends to see how we can creatively use the scraps :-)!

5. Business admin stuff - this is the stuff most people hate to do. I was an auditor in my former life so one would think I would be better organised than others in this field...but, I still hate to do it and, therefore, put it off. Well, I read about an accounting program called "Wave" that helps you keep track of your income and expenses, has an invoicing program and even allows you to upload your bank and/or credit card statement to fill in your transactions (among other things). It's free to use and seems pretty simple to get everything organised. My favourite aspect of it so far is the Wave Receipts which allows you to download an App to your i-Phone or smartphone where you can take a picture of a receipt (say, for supplies you purchased) and it will automatically process it for you and record it in the accounting package. Can you say awesome?!?!

With the above completed (or almost complete), I can now focus on growing my business in new channels in 2015. This will include attending more markets, trying to get into a couple of shops in the area where I live and just seeing what else may come along. I'm a firm believer that things will come up along the way that are "meant to be"! I'll keep you posted on what new ventures I am up to!

HAPPY 2015 to you all and I hope this year is also full of "clearing your clutter" and taking "tip toe steps" to reach a new, exciting goal!

J x