My 2018 Year in Review

Due to health (Lyme’s Disease once upon a time and severe post-partum depression), I’ve had much harder years. Though, this is the first “hard year” I’ve had that was paired with the business systems I implemented in the last couple of years and y’all, I conquered this MFer like a boss.I can see the fruit of my labor. I can see the impact that systems and procedures have made on my operations. I didn’t have those in the other hard years. I rode on luck. And lucky for me, luck got me through. But I don’t want another lucky year. I want to do it right and well. To look my clients in the eyes and tell them with honesty that we have a system.So let’s take a quick look at my super hard 2018. The one that actually caused very little stress for me. The one I’m floored didn’t cause stress for me.

• January - Doesn’t count. #duh
• February - Spent most of it in New Zealand and Australia, decided our marriage was hanging by a thread
• March - Started marriage counseling; got a wild hair, bought a new (to us) house down the street, remodeled 2 bathrooms in old house, listed it and sold it in one day- with kids home for Spring Break. #cray
• April - Pack the old house, catch up on work after basically taking 3 months off
• May - Moved, unpacked most of new house, bought Refine
• June - Went live with Refine acquisition; new house flooded #cool, spent the following few weeks moving things out or upstairs and demoing flood damage / waiting to get on contractor’s schedule; half days at childcare for my 4 year old because you know, when I submitted the schedule change I expected a slow summer with swim lessons across town and mom time. We’re now at #craycray.
• July- Wrapped up marriage counseling, remodel begins, moving back and forth from our house to parents’ house
• August - Have a I mentioned the remodel? The one that includes displacing a 2 and 4 year old for now the 7th month in a row? (anyone know a behavioral specialist??)
• September - Don’t mind us, still just remodeling; Beyonce + Jay-Z concert … the #2018silverlining
• October - OMG, still remodeling, Texas is flooding so why not just have wedding rain plans for 6 weeks in a row #imnotcrying #yourecrying
• November- Punch list time! #praise, Wedding MBA, Thanksgiving (another month of #allthecomputertime #thisismysarcasticfont)
• December - One more major remodel project we added last minute, a week in NYC with the said 2 and 4 year old #craycraycray, Christmas and all the things

With restoring a marriage and gutting a house, I really was only able to work 1-3 days a week. And it all got done. 2018 tested my systems and I can now say they are proven. No way could I say this ended up being the best year of our marriage without having gotten my business in order and ready for me to take time away from work, reconnecting with my husband. With my systems, I see that I CAN be set free from my computer. But friends, you never know when that storm is going to hit. Are you ready? Is your business in a place that will allow you to step away while watching it continue to thrive?If you haven’t sat down and put your process on paper, DO IT. If you haven’t converted everything you do on a regular basis into a template, NOW is the time. And if that overwhelms you, hop over to the template kits I offer and build from there. You deserve to remain calm and enjoy your family and friends when life’s storms come your way. You deserve to be healthy. To have balance and boundaries. You cannot afford another year of riding on luck. And you know exactly what I mean.So, as I reflect on 2018 and look forward to 2019, I’ve been giving thought to my “word for the year”….. For 2019, I’ve chosen “FINISH”.

• Finish one idea before starting 5 others.
• Finish organizing the cabinet before getting bored and taking a break.
• Finish that book I started.
• Finish.

You see, I’m a hopper-arounder. I get it all done, sure. But I want to see what could happen if I just … finish.Tell me Refiners, what is your word?