Monday, January 11, 2010

Goal #2: Prioritize & Organize

Although my efforts to prioritize & organize throughout the year are great in some areas, there are other areas where they seriously lack. So one of my goals was to bring these back-burner issues to the front burner, if you will, and deal with them head-on, right now. And so it's time to face the dragon of finances.

Some, like me, cringe when they think of investing, RRSPs, equities, stocks, bonds...eek. This feeling is one reasons why I made it a point to start here. It's been put off for way too long and I have way too many RRSP accounts open to know what to do with.

So my first plan of action was to find out why I felt the way I did about finances. Now that we're half-a-month into the new year, I'm realizing that it's not because I didn't want to deal with it, it was because I didn't know how to. I have little to no knowledge when it comes to letting my money work for me so it was that fear of not knowing that prevented me from moving forward. So it's about time I did. I'm also feeling a little riskier these days (I blame the big birthday coming up this year) so investing in something other than GICs, really excites me.

But it's funny; Even though my 'left brain' is working overtime with numbers and logic, I couldn't help but step back and notice my account balance sheets. The colour, layout, and the design all played a part in how I "felt" about a certain account and ultimately (or subconsciously), was affecting how I made my decisions. There were certain ones I couldn't wait to transfer my money from and others I didn't want to transfer out of.

Scary to think that identity plays that role in everything we have our eyes on, isn't it? ;) That really goes to show how important it is to have a well-designed identity. It can make or break how your clients feel, even before they really get to know who the company is and what they're all about. And you all know what they say about first impressions...

Well, my attempt at staying in 'left brain' didn't stick very long but it's interesting how it all played out and worked together.

Oh and if you happened to miss Goal #1, I encourage you to follow along and please feel free to share your own goals with me!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Starting the New Year with a Smile

Well it's back to the grind; More politely known as the official start to my new working year. It's my first day back and everything is just as I left it, except for my hair.

Nearing the last week of 2009, I decided that rather than compile a list of cliched resolutions for the upcoming year, I would put all my new years wishes out there for the world to see and unleash my creative beast with a new haircut and radical highlights. This will allow me to attract all of the things I want to achieve in 2010; Creativity, fun, surprises, colour, adventure, life!

I've never been one for new years resolutions as I feel that they are too limiting. However, despite my distaste for them, that doesn't mean I don't like to set goals for myself each year. I just simply keep them generic: self-improvement, exploration, creation, and the learning of new things. Not elaborating on details takes the pressure off having no time stamp on them and helps keeps things open to possibility, allowing me to get creative on how each one should be executed.

And even though those generic goals never change from year-to-year, the execution and the outcome are never the same.

Last year I wanted to:
- upgrade my skills (so I went to back to school and learned something new)
- become affiliated with a network or community of designers (so I became a LGDC member, attending a few events, connecting with many great people)
- travel somewhere I've never been (so I took a road-trip through the Rockies of BC and Alberta and explored, going somewhere I've never gone before)
- help me build a foundation for personal and career success (so I worked with a personal coach to help me self-improve)

All fabulous experiences and I can't wait to tackle my next list of goals for 2010.

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2010 goal #1: Filter less, share more

One thing I promised myself to wiggle free from this year was filtering my ideas before experimenting first since I found it lead to so much restriction that I could barely stand it.
So here is my attempt to filter less and share more by helping you start your new year off right and give others a smile.

I created and designed this "Badge of Awesomeness" to hand out at my workplace. Some days, things can get a little too serious around here so this is my way of implementing some fun and positive energy into the mix.

It takes me back to my elementary days when getting 'gold stars' earned you lunch with the teacher if you got enough of them. Unfortunately this one doesn't earn you a lunch but it does give someone a little recognition and hopefully a big smile. Sometimes that's enough :)