Looking back at May, I had an epiphany: my biggest battle fought within my daily life lies in the decision between the following:

The Urgent v. The Important

Most of my days, I would dare to say I choose the urgent 95% of the time over the important. There are deadlines, emails, schedules to follow, appointments, weddings, blogposts, and phone calls. Then, there’s the physical side of urgent: “I’m so hungry!” (aka hangry),  “I need to go for a run right now! I can’t stay cooped up any longer,” “I’m going to bed – I can’t stay awake another minute.”  Everything in life seems so urgent on a daily basis.

This photo of strawberries will always remind me of the important. One Sunday in May, Will and I decided to pick strawberries on a farm (pictured above), cook a meal at home, and watch a movie together. It ended up being one of my absolute favorite days of this year so far. We went on to watch About Time – a movie that instantly earned a spot on my Top 5 Movies of All Time list. What a beautiful reminder to truly focus on the important – every. single. day. (Just trust me and watch it.)

Looking back at May, I honestly feel really good about keeping up with work and relationships. The NRP studio photographed 6 weddings in May (along with several sessions), and we’ve maintained a good turnaround time. I wasn’t perfect at managing emails, but I caught up by the end of the month. My voicemails are clear. I’ve spent time with our families on several occasions: watching 24 each Monday night with my Dad & fam, strawberry-picking with Will,  having a cookout with Will’s fam, visiting Nashville and then hosting my Mom here for a few days as well. I had lunch with my girls (aka the “minkies”), we visited our friends and their sweet newborn baby, I had dinner with the Thomases & Terhunes, I met friends for a new Bible study.

May was really good.

As I look back and look forward, I think the biggest thing I want to change is prioritizing the important in my business as well. I want to crystalize our mission at NRP. I want to clean out and maintain image files that are still on my computer from last year. (It’s an annoying and time consuming and very important task.)  I want to sell some furniture and equipment for a branding and studio refresh. I want to take a good hard look at my finances, instead of glancing in my bank account and letting Will take care of the rest.

So, this June, the saga continues between the urgent and the important. No doubt there will be plenty of urgent things yelling for my attention daily – especially as we catch up from all of our April and May weddings. But I am determined to keep my eyes equally focused on the important! Not to do one or the other, but to focus on both the urgent and important, prioritizing them daily.

June is going to be so memorable in regards to family and relationships. I’m excited to know so many important and fun and restful things are already on our calendar! :

– Spending time with my cousins and family at the US Open
– Camping and hiking with friends in Boone 
– Celebrating Will’s grandparents 60th anniversary with his whole family!!!
– Celebrating our 6th anniversary
– Visiting family in Nashville and bringing some special friends along for an editorial shoot, too!

With all of those thoughts swirling in my mind, here are my “important” goals for the next 30 days. I decided to omit anything seemingly urgent – that voice is already loud enough in my life.

June Goals

• Read 20 in 12: Crash the Chatterbox, The Holy Spirit: an Introduction, The Storyteller

• Send letters to our sponsored kids

• Studio refresh
  – furniture + decor
  – file clean up
  – sell old computer

• NRP missions statement: finalize and print for the studio

• Cut back to 1 dessert / week

• Celebrate 6 years of marriage at the Fearrington

• Do something really special for Will’s grandparents as we celebrate their incredible 60th anniversary

• Finish an Artifact Uprising book for our first 5 years of marriage

• Have a full rest day once a week

• Take our boat out at least twice, and waterski for the first time in 2 years! (my darn ankle sprain kept me off the skis for all of 2013!)

What important goals are on your list for June, 2014?

Ok friends, a few updates on my goals. We are 1/3 of the way through with this year (can you even believe that?!), and I’m feeling on track in some ways, and behind in other ways.  Here’s a quick update:

Things that aren’t working: My wrist has been giving me some pain, so I had to stop cycling. (The pressure on my bent wrist would irritate it even more.) I’m a bit behind on my reading, and I’m desperately needing a day completely devoted to emails. I’m feeling behind in my communication and my ShootQ maintenance. The Omnivore’s Dilemma (my current book) is over 400 pages, and I didn’t realize that at first! So I’m spacing this book out over a few months, while adding in some shorter, easier reads as well. The studio needs a good refresh, and I’ve been putting that off. While it’s fun to reset and decorate, it’s hard to step away from the emailing and editing that is so urgent and time sensitive!

Things that are working: I’ve been eating really well, I’ve lost 5 lbs and I feel energized. While I haven’t kept up with cycling because of my pesky wrist, I have tested my ankle’s running ability little by little on the greenway. Thankfully, I think I am ready to start running again! I’m going to take it slow and steady this month, working my way up to running 2 miles straight. I. can’t. wait. Also, I’m speaking more than I ever imagined. Remember when I briefly mentioned I wanted to speak more often this year? Well the opportunities just keep coming! Last month I spoke at Making Things Happen and the Pursue Workshop and our youth group. This month, I’m leading a breakout session for a women’s retreat at church, and I’m preparing for 2 amazing conferences this fall: Amber Housley Inspired, The Influence Conference, and Making Things Happen again!

So, here we go. May is honestly more about survival : keeping me healthy, keeping everything running and photos delivered on time, keeping my head above water. So my goals revolve more around making time for ME than anything else, because that is currently my greatest struggle. I work long hours during the week days and shoot on the weekends, so my goals factor in a lot of good fun and refreshing things to do.

May Goals

• Read 20 in 12: Finish reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma &  read Crash the Chatterbox

• Celebrate Callie and Jamie! Capture their wedding while being a bridesmaid. Oh yes. It’s gonna be amazing.

• Go to Hot Yoga once a week (!)

• Begin to run again: work up to 2 miles without stopping to walk

• Take our boat out on the lake on a beautiful day

• Pick Strawberries with Will!

• Write letters to sponsored kids

• Speak at the Shine conference at my church

• Finalize studio decor

• Get my inbox to zero more than once

• Complete my series on Organization on the blog

• Rewrite and finalize the NRP missions statement

• Track my time the month of May (beginning May 5)

Weekly

• Take a Sabbath once a week

• Take 2 days off Social Media each week

• Sunday: Reset Day! (read more about that here)

Daily

• Morning Routine

• Posture exercises

• Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night (by getting in the bed early!)

• Eat healthy

• Drink 4 Tervis Waters

Have you posted your May Goals? If so, leave a link below!

Here’s my pep talk to myself this month:

“Reset and refocus. This is your time to SHINE: to work your tail off, while sleeping well, eating good things for your body, resting in sabbath with the Lord to recharge. You are doing what you love, Nancy Ray! Do it well. ”

Yep, it’s wedding season, y’all! That requires a good pep talk. I photographed my first wedding of the year this past weekend, and from now until June 21 there is at least 1 wedding (sometimes 2) to be photographed each Saturday, with the exception of 2 weekends: the first “free” weekend, we’ll be attending Will’s cousin’s wedding in Georgia. The second, I’ll be speaking at the ladies conference at my church!  I am grateful though. Ready to roll up my sleeves and get busy. Work is so rewarding and fulfilling when it’s work that you love.

These next 3 months are going to take some serious goal setting and focus. I’m already a bit behind in my reading for the year, but I made some serious progress on cleaning out my home and studio. I just keep reminding myself that if I can do a little each day, I’ll get where I’m supposed to be going.

April Goals

• 20 in 12: Read Who Moved My Cheese* and The Omnivore’s Dilemma

• Speak at Making Things Happen

• Speak at the Pursue Workshop with Will via Skype (excited about this!)

• Spring mini-sessions (there are still some spots left!)

• *Write letters to sponsored kids

• Computer folder cleanup. I’m in the process of organizing all of my business files and moving old folders to my new computer. Time consuming and a bit annoying, but it needs to get done!

• *Take new “Goals” film photos

• Celebrate David and Danae’s wedding in Georgia, spend time with family, and watch Will officiate his first wedding!

• Go to The Zoo! It’s my birthday present from Will!

• Get up to 12 miles on my road bike when the weather turns nice. Baby steps, y’all.

Weekly

• *Ankle tending: icing and PT exercises

• Take a Sabbath

• Hot Yoga or strength training 3x/week

• Stay off social media 2 days/week

• Sundays: reset household and laundry day

Daily

• Morning Routine

• ShootQ check in & workflow

• Drink 4-5 waters (in my favorite tumbler)

• Read 15-20 pages in my current book of choice

• Sleep 10pm – 6am

• Complete posture exercises

*Last month’s goals that are yet to be accomplished

I’m currently speaking at Making Things Happen, where I happily turn in my phone and emails for 2 days. I’ll be out of touch for a bit, but I’ve scheduled some blogposts while I’m away. Be sure to follow my Instagram for updates! I’ll be returning to the studio on Wednesday!