Whew. My least favorite month of the year is behind us, so hopefully 2013 will be smooth-sailing from here on out. Nothing particularly bad happened in January; actually it was a pretty decent month, but I’m not a fan of the post-holiday slump and dreariness of winter.
Each month, I share three things I accomplished in the previous month and preview three things I’m excited about or hoping to accomplish in the month ahead. It’s fun to look back and forward, and as an added bonus, these monthly check-ins keep me accountable to reach my goals.
I hope you’ll join in and share your three things in the comments section!
In January, I…
1. Ran my first race (a 5K!) of the year. I started of 2013 (literally) with a run. I participated in a Midnight New Year’s Eve 5K with my good friend Stephanie. The race took place at a local mall with a pre-party and as soon as the clock struck midnight, around 150 people began running. I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year’s Eve, so it felt great to start 2013 off on a healthy note doing what I love. Running a race so early in the New Year will hopefully give me the motivation to try to run at least one race a month for the entire year.
2. Reconnected with my alma mater at two fantastic events. As you likely already know, I’m a very proud alumna of Temple University. I wrote a post back in October about their awesome advertising campaign and why it makes me proud. Now that I’ve been out of school for a few years, I try my best to stay in touch with the university by attending different alumni events. In January, I attended two really fun events. The first was a behind-the-scenes look at the #TempleMade campaign (so awesome to see both as an alumna, but also as a PR/marketer). The second event was a young alumni Quizzo Night. Many of my friends who I haven’t seen in awhile were there, so it was great to reconnect and catch up.
3. Landed a few freelance blog posts. One of my goals for the year is to guest post and freelance more. I’m off to a good start! A post I wrote for Muck Rack about how to effectively retweet a journalist was published and then syndicated to the well-respected PR blog, Ragan’s PR Daily. I was also honored to be interviewed by Ashley from Your Super Awesome Life (she just launched a really cool new product called Transition Made Easy).
In February, I will…
1. Execute a major event for work. The event I’ve been working on for half a year at work is finally here! This month, I will execute a major event involving nearly 40 exhibitors and more than 600 attendees. This is the first time I’ve been solely responsible for planning an event of this magnitude and it’s been a great learning experience. I am PRAYING, WISHING and HOPING for beautiful weather (Mother Nature, no snow please!) next weekend.
2. Run a 5-mile race. The same weekend of my work event, I’m also signed up for my second race of the year: a 5-miler. This race is special to me because I did it last year when I was training really hard for the Broad Street Run. Being able to complete the 5-miler meant I was halfway to my Broad Street goal. This year, I’m just doing the race for fun and to blow off a little steam before my event the next day!
3. Pitch and write more guest blog posts. When I’m out of my event planning cave next weekend, there are a few bigger blogs that I’d love to pitch ideas to, so I hope to brainstorm and begin the process of pitching and writing. I also would like to draft posts for both Brazen Careerist and Muck Rack, two sites I write regularly for.
What did you accomplish in January and what are you looking forward to accomplishing in February? Share your three things in the comments below!
My three things for February include tracking my finances (just like your last post detailed!), throwing a “girls only” Valentine’s Day party (and hopefully making it a tradition), and sending a piece of mail for each mail delivery day of the month. So far, so good! Excited for them all.
Awesome! Let me know how tracking your finances goes. I think I’m going to continue this experiment each week. Your girls only V-Day party sounds SO MUCH FUN. I’m going to come crash it
Good luck with your month ahead!
I love reflecting on accomplishments and months past. I agree that January is my least favorite month. Unfortunately, February isn’t looking much better with Nemo underway! I really admire you for your freelance work in January. That’s a wonderful accomplishment! Congrats on a great month. I’ll pray for good weather for your event!
Ugh…I don’t know what it is about January. It’s definitely not my favorite, and February isn’t either although it usually flies by quicker. I’m a fan of March because it’s my birthday month and then we’re into the warmer months, which I love
Thanks for the compliments on my month! Def. keep praying for good weather next weekend 
Sounds like January turned out to be a good month with even bigger things to look forward to in February! Your last post about budgeting actually inspired me to track my own spending… although I wish I hadn’t because it was awful to see where my money was going! (ahem, Chipotle for work lunch 1-2 times a week)
YES! Lunch at work is seriously the biggest culprit of my weekly spending. Literally within 2 miles of my work is a Panera, Saladworks, Chipotle, Subway and more…I’m addicted to Saladworks and a meal there sets me back $9. That adds up quickly. Last week, I brought lunch four days and only bought once, so I consider that a win. Good luck tracking yours!
I saw you on a retweet from Making Sense of Cents and I have to say You Go Girl! Good for you running your first 5K and the guest posts! Best wishes for February!!
Thanks so much, Chloe! Happy to have you here reading
Hope you have an awesome February, as well!