We tend to keep things pretty technical on the Clix blog, but we want to share more of what drives our team and how we work – so we hope you’ll find value in our Clix Shares posts!
With a whole half of the year behind us, we’re choosing to look forward to the time we still have available in the back half of this year and share with you what each member of team Clix hopes to focus some time and effort on – both professionally and personally – before those Q4 holidays start to gobble us all up. Looking for some inspiration? Perhaps we can help you find some here!
ABBY
Recently I was feeling a little stagnant in my personal life. I wasn’t setting or meeting very many personal goals or trying my hand at any new things. I’m sure a big reason I was feeling this way was due to coming out of 2020 where my options were much more limited. But, I sat down at the end of April and decided I needed and wanted to be trying new things again. I made a list – an interesting, very random list – of tons of things I had never tried or learned before. I set a goal (low bar to start) that I would try one new thing every month. I have a 4 yr old and a busy schedule so I wanted to set a goal I felt I could actually reach. Thanks to my awesome bro-in-law, last month I got to help him build some new garden beds and I used a nail gun and a table saw for the first time!
Here’s a snapshot of a few other things on my list:
- take a dance class with my husband
- go zip lining
- take a pottery class
- have a food fight
- do 24 hrs of silence
- ride a segue
- make my own perfume
- watch the sun rise
- perform a magic trick
- …the list goes on!
Sometimes it’s easy to get into a comfortable groove in life — I’m glad I made this list and have some accountability to help ensure I’m keeping life interesting and continuing to learn new things!
Then, for the professional side of things...based on some client requests and the continued need for channel diversification, I’m getting the chance to dive into a couple new-to-me platforms! I’m really excited to be learning the ins and outs of new channels and how to make them work for our clients as their accounts require expansion.
ANDREA
My personal goal for the remainder of 2021 is to read more books. In previous years, I aimed to read 2-3 books per month all year. I have gotten away from that, but would like to get back to less screen time and more book time!
My professional goal is to better solidify my ‘morning commute.’ I have been working remotely for over six years now, but I just moved into a new house and have found that my morning routine could use a facelift. For me, the key to a successful morning begins the night before with getting to bed at a decent time, having my clothes and to-do lists ready to go and having a workout in my queue. As much as I hate to admit it sometimes, I am a morning person and very much a creature of habit! Finding a new routine will be beneficial to each and every one of my work days.
BRITTANY
My personal goal for 2021 is to make time for people. With a toddler and a baby, I find myself struggling to dedicate time to anything! 2021 is the year I make the important people in my life feel special, myself included! My son was born in September 2020, and since then, everything has revolved around him. I want to dedicate some set time to myself, whether it be to read or binge watch a tv show. I would also love to be able to have some kid-free time with my husband, which we have not had in quite some time!
On the professional side, I would love to dedicate 2-4 hours a week to learn. I have always been a huge proponent of life-long learning, and in this industry, it is a necessity. It is my goal to start time blocking chunks of time each week to dedicate to this and make sure it is a priority!
KAYLA
Professionally speaking, I want to get back into professionally speaking! I spent a fair amount of time on the road attending industry events and expanding my network quite a bit at conferences – either speaking, exhibiting, session support, etc. I would love to find at least 2-3 (safe) in person events to pitch and be accepted to by the end of the year. Sounds like it’s time for me to get a calendar of events up and running with deadlines, eh?
On a personal front, I want to get back into the habit of having long term fun plans on the books to look forward to when the work weeks really start to kick you in the rear. If I know I have a trip on the books, or a defined few hours at the spa with a good book on the schedule, I’m usually 20% happier. We have all been helping one another so lovingly in the last year that I think it’s time to sprinkle back in some things that help find my happiness again. I have promised myself no less than four times that I’m going to book a full week of working in a new city in the next 6 months and I still haven’t picked the time or place. Someone help me pick a place for September!
KRISTIN
My personal goal for the rest of the year is to make more time for family and friends. When lockdown started last year, it was a most welcomed change to stop all of our activities and focus on board games, home projects, bike rides and binge-watching. I’m now back in the crazy of sports, summer camps and juggling a lot. I’ve missed the extra time we spent together as a family. This means even more as I’m getting married in September and will have a blended family to focus even more on.
Professionally, I’d also like to slow down more. I love account management and all the tasks I do for more clients, but I want to carve out a little more time away from those responsibilities to dig in to more learning, more writing, and building up my teammates here at Clix.
TIM
One personal goal for the rest of the year is to set aside more time for exercise and outdoor activities (both for myself and with the kids). Between working from home on a computer, being responsible for young kids, and increasing busyness of life, it’s sometimes difficult to unchain from devices and make time to get out. I’ve been trying to make time for treks on local bike trails myself, and am also looking to introduce my kids to the many outdoor spaces upstate New York has to offer, as they get older.
On the professional side, I’d like to start pitching to speak at in-person conferences again as events move back to physical venues. I’ve enjoyed opportunities I’ve had to speak virtually over the past few months but have missed the chance to meet up with industry peers in person.
What goals have you all set, for yourselves or your teams, as we head into the back half of 2021? Share them with us below!