I have to admit I personally love Pinterst. It’s lead me to so many fun new blogs and sites with really interesting information. (Much of it I’m sure I’ll never use and other stuff is really applicable.)

One of the things I really love are all the great quotable quotes that get pinned all over.

There are many that I really like, but this one stuck out to me this week.

You Create Your Own Opportunities.

This is so true.

- Want to work from home?

- Want to start your own business?

Nobody can do those things for you. There are a lot of people who can help, but only you can make it happen.

What are you willing to give up in order to take advantage of your opportunities?

They are right in front of you, but you’ll have to put in the hard work and determination to open those doors.

If you haven’t made a list of goals for 2012, now is a great time to do that.

What do you want achieve this year?

It can be small steps, like turning your camera to manual or big steps likes starting your own studio. I believe you can do whatever you set your heart to, but you’ll have to have a plan to go with it.

SMART Goals

Here are some tips for setting goals. Make them SMART. That’s right, SMART goals are goals that can be accomplished because they are:

S – Specific. They say exactly what you want to accomplish. These are your goals, it’s not a time to be vague. Figure out exactly what you want to achieve. That’s the first step to success.

M – Measurable. You need to know if you achieved your goal or not. The only way to do that is to make sure your goal can be measured. Did you make 30 contacts or not? Did you sign a lease or not? Did you take classes or not? It will be much harder to hold yourself accountable if you can’t measure your success.

A – Achievable. For a goal to be achievable it means you have to have some sort of plan to get to the end. What are the steps you are going to take to reach your goal? You can have a studio on main street (see realistic) if you have a plan to talk to your husband, set aside the cash and ultimately sign the lease. Make sure you understand the steps you’ll need to take to make your goal achievable.

R – Realistic. Next make sure your goals are realistic. This is a lot like achievable, but more big picture. Don’t say your going to open up a studio on main street if you haven’t even mentioned the idea to your husband. That’s not real. Don’t say you’ll make 100 new contacts next month if you aren’t willing to attend any networking events. It doesn’t do any good to set HUGE goals that can that can’t realistically be met. Sure, stretch yourself, but be real too.

T – Timely. Next make your goals timely or short-term. You can (and should) have some 5-year and longer plans, but those are more like visions. They might help you keep your list of SMART goals focused, but they themselves are not SMART goals. To make your goals SMART they must be timely. This means 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, or 1-year. Sometimes you can go with a 2-year SMART goal, but you’ll need a lot of achievable steps in between! Sure dream, and let your visions guide you, but set your SMART goals to help you reach those big dreams.

What are your goals for 2012?

Working from home is GREAT! There are so many things I absolutely LOVE about working from home. Of course there are a few not-so-great things about working from home too! If you are trying to decide if working from home is a good option for you, maybe these will help!

First the Good!

1. I love being home when my kids get home from school. Before I worked from home, my kids had to go to an after-school daycare until my husband or I could get home from work. Our evenings were crazy rushed. Dinner, homework and showers were a race against the clock to get everyone to bed in time to start all over the next day. By the time the weekend rolled around we were so exhausted we just tried to catch up to start the next week.

Now that I work from home (even if I’m still working) the kids can ride the bus home, have a snack and get started on homework right away. It also gives me the opportunity get something for dinner or start a load of laundry during the workday — if I’m organized enough.

2. I love that I don’t waste time with office chit chat. Some people love the water cooler chat at work, I’m not one of them. I hate the office place rituals the suck away precious work time out of my day. I love that when I work from home I can focus and finish my work in half the time. I have plenty of conference and video call meetings that give plenty of interaction with wasting a lot of time. Plus, I also gain the once lost commute time! Double plus!

Source: marthastewart.com via Christina on Pinterest

3. I love that I make my own schedule. If you’re a creative type you know sometimes you’ve got it and sometimes you don’t. If I’m not “feeling it” I can take a walk, read a book, mow the grass … whatever it takes to get my creative juiced primed again! I also like that I can adjust my schedule to volunteer at work, take an exercise class … whatever it takes to keep me more balanced.

There’s the good!

Come back soon to see the 3 things that challenge my work-from-home life!