April was a month of few accomplishments, but it was a month with much going on. Looking back through my calendar, scrolling through my camera roll, and glancing back at my vlogs on our YouTube channel, I am able to see that I really got a lot done during this past month which makes me happy and content. I have things I want to strive towards this May, and I look back and appreciate April for how it’s pushed me forward.
Here’s a video recap of the month that I posted on Instagram Stories:
April in one word
Lacking. Something about April just didn’t seem like enough. Lacking can often be a really negative word to describe something, but I’m looking at is more as a word meaning ‘next month could definitely improve.’ Reflecting on my actions of last month I would say that I did not do enough to better myself, my career, or my family. I want to do more this next month with focusing on my businesses, strengthening my videography connections, and better tending to my families needs. I also want to take better care of my body and move it in positive ways that promote some better health habits.
I started a new routine at the beginning of this past month that I really think helped jump start me into a more productive mindset, but after a week or so I really fell off the bandwagon with being consistent in my daily routine. As April showers began to fall, so did my spirits about wanting to get things done and tackle the day. My motivation to accomplish much of anything was truly lacking—and this is where I plan to improve with next month.
Successes in the month of April
We posted 3 times a week on our vlog channel all month long!!! This is a commitment I have been trying to give myself for a long time, but have been unable to achieve it. While we were almost perfect with posting every Monday/Wednesday/Friday (just a few were posted a day late or really late at night), I really want to just be proud of the fact that we got 3 videos a week done all month. We have some improvements to make next month regarding a regular posting schedule time, but hey! this is a win in my book.
My family and I cut down some trees behind a set of apartments that we own! This is step one in a multiple step process of remodeling one of the houses in that area. The basement of the house we need to remodel is flooded due to poor drainage in the area of the apartments. Cutting down the trees meant that we can now contact the sewage company we will be working with to fix all of the pipes. After the pipes are done then we can finally start drying out the bad home and remodeling it hopefully this summer! A small victory in April that will lead to many more victories to come.
3. Also, we finally planted our Wedding Tree! During my husband and I’s wedding back in September we did a Tree Ceremony in which we each contributed our own dirt to the pot of a magnolia tree, watered it together hand-in-hand, and created a symbol that represented our growing love for one another that would continually need nurture and care. Since returning from our Honeymoon we had intended to plant it, yet we did not because of our potential move at the time. Now that we’ve moved back to Indiana and are settled in our little small town we call home, we decided to plant our tree at my parents house until it could be transplanted wherever we wind up build/purchasing our own home.
4. I filmed a wedding this month! If you aren’t familiar, wedding videography is one of my side hustles (and a major passion of mine). I love telling the stories of others and capturing the love of the couple on their special day in video format that will last a lifetime. Find out more about it here. So, filming a wedding this month is a major success to me because it’s fun, it’s rewarding (spiritually and monetarily), and it means I was able to support my family with my work. I also created a What’s in my Camera Bag post that you can check out if you care to see what I carry with me when I’m filming.
5. I met with others who are interested in Memory Keeping! This is a big deal because it means my purpose and cause is growing. I want to help others capture their daily lives and tell their own stories because everyone’s story is important. I was able to meet with a photographer in our area and talk about the possibilities of us collaborating and working together in the future. Whether we ever make this happen, it was still a lovely meeting in which I got to network with someone else in my field. I also attended a talk at our local library about preserving family history (which is a means of memory keeping) via ancestry/genealogy. It was rather fun and inspiring to consider memory keeping in a new light I had never thought about before.
Difficulties I encountered in April
As I mentioned in the word of the month section, this entire month felt really lacking. Most of the difficulties that I encountered were regarding my lack of motivation to really get anything done. I didn’t write near as many blog posts as I wanted, and I didn’t push myself to create more content here on my website. When I rebranded late in March I was extremely pumped and motivated to create tutorials and ebooks and really help others with their memory keeping journey. While I still kept the idea of ‘helping others memory keep’ in the forefront of my mind all month long, I didn’t really create much of any content to teach or assist a mass audience.
One of my biggest difficulties at the moment is motivation. Really the motivation to do anything. How do you motivate yourself to get work done when you’re basically self employed? What do you do to ensure you’re making the right steps towards your end goals? Let me know in the comment section below.
Lessons I learned during the month of April
You don’t really need to wake up at 7am every single day in order to get things done.
If your body and mind aren’t in good shape then shaping the rest of your life seems nearly impossible.
Stop worrying about what others think of you!
You have to be in charge of your own happiness.
Your goals only matter this much to YOU, not anyone else, so YOU need to go out and get them because no one else is as inspired as you are.
Media I consumed in April
Lately I’ve been LOVING audiobooks. While I haven’t been following my previously outlined routine as well as I had hoped, one thing that I am always still doing is my daily walks with Skye. On my walks I have been listening to audiobooks. This month I read two books:
I read Sovereign, by: Jeff Hirsch —I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It was a fun read about a boy, Micah Cole, who is in deep space traveling with his parents. Honestly, Micah doesn’t even want to be in space and just wants to be back on Earth with all his friends. In a sudden turn of events their ship is pelted with astroids, and Micah is ejected from his ship in a pod destined for an unknown planet nearby hoping for safety. The book follows his struggles and triumphs on this new planet—his journey to survive, find his parents, and finally go back home. I thought it was an easy listen and would totally recommend. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because it seemed slow at first and then speedy fast at the end—just not balanced as far as content throughout.
Another book I read via audiobook was Girl, Wash Your Face, by: Rachel Hollis. Again, I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars. It was actually my first sort of self-help book I’ve ever read, and I definitely walked away feeling rejuvenated and prepared to tackle the world. Rachel walks you through tips for living a better life while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own current life and past. Each chapter is its own lecture about a lie she once believed and how she reworked her mind to unravel that lie. To be blunt, self-help just really isn’t my genre. I don’t really get all amped reading/listening to them, so I only gave the book a 4. However, as an entire book, it was great… I’m just saying it wasn’t for me.
As far as movies go: Trevor and I just the other day watched Avengers: Endgame, and it was pretty great. I haven’t religiously watched all of the other Avengers movies in the series, so some of the nuances of the final movie were pretty lost on me, but all in all it made me feel all the feels. I’m not giving any spoilers here, but I would definitely recommend rewatching some of the previous movies in the series before diving into this movie if you haven’t already. I know that this is a closing movie to a 20-something series, but maybe just watch a couple before you head into this one.
I’m not really a show person, never have been. I’m the type of person that will rewatch NCIS and Criminal Minds 20 times and be totally fine with only that. However, I’ve been getting into a Netflix show called Imposters. It has just the right amount of comedy, drama, and romance to keep me intrigued. It’s a show I’m watching by myself (because I’m sure it wouldn’t really be a hit for Trevor), and I’m liking having that alone time to watch a show and unwind every once in awhile.
Also, Trevor and I are still trucking away at The Designated Survivor on Netflix which has been a show we’re watching for months now. Whenever Trevor and I watch a show together it always takes an eternity to finish because Trevor isn’t one for sitting down and just watching TV.
Goals
I haven’t listed out my goals on my blog in awhile. It’s really because I haven’t focused much on long term goals, but rather just completing a task and moving on to the next thing. In order to truly succeed in the things that I want to accomplish this year, I know that I need to make actionable goals on a regular basis that help me reach my yearly goals that I have set. One of my main goals for my vlog channel is to post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and dang did I kill that goal this month or what?! I am so proud of myself for accomplishing that—but now I need to keep working on being consistent. As far as personal goals for the year go, well it’s not… going that is. I haven’t really accomplished anything I have listed in my yearly goals for personal items, and I’m not making steps to get there either. I need to make sure to focus on some personal items this month. For my side hustles (DigidaniCo and Lang Videography), I’m making progress towards my goals, but not necessarily focusing on them as prominently as I need to be in order to finish out the year strong. I will be sure to be pushing towards my side hustle goals this month as well.
+ Start running (anything, even slow, just move)
+ Keep up with a new release schedule and constantly design
+ Finish an ebook for my website
+ Film at least one story for someone else that isn’t a wedding
All of these goals are really obtainable in my mind, and writing them down gets me excited for what’s to come next month. I am really excited for our vlog channel, the traveling we have booked, the stories I am going to create, and so much more in May.
If you aren’t caught up on our vlogs, then please check out our vlog channel here. I will be linking our April 2019 playlist below for you so that you can watch everything that we caught on camera during this past month. I love that I can document my life, capture amazing memories, and store them away in my safe online world for others to view and myself to review for years to come. If you would like to learn how you can memory keep better, please contact me because I would be thrilled to assist you on your journey.
