Read. Write. Mom!

How To Set Blog Goals For The New Year

Posted on December 31, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

If you’re a blogger, have you thought about what goals you want to achieve for your blog in 2013? I used to roll my eyes at this question and not give it much thought other than “just keep blogging” and maybe “increase my traffic”. For me, setting blog goals was always difficult because I couldn’t ever pinpoint exactly what I wanted from doing this. I thought I had to have some lofty goal to aspire to that would probably never be achieved because, truth be told, I felt like those goals were what I was supposed to want from blogging, not what I really wanted. I figured if I was to be successful, I had to do _____ and ______, even if those things felt really foreign to me. When I thought about the amazing opportunities I enjoyed through my blog in 2012, I realized that if I wanted to keep improving on that, I had to have a road map leading me somewhere. After giving this way more thought than I probably should have, I finally figured out how to discover what I wanted from my blog for the new year.

YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG

Since I couldn’t figure out in detail what I wanted, I flipped my way of thinking. I asked myself instead what did I not want to happen with my blog in 2013. This brought forth a ton of ideas. It’s pretty obvious that we do the things we do in life to avoid the things we don’t want to happen. This way of thinking helped me tremendously with setting some solid goals that I feel comfortable I will see some growth with. My goals for 2013 probably aren’t anymore different or original than most bloggers, but I’m writing them down here for me to refer back to throughout the year and possibly help anyone who reads this get some starting points for their own goals.

IN 2013 I WANT…

1. Balance In Posts- I feel like the majority of my posts this year were for product reviews and advertorials. This is completely ok to do, but I want to create more personal content, like sharing ideas, recipes, and things I’m interested in. There’s a happy medium somewhere and I intend to find it.

2. Improve my photography skills for blogging- I have no aspirations to learn how to be a fabulous photographer and start a side business doing it. I just want to learn to take the best pictures I can for my own satisfaction to be used on my blog.

3. Earnings- One aspect of my blog I really enjoy is getting paid to do what I love to do. I have set a goal for a specific amount of money I would like to earn this year from my blog. I’m keeping this number private, but I know what it is, and it’s not too big or too small an amount to shoot for. I also want to be able to save as much of this money as possible to put towards some other personal/family goals.

4. Flexibility- I want to make wise choices about the work I accept to do on my blog. As bloggers, we’ve all been told to “know our worth” and not to accept anything less than (fill in a dollar amount here) for our work. I also believe my work is worth being paid for, but I’m not going to hold myself to a rigid amount that I will accept for my work. If it’s work I am proud to do, within reason as far as what’s expected of me, and a dollar amount in earnings I am comfortable with, I will take the work. At the same time, I know my limitations better now as far as the time I have to dedicate to doing campaigns and reviews. I will have to be more mindful about what I accept to take on.

5. Authenticity- Somewhere along the way, I feel like I’ve lost my “voice” as far as blogging. When I first started blogging, this came so easily. I don’t know at what point this started slipping away, so I really want to work on this.

I have to admit that laying this all out here feels pretty strange because setting goals for my blog is a new thing for me, but I would love to hear from those of you that have also set your own blog goals. Feel free to link up in the comments.

New Year’s Blog & Home De-cluttering Tips

Posted on December 28, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

It never fails. After the holidays, usually the day after Christmas, I have the sudden uncontrollable urge to organize and de-clutter. Everything. In sight. I just love the idea of going into the new year with a fresh start, and for me, that fresh start is all about no clutter and being highly streamlined and organized when it comes to my home and my work/blogging.

With that in mind, I compiled my own personal “to do” list that I’ll be working on until I go back to work next Thursday. I thought I would share in case anyone else might be interested or looking for a project to tackle.

NEW YEAR’S DE-CLUTTER LIST

HOME:

I always take this room-by-room. We live in an apartment, so I don’t have lots of big rooms to de-clutter, so this is what works for me personally. Since we have so little space, I’m all about getting the most out of what we have to work with.

Living Room- Go through stacks of magazines and catalogs. Toss what’s been read or not going to be read. Go through stacks of DVDs. Take those my son has outgrown to work so my students can enjoy them.

Bedrooms: Go through closets and dresser drawers. Bag up clothing to be given away. Also bag up toys not played with in the last few months to be given away. Go through books/magazines to give away.

Bathroom: Pull out all products under the sink and toss what’s not being used. Go through make-up drawer and toss old/not being used products. Organize all medications and toss old ones out.

Kitchen: Go through all cookware and dishes/glasses. See what can be weeded out. We’ve acquired some new kitchen tools and gadgets, so no need for two or three of the same. My son has also outgrown some of his plastic dishes and cups, etc. Check food in the pantry and fridge and toss anything old. Organize the “junk drawer”.

Linen Closet: This closet just needs to be organized a little better. Bag up any old sheets/towels/blankets not in use to be given away.

Coat Closet: Check for non-fitting coats (my son) to be given away, find a better organizing system for the holiday décor inside.

Fill in new home calendar, being sure to note birthdays and special occasions.

LONG TERM PROJECTS:

Organize home files

Organizes our personal photos.

BLOGGING & COMPUTER:

Invest in a good blogging planner. I’ve seen some free printable ones online, but I have my eye on a couple more. I’ll keep you posted on what I decide.

Brainstorm and jot down post ideas for later.

Go though each and every bookmark. Delete sites not being used or no longer needed. Set up folders for different categories so locating saved websites is easier.

Go through all documents and files. Delete those no longer needed.

Go through all pictures. Upload and backup the ones needing to be saved, delete those no longer needed.

Clear out email folders. Check each folder to see if the email is still needed. if not, delete. Print out anything important for tax purposes, etc.

If time allows, clean up following lists on social networking sites.

Go through feed reader and delete blogs I no longer read or are no longer updated.

Run a thorough virus scan.

Desk: My desk is a nightmare. Clean out drawers and get rid of what’s not needed.

Yes, this all sounds like a tall order, and truth be told, I probably won’t get to each thing on this list, but I’m sure going to try.

Christmas 2012 Is In The Books

Posted on December 27, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

I’m slowly coming out of the “holiday haze” over here. I don’t have a better word to call it when you have your whole family together, good food, good times, etc. It’s too bad it doesn’t last a little longer, but I did start putting up our Christmas décor yesterday. I hated to do it, but I was feeling motivated and knew that if I didn’t take advantage of the moment, we might still be looking at it around Valentine’s Day! However, the Christmas tree is still up. I just moved it into the dining room. There are two things I really, really hate when Christmas is over. The first is taking down the Christmas tree because I just love the lights at night. The second thing is the fact that all of the holiday music is no longer played. I have an idea up my sleeve about the Christmas tree, but I’m going to think on it some more.

Here are a few shots from Christmas Eve this year. I’m just going to go ahead and admit that instead of watching my child from behind a camera open Santa presents this year, I put the camera down and just enjoyed the moment. Plus, he woke us up at 6:30 AM and I am just NO good before my morning coffee. Ha! We stayed up really late Christmas Eve watching the midnight mass on television. I’m not Catholic (my husband used to be), but it’s a tradition we started a few years back after happening to catch it on TV. I think it’s a beautiful service and I could look at the beautiful Saint Peter’s Basilica all night.

Here we are at my parent’s house looking a little tired after two previous houses of gift-opening fun. E.B., on the other hand, is cheesin’ big time because he can’t wait to tear into more presents!

Which he did with much gusto!

Poor little guy started coming down with a cold on Christmas Eve, so we’ve been cozied up inside the house ever since while he recovers. The weather was really nasty Christmas day (rain, tornadoes, cold…weird stuff) and it’s been freezing ever since, so I’m not getting him back out until he is 100% better. Not that he’s complaining….the kid has a new TV, some new video games, and a new little recliner to enjoy.