Blog updates
Phew, we made it through another month! Sometimes coming back to these updates and goals posts is a little discouraging just because there are so many things I WANT to do that I don’t have time for. I have so many ideas and so much passion, but time is a limited resource. I’m thinking about trying to hire a virtual assistant to help out with some stuff on the blog – I can probably only afford someone a few hours a week, and I don’t know where to start to find one, but the idea is there that I could really use some help to make the blog and business into everything I want it to be. Also my travel agent business continues to be very busy (which is good!) but that means sometimes the blog stuff gets put on the back burner since my clients come first.
I also just got back from a long weekend trip to Disney for the 4th of July, and it honestly wasn’t as crowded as I expected it to be! This may have been partially due to how much rain we got all weekend, but it was still Disney so of course it was magical. There were a number of highlights that I’ll share in upcoming blog posts, but just to give a sample: we stayed at Fort Wilderness and I loved it more than I expected, saw Magic Kingdom fireworks again, had brunch at House of Blues, built a lightsaber at Savi’s (well, my friend did, but I got to watch!), experienced the new character breakfast at Tusker House, and had so much great food and drink. Hopefully I can write about it all soon!
I’ve also been wanting to go back to my goals for the year and update them and evaluate, because things change and I’m not afraid to adjust goals as necessary. For one, I was booking basically no travel in December/January when I made my goals and that has certainly changed! So I think we’ll take a look at that today too.
June 2021 goals
- Optimize all of my images and clear out old content that isn’t being used (this is SUCH a project but I’m continuing on – I’ve optimized and organized images up through June 2015 so still plenty more to do)
- Update 2 older blog posts (I think I was able to do one update this month but I’d really like to do more)
- Finish category page about Disney dining (bummed I didn’t get to this)
- Finish the complete guide to the Contemporary resort (I at least wrote this one!)
- Keep up with my monthly blogging checklist I created (mostly, and I got a head start on my July checklist)
- Stick to my new run training plan and include strength training (I’ve been good about the running but not so much about strength training. Hoping to get better with that starting today)
- Finalize plans/itinerary for July 2021 trip (yes thank goodness since we took that trip!)
- Finish cleaning out my guest room (it’s a lot better, and now that it’s cleaned up it needs to be painted!)
- Make a few craft projects (sadly I didn’t really get to do this)
- Complete travel agent training for Virgin Voyages cruise line (nope – I’m so busy actually booking trips I haven’t been able to do as many trainings as I would like!)
July 2021 blog goals
It feels boring to mostly keep the same goals, but I really do want to get these things done.
- Continue and maybe get closer to finishing the optimization and organization process of all my images
- Update 2 older blog posts
- Move all of my automated emails over to Flodesk so I can stop paying for MailChimp
- Finish category page about Disney dining
- Write posts about this past trip (Tusker House breakfast, Fort Wilderness review as top priorities)
- Create a plan to hire a virtual assistant
July 2021 personal goals
- Edit all of my photos from the July Disney trip
- Do more strength training/cross training for running
- Finalize plans for early September Disney trip
- Organize the guest room to be able to paint
- Complete travel agent training for Virgin Voyages cruise line
6 month check in to 2021 goals
Find ways to grow blog traffic.
I really ended up focusing on SEO for this goal and I am seeing it pay off. SEO is a long-term game but I’m really, really happy with the progress I’ve made. Each month I see an increase in pageviews coming from search engine traffic. I took the course Stupid Simple SEO and it helped a lot in the whole process. It was an investment in time and money but one of those things where if you really put in the work you will see results.
Use my new blogging coach to come up with better ways to grow the blog.
I’ve been meeting with Ana at The She Approach once or twice a month since January and I find it useful to be able to just talk things out or ask questions. I feel like overall I have a better idea of where I want to blog to go and how to do it, in part thanks to our sessions!
Update 2-3 old blog posts per month.
I haven’t been able to update as much as I’d like but it’s still a high priority for me, so I’m hoping to do more of this in the second half of the year.
Spend more time on SEO (done – see above)
Read e-book about Pinterest marketing.
I didn’t get to this – I originally thought working on SEO might be a “1 quarter” thing and I’d move on to a different focus later. But SEO took a lot more work than I expected. I’d still like to do more with Pinterest but right now is not the time, so I’m going to reschedule this one for either next year or the second half of this year.
Use the blogging binder I’ve created and my planner daily.
I don’t always do this, but I make an effort and when I write it down I do so much better and get more accomplished. I’d say I’m usually doing it 3-4 days a week at minimum so just going to focus on continuing that.
Create a least one new printable a month to share on Etsy.
It doesn’t always work out to be one a month but I’ve been doing more printables and I’m really happy with them and how they’re going!
Finish the photography course.
I mostly got through all of it, though now I need to review some things!
Better organize all of my old but still relevant posts.
I’ve done some work on this – categorizing things, creating more easily accessible pages, and deleting old or irrelevant posts. I still have more to do though – particularly making category pages.
Read more blogging related books.
I wanted to do this to learn new things but I am learning so much and I just need the time to apply it now! So reading books isn’t really a top goal for m anymore.
Get into a good skincare routine.
I’ve been on and off with this. I’ll stick with it for a few weeks and then get tired and sleep in and let it fall by the wayside. I just need to be consistent.
Run 1000 miles for the year. Run consistently and follow a good training plan.
I realized this was stressing me out more than it was worth. I ran 900 miles in 2020 so I figured I’d aim higher. But I put too much pressure on myself to reach some arbitrary number and there’s really no point. I think the focus needs to be on running consistently and sticking to training, not just trying to run as much as possible. I don’t want to risk injury either.
Develop a good strength training routine.
I’ve been on and off with this one too but when I stick to it I really see a difference. I’m going to keep working on it.
Read 55 books.
I am on track with 30 books so far this year! Lots of audiobooks which helps for my longer commutes.
Come up with a plan to market my travel agent business for 2021.
I’ve been doing really well with this – I’ve put time into social media and email marketing, as well as just trying to be “human” with my current clients. What I mean by that is reaching out to them and personalizing their trip more, and sending thank you cards and that sort of thing that are handwritten so I’m more than just a shadow behind a keyboard.
Make more craft projects.
Another thing that’s fallen by the wayside but I do want to try and do more of this.
Try home brewing again.
I really want to do this but I just don’t have the time right now. I hope I can work it in soon.
Work more on my mental health (various ways including writing more, reading about mental health, finding a therapist)
I’ve finally started seeing a therapist again for the first time in years – that was a huge step for me. I know I can do more, and I need better time management to handle everything going on.
And some new goals for the year that I didn’t have in the beginning of 2021:
- Optimize all of my images and improve the speed of my site overall
- Transition all of my email stuff to Flodesk
- Find a fall half marathon to train for
- Get to bed earlier
Do you have any goals for 2021?
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