Happy New Year!
Wow, 2018. What a year you were. I'm excited to get dug into producing fresh content this year, I have so many ideas and things I want to share and write about. I just hope I'm a *bit* more organised than last year, it started off well with me posting three times a week but it all ended up going a tad down hill with lots of crazy things happening - including moving back to my parents and my routine being completely thrown out the window! We are kinda back in the groove of things now, and Reuben starts nursery next week so I will have a completely free morning five times a week to get my shit together. Okay so it's only three hours a day, but you can do a lot in that time right? Anyway, I think most of you are here to see what this years goals are so let's get into it.
2018 Goals - how did I do?
I'm going to start this post off by addressing my 2018 goals, let's see how I did...
Hit 10k on Instagram - Smashed it! I hit 10k a few weeks ago and whilst I may not be growing as fast as some bloggers, I'm very happy to be where I am. I have an extremely engaged audience and that's the main thing isn't it!
Find a job I love - I was only working part time as a freelance designer when I wrote this and my goal was to get something permanent with a steady income. BUT, after doing quite well with my blog towards the end of 2017 and throughout January, I actually then made the decision to take my blog full time. It paid off massively putting my all into it, and of course I adore it, so I can tick this one off the list.
Invest in more luxury items - I would say that I achieved this actually. Some of the things I bought myself included more Diptyque candles, a West Elm desk (the dream, couldn't resist) and lots of other lovely things like a marble and brass bedside table! These are all things I've worked really hard to save for so yep, happy with that.
Learn to drive - I can happily say that I started lessons (extremely nervously) in January and I passed my driving test first time in May with only one minor!!! I can't even express how proud of myself I am, I didn't expect to pass first time, never mind with only one minor. Obviously a pass is a pass regardless of any little mistakes along the way but it was such an amazing feeling to do better than I ever imagined, and the freedom I've had since is insane. Smashed it.
Get in shape - I can safely say that this one is still on my list and hasn't been achieved haha. Every time I try and get into a workout routine, I find it too hard to stick to. I feel like I make excuses for myself but honestly, imagine being a single mum to a toddler and running a business from home whilst trying to keep sane and have a life. It's exhausting! We get out a lot more since I got a car so I guess it's a start!
Spend more time enjoying the little things - I did way more of this throughout the year and plan on keeping it up this year. I try and dedicate much more time to Ru bear by getting out the house and having lots of one on one time. We also do lots of things together like arts and crafts and since being back at my parents, we even share a bed so we always have little chats and cuddles at bedtime. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve as I felt like I never stopped to soak up the little moments with my baby.
Grow my blog - I actually stated in this goal that the dream was to blog full time and just a short month later, that's exactly what I did. How crazy is that? Imagine if I'd known at the time of writing the post that in four or five weeks I would be doing it! I've definitely seen a growth in my blog over the past year, maybe not a huge one but any amount of growth is good and it can only get better from here. I've also improved my content and photography massively and I plan on working on it even more this year.
Now onto my fresh set of goals for the new year...
Work on my blog
One of the things I've known I want to do in the new year for a while, has been to work on my blog. I reckon this will be a bit of a new year goal every year to be honest, especially with it now being my job, but I desperately wanted a new pipdig theme for ages and a few weeks ago I bit the bullet and gave my little blog a bit of a revamp. I absolutely love it and I feel like it's given me the room to inject a lot more personality around here. As for other blogging aspects, I would really like to improve my blog photography, and my photos in general. Over the last few months, I feel like I've worked on my photography style a lot and I've started to feel a lot more confident in my content - something that I'd like to continue to working on to build my confidence even more and get to a place where I can feel happy with my work rather than *it will do* if you get me?
Become better at pitching
I gained my confidence so much when pitching to brands at the beginning of the year, I was happy with the emails I was sending out and in return I was getting so much work in. Towards the end of the year, I feel like I lost that for some reason and this year I'd like to try and get back to that confident stage I was once at. It's weird how you can feel like you're so good at something and then a few months later, feel terrible at it. But, I actually haven't been pitching as much as I probably should have been over the last few months due to my work routine being a bit up in the air. So I'm now going to dedicate time every week to sending out emails as it's pretty much essential in this line of work!
Be more organised
I used to think I was so organised but honestly, I think there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm so bad at scheduling blog content, especially in advance... Usually my posts go up the same day or the next day after writing them - like this one for example, being written on New Years Eve to go live tomorrow morning on New Years Day! Don't judge me. It's just the work routine I'm in and I feel like I need to better myself and start writing content a few weeks in advance so I have a more regular posting schedule and I don't have the stress of not having anything to post on Instagram. I think it's just become my own little way to work with having a little one with me at all times but now that he's at nursery every morning, I should have more time on my hands to create more than one piece of content at a time.
Go on more adventures
This year I would really like to do more travelling, I want to start setting money aside for trips rather than luxuries. Last year I wanted to invest in more luxuries but this year I'd rather see more of the world. Even if it's just a weekend down South in the Cotswolds (somewhere I really want to go!) or a night or two up in Edinburgh. I just want to take Ru on more trips, and visit new places. Not only do I love photographing pretty places, but I think it's good for both of us to take some time away from the "norm" every now and again and spend some quality time together outside of the home and work life routine. I'd also like to incorporate at least one holiday abroad but I find it so expensive (and a bit terrifying) with a child, especially on my own, so we'll see. We still need to find a new house which can be incredibly expensive but who knows what the future holds? I'd love to work with some new brands on some travel content, so maybe this will be the year!
Say yes more often
I find it incredibly hard to "put myself out there" especially within the industry that I work in. Not only is it difficult to attend events anyway with a little'n, but the thought of travelling on my own down to London for example, triggers my anxiety quite a bit. It's not to say I wouldn't do it, but I feel like I could make a bit more effort than I do to say yes to more opportunities. Not just blogging events, but even maybe brand work that's a bit out of my comfort zone, you know? It's really hard to set this as a goal when you suffer with anxiety as I'm obviously not going to do something that is detrimental to my mental health, but I've learnt that sometimes you just need to give yourself that little push and you realise that it's actually not that bad!
Do you have any personal or work goals this year?