Here we are at the end of April already–the end of the year’s first trimester, as it were–and I find myself needing another check-in with the blogging goals I set for myself back in January.
If you’ve been keeping up with She Dwells, you might remember that my Word of the Year is Authentic and my goals were designed to help me stay focused on the things that make me feel most like myself. I can honestly report that those goals have kept me moving forward on days when I just wasn’t in the mood to do what I’d said I would (and I think that’s the basic function of goals, so they’re working as they should.)
However, after giving some careful thought to the goals I created all those months ago, I’ve employed design thinking to help me determine why I haven’t been as successful with meeting some of them as I have with others. Let’s take it goal by goal:
1. Continue to post three times a week. I’ve maintained that schedule very consistently throughout the semester and I’m really proud of how dedicated I’ve been to that enterprise, especially during my busiest weeks of the semester. On a handful of occasions (like, for instance, this week), I fell back to two posts instead of three. I think there has been only one week since I started this blog when I posted less than twice a week, and that was the week that I was out of town for a funeral. I’m sticking with this goal exactly as it is, because it seems to be working for me.
2. Publish new voices. I haven’t had great buy-in for my “On Her Way” series, unfortunately. That’s most likely because I have a small (but dedicated! And I love you for it!) readership on this blog. However, I’ve realized this really isn’t a goal I have much control over, so I’m going to revise it just slightly: instead of publishing new voices, my goal from here on out will be to solicit new voices. That’s something I can actually take charge of.
3. Publish more Table for Two recipes. I’ve made various plans to start addressing this goal, but I haven’t been following through with a single one of them. In trying to figure out why, I asked myself the central question behind design thinking: “What would it do for me if I solved this problem?” The honest answer is, I’m not convinced it would do anything. Recipes are one small part of this blog; I love cooking, and I still do it on a regular basis, but it’s not something I’m all that interested in writing about most of the time. Food photography takes a lot of time; writing new recipes takes a lot of effort (especially if, like me, you’re a “Throw things together and see how it tastes” kind of cook, after which you have to go back and try to re-create what you did, when it turns out well.) The truth is, I’m just not willing to commit my blogging time to this goal. So, while I might post Table for Two recipes on occasion, I’m going to let myself off the hook and take this goal off my list.
4. Support other bloggers. This is another area where I think I’m doing well. I continue to participate in a BlogHer networking group on Facebook, through which I’ve made connections with several bloggers I really admire (like mother and middle school teacher Jennifer Wolfe, who writes the beautiful blog Mamawolfe.) I share links to and comment on other blogs regularly throughout the week, and it doesn’t feel like work in service of a goal. It’s just something I enjoy doing.
5. Having a stronger social media presence as a blogger. As I mentioned above, I’ve been sharing links more often–mostly via Twitter, which I’m using on a much more regular basis. I’ve also been sharing links and memes on the She Dwells Facebook page, which I hope you’ll follow (if you don’t already), in an effort to build a Facebook environment that’s supportive of and encouraging to women. I’m sure you’ve noticed how few of those places exist on Facebook.
And there you have it: of my five goals, I’ve been pretty successful in reaching four. I’m going to call that mostly a success. The trick will be to maintain that level of performance for another eight months!
No Comments