‘Tis The Season… To Reflect And Plan For The New Year

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Love it or hate it, the end of the old year and the ringing in of the new typically brings with it joyous celebrations for all you've accomplished or the drowning of your "wish I had dones" in cups of egg nog. A new year is a chance to rip off the cover from last year's calendar and start with a clean slate. 

Whether you call them "resolutions," "visions," "goals," or "intentions" I believe that most people at least take a few moments to reflect (when that New Year's Eve ball is dropping in Time Square) on the changes they'd like to make in the new year, bad habits they want to kick, or new habits they'd like to incorporate. 

As a business owner I spend time with my business plan during the month of December (exciting stuff, I know!) to determine whether I'd met the milestones I'd set at the beginning of the year, how far off the mark I am and those that sounded fantastic but really didn't pan out. I celebrate the milestones met and exceeded and sip a bit more egg nog for those that didn't pass muster. 

With that said what will you, as an aspiring pet blogger or pet blogger of the highest order, do to make 2014 the best year yet? Grab your notebook or open a document on your computer and see if any of these should make it to your 2014-To-Be-Accomplished list: 

• Add to your professional training. Attend BlogPaws 2014 or another pet blogging or professional development conference. In order to remain relevant you need to grow, push yourself and continue to learn. 
• If, like me, you work from home you need to get out of the house. Even if you don't get out daily you at least need to pull ona pair of pants that don't have a stretchy waistband, slick on some lip gloss and meet a few new people. Whether you go to a local coffee shop a couple of days a week to write, or if you volunteer at a local shelter, or attend networking events talking with and meeting new people will give you fodder for blog posts and could enhance your overall effectiveness. Believe me, I know especially in the winter it is so easy to not leave the house other than to walk Henrietta but we both benefit by my getting out! 
• Do you want to make money with your blog? Do you want to make more money with your blog? Both are entirely possible if you leverage your niche. If you are an active blogger with a following, have you considered signing up for the BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network? It could be a great way to interact with other bloggers, build your network and make some extra cash with which to buy more cat and dog treats. 
• What is your blogging schedule? Is it sufficient to support your wants and dreams for your blog? Before 2014 gets here, take a hard look at your schedule and see what you can do to make blogging more of a priority and make more time for it. Can you make better use of productivity tools to make your blogging and social media move along more efficiently? 
• What changes can you make to your blog to make it more visible or searchable? Do you need a better focus on your SEO? Do you need to connect with more people in the pet industry? Should you invite in a guest blogger? Should you be a guest blogger? Take a good, hard look at the blog posts you'd written and note a) the ones you loved writing the most b) the ones that garnered the most comments or shares on social media c) look for a way to combine both "a" and "b" to enhance your blogging efforts in the new year. 

Do you set goals? Make resolutions? How do you reward yourself for goals well met?