Wow, January ended up being so busy. And February is shaping up to be just as jam-packed.
Two major things kept me from completely many of my January goals. I can sum those up under both a blog Category and a blog Tag.
Crohn’s Disease and Politics.
My next Remicade infusion is in a few days. That means I’ve spent the last week and a half heavily fatigued, plus the last few days in discomfort/pain.
I did not anticipate needing to blog about the Women’s March. Coming into January, I thought I would share a few posts written before and after, but not write anything myself. Then Facebook exploded with a never-before-seen concern for the plight of women in other countries. Obviously I had to put together an epic list of resources.
Related: 3.3 Million Women Marched. Now What?
Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that happened in Washington, D.C. last month. President Donald Trump keeps topping himself with a dangerous mixture of arrogance and incompetence.
I now have both of my senators and my representative saved in my phone’s contacts because I’ve called them three times on various issues. Plus I now spend even more time than I usually do digesting the news and finding reputable articles to share on social media.
This combination took up a lot of time in the last two weeks of January.
But hey, I still accomplished a lot in January! Just not necessarily the goals I declared at the beginning of the month.
January Recap:
For my career:
- Long-term:
- Yes! I watched several expert videos in Blog Boss Babe. (affiliate link)
- I did not finish typing up the rest of my mother’s prayers.
- I have not blogged about the upcoming course launch. However, I’m really excited to be partnering with Kimberly Faith to promote her amazing course, Breakthru Branding. I haven’t finished the course myself, but as soon as I do, I’ll have a full blog post reviewing it. (affiliate link)
- I barely reached 6,500 Twitter followers. Win!
- By the time this post goes live, I should have 25,000 Instagram followers. But by February 1st, this was not so.
- Yes, I have over a dozen fabulous co-hosts for this year’s #LoveBlog!
- Yes, I have a great group of sponsors for #LoveBlog! Have you entered the giveaway yet? It lasts all month!
- My biggest January fail was not getting #LoveBlog posts written in advance.
- My editorial calendar is mostly planned through April, with lots of wiggle room on certain topics.
For my health:
- I started January so strong with exercising regularly. Then my energy levels plummeted.
- I did get a physical.
- While I had most of my lab work done for my Crohn’s, I’m holding off on one of the labs my gastroenterologist wants. Dan and I are still trying to get our health insurance to cover that lab work from January 2016. I am not spending another year battling our insurance over new lab work.
- My dentist appointment is scheduled in two weeks!
- I was more consistent with taking care of my skin, but not consistent enough.
- Bonus: I went one week without soda or alcohol!
For my marriage:
- Yes, we had our couple’s massage!
- I left my laptop at home during our glorious weekend in Toccoa!
- While we didn’t plan out trips through June, we scheduled a Florida trip for this month, our anniversary trip for March, and a work/fun trip in April. We love to travel!
For our household:
- Dan and I cleaned all three bathrooms! He mops the floors, and I do the rest.
- I decluttered around my dresser, but not actually the top of my dresser.
- I did not declutter my desk. It is still a mess.
- I definitely dusted our bedroom. I think I dusted the living room, but that would have been at the beginning of January, and I just don’t remember.
- Secret goal accomplished!
February Goals:
Long-term:
- Self-publish my mom’s book of prayers.
- Market this book:
- Blog posts about prayer
- Opt-in freebies
- An email series on prayer
- Earn affiliate commissions on Breakthru Branding. (affiliate link)
- Market this course:
- At least two blog posts
- An opt-in freebie
- Teach SEO for lifestyle bloggers
For my career:
- Long-term:
- Finish typing up the rest of my mother’s prayers.
- Finish going through Breakthru Branding course so I can promote it better. (affiliate link)
- Reach 7,000 Twitter followers.
- Reach 26,500 Instagram followers.
- Transfer my email list to a new service.
- Finish free training from Mariah Cox.
- Set up opt-in freebie with new email service.
- Blog 5 days per week!
For my health:
- Exercise at least twice per week.
- Get off laptop by 9pm. Usually this is easy, but since I’m blogging 5x per week, this will be a challenge!
- Call health insurance company to get lab work pre-approved.
- Go one week without soda or alcohol.
For my marriage:
- Limit how much I work during our weekend in Florida. I can’t totally not work since we have one confirmed collaboration and one tentative collaboration.
- Support Dan as we go through some stressful stuff right now.
- Take at least two hot baths together every week!
For our household:
- Purge at least 30 things from around the house.
- Clean all the bathrooms.
- Declutter my desk.
- Declutter my dresser.
- Secret goal.
February will be a very busy month. I have a lot going on with medical appointments, #LoveBlog, and my increased activism. (Yes, I now call my representative and senators a few times each week). There is a lot I’m willing to let slide this month if necessary.
But having it all is big picture, not every single day or even every month. I’m already encouraged by the early participation in #LoveBlog this month. That will be my main focus this February.
Your turn! What did you do (or not) in January? What are your goals for February?
