I know, I know, I’ve only just written my New Years Resolution post for 2019. But I’m not going to be able to achieve these without some well-thought out monthly plans! I think that my January goals may seem like I’m trying to do too much, but I want to start the year off strong. There are a lot of things I need to change if I want to make this my best year ever.
Because I knew that this was going to be an important year for me, I made sure I bought a diary where I could keep a log of my goals. It’s a lot handier than a separate notebook that I have the potential to lose! It seems that 7 is my number this year as I’ve made 7 goals for January, as well as for the entire year.
1) Publish one blog post per week
This is something that I’ve been aiming for since around September 2018. I have the odd month where I am really good at this but then I sort of patter out. I lose momentum, I lose things to blog about. But with the diary I have, there is a month calendar view. I’m trying to use this a little like an editorial calendar. Fingers crossed it’s the organisation I need!
2) Run 5km at least once a week
This is to link in with my goal of running 5km in less than 39 minutes by the end of the year. I’d not run in nearly two years when I started up with Park Runs in November. Although I feel like I’m dying, I have seen a noticeable difference in my fitness. I want to make sure that I keep this up, with the only reason a week may be missed will be down to illness.
3) Write 10k words for my fantasy novel
My main goal is to try and write 500 words a day, but I would like to get down this a little quicker. The novel in question is something I’ve been working on for a decade and I think I’m finally at a level to write this up adequately and express the thoughts fully. Currently, half of it is done but I know I need to do a full overhaul of the first 5,000 words.
4) Go to the gym twice a week
Lauren, why are putting two fitness related goals in one month? Good question. Before Christmas I was using my gym sessions as a way to increase my stamina to help me hit my sub 41 minute run time. I want to make sure that I am hitting the gym at least twice a week to ensure my stamina is getting to the level it needs to.
5) Have a good breakfast at least twice a week
Towards the end of last year I’d been trialing 16 hour fasts. I’d heard that it would be a good way to help manage my insulin levels, something I’ve been aiming for with my PCOS condition. However, after doing some more research it seems that having a good breakfast can do a lot more good. I just need to make sure that I’m eating the right food groups, and not spiking my sugar too earlier in the day.
6) Post to Instagram 3 times a week
Now I know that to have effective growth and engagement I should be posting at least daily. But I struggle to come up with captions and I don’t really have a lot of random pictures that I can use for this. So I’m starting off small! If I can stick to 3 posts a week for a few months, I will be upping this so eventually it is a post a day! And if you don’t already follow me, head over to Lollalong on Instagram now.
7) Update my Facebook page once a week
I’ve had a Facebook page for my blog for the past couple of years but I haven’t seen a lot of growth or engagement on there. I know this is because I don’t really use it all that often so I am going to start adding one Facebook only post to the page every week. I’m hopeful that this will start to see some improvement.
None goal hopes
Although I have the above 7 things I want to achieve for January. I am going to be looking into a couple of different areas and doing some research into creating a monthly newsletter, and also affiliate marketing ( a girl’s gotta live!) They may sound like simple things to do, but I want to get things right.
I’ve been toying with the idea of a newsletter for the past year but I want to make sure that I have a reason for sending this out. I don’t want it to be gimmicky. If this is something I’m going to do, I want it to be seen as hand-in-hand portion of my blog. Not something that I’m doing because I’ve been told I need one.
I think I’ve got my January goals well and truly sussed. And I think that I’m going to be a lot busier this month than previously anticipated! Have you made any goals for January? If so, what are they?
Hasta la fuego
