Blogging Goals 2018

Hi everyone, I’m determined this is gonna be the year where I really start to make my blog mine and totally own it. I want to get back to posting regular, great content and become more involved in the blogging community.

I’m gonna stop setting myself monthly goals for my blog every month because I just don’t seem to have the time to follow through and complete them. I’ve literally had the same blogging goals for the past however many months now. I’m going to make a list of goals for the whole year, then re-evaluate in June to see how I’m getting on.

I totally suck at growing my followings on accounts. I spent so much of my time this summer using Facebook groups to help grow my accounts following and they were so helpful but I just cannot find the time.

1) Increase blog following to 500. 

This is just over double the followers I have right now and I believe this is achievable to double my follow count in a year. I know it’s not all about the number of followers you have but it is a nice feeling to see your following grow.

2) Post at least twice a month. 

I think this is a realistic goal to give myself and I am confident I will manage to post twice a month most months. I hate not posting regularly on my blog.

3) Improve photo/content quality.

I can see a difference in my blog photography from when I first started blogging which is quite encouraging. I know my photos are nowhere near to the standard that I want so this is definitely something I want to improve on in 2018. I want to branch out and do more lifestyle content as well this year. I just struggle thinking of new ideas and putting my spin on things to make it original and interesting.

4) More travel and lifestyle posts

This blog is primarily a beauty blog but I have a lot of exciting road trips and travel plans for later this year I can’t wait to post about. I’m hoping to write a couple fashion posts as well but I am totally awkward in front of a camera so maybe if I get over that fear I will branch out and cover some fashion stuff too.

These are my four main blogging goals for 2018. I can’t wait to prioritise blogging again and get back into posting regularly. I don’t want this to ever feel like a chore but time management is not one of my strong points.

Hope you all enjoyed reading this post, I’d love to hear about your blogging goals for this year too.

Siobhan x

Advertisement

July reflections & August Goals

Hi there everyone, welcome to a new month.

This is a weird August for me. The past few Augusts I was in school waiting on the dreaded letters from the SQA for exam results and it feels so relieving to not be dealing with that at all this year. I shouldn’t be too relieved as it is only another 5 weeks until I move away to university and then I have even more exams to deal with.

I have felt so, so drained this month – I think the constant working all day every day for the past few months has finally caught up on me and I feel ready to collapse all the time. I’m a waitress so I’m standing, running about on my feet for 10 hours every day and it is so beyond tiring. The tiredness I have been experiencing from work has affected my mood, obviously making it a lot worse than normal but I try to be as upbeat as I can.

Tiredness has also affected my productivity in terms of my goals. I failed more or less all my blogging goals. This is mainly because I don’t have enough free time at the minute to spend considerable amount of time working on my blog which is frustrating. I succeeded in a lot of small goals such as practising flat-lays, editing photos and budgeting my money better. I’m not too annoyed at myself for not completing my goals as I know how  busy and tired I am, and I really did try my best. There is no point in stressing about it right now because in just over a month I will have moved away and plan to spend plenty time working on my blog.

In last month’s post I also spent some time talking about cruelty free beauty and how I was making errors in my purchases. I have now given away all of my make up (except gifts and already opened/used products) to my mum and friends which feels good. I felt so incredibly guilty once I realised I had been buying and endorsing brands that test on animals. The most annoying thing about it was that I was making those purchases due to my own ignorance as the information is so easy to find. However, now I can look at all my make up with a clear conscience and be glad I am rid of my old make up.

A lot of my goals are going to be carried on from last month, so hopefully this month I will be working a little bit less and have some more time to focus on them.

Blogging Goals:

1. Reach 1,000 monthly page views.
2. Reach 200 blog followers.
3. Join more blogging chats on twitter.
4. Be more active on Facebook pages.
5. Continue to promote my blog more often.

Personal Goals:

1. Relax more – take baths, read books, use my colouring in book, meditate, yoga ect.
2. Eat healthier and eat my 5 a day every day.
3. Take more Polaroid photos.
4. Spend more time with my family before I move away.

Social Media Goals:

1. Schedule tweets.
2. Schedule Instagram posts.
3. Reach 900 followers on twitter.
4. 1,300 followers on Instagram.
5. 75 followers on Bloglovin.

So now you have heard the juicy info of how exciting my July was, I can’t wait for the end of being constantly exhausted. Here’s to a month of hopefully successfully meeting goals and investing more time into self care. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post and if you have any hints or tips about anything to help me meet my goals please let me know in the comments.

Siobhan x

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin

June Reflection & July Goals

Hi there everyone, you may or may not have noticed that last month I did not make a list of goals for June. This is mainly because I failed at competing everything I put on my list in my May Goals post. However, one month later I’m back and about 10000x more prepared and dedicated than I have been the past 4 weeks.

June has been a really lazy month for me in terms of blogging so this month’s goals are gonna be really blog focused. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I work two jobs which results in me working about 50 hours a week, so I’m obviously not lazy in that aspect. Work is so draining as I waitress in both of my jobs so I am tired more or less all the time. Although I’m tired, grumpy and have hardly any free time I am thinking of the positives of working so much. In two months I move away to Glasgow for university and will have a decent amount saved up to support me and I will have money leftover to do some travelling with my boyfriend next summer.

One thing I realised last month was that a considerable amount of my products are not cruelty free and that I have been supporting brands that test on animals. When I first started a vegan diet I threw away all my make up that was tested on animals and over the years I have become lazy and negligent in terms of researching make-up brands. However, this is going to stop. I am going to finish the products that I have already purchased and began using but I refuse to give anymore money to brands testing on animals. The reason this has all come about is because Nars have begun to sell in China which means they are no longer a cruelty free brand. I don’t own any Nars products but I had some in an online basket ready to purchase, but didn’t once I found out they are now selling in China.  So, no more laziness from me in terms of researching cosmetic brands so if any of you have any great cruelty free brands to suggest hit me up.

I mentioned that I failed most of the goals I set in May which is a bit embarrassing but this month I am determined to complete some. This is definitely gonna involve a lot more effort going into it on my part and setting some more realistic goals. I’m gonna be setting myself goals for every part of my life.

Blogging Goals: 

1. Reach 1,000 monthly page views.
2. Reach 200 followers.
3. Practise making good flatlays.
4. Practise editing my photos to look more professional.
5. Promote my blog more on social media platforms.
6. Write a list of all my potential blog post ideas.

Personal Goals:

1. Create a better work/life balance.
2. Limit the amount of money from my wages I am allowed to spend.
3. Do yoga at least 5 times this month.
4. Go to one exercise class per week.

Social/Social Media Goals:

1. Do more activities with Finley.
2. Spend more time with friends.
3. Take more photos with friends.
4. 900 followers on Twitter.
5. 1,300 on Instagram.
6. 50 followers on Bloglovin.

So there’s the summary of how “exciting” my June was, hopefully in July I will get up to some more fun things. I really, really hope this month I won’t totally flop at all my goals although I already feel like I’ve made some far too ambitious. Also, in these photos I am repping my new notebooks from Coconut Lane and I am IN LOVE. Anything to do with Blair Waldorf is amazing. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed reading this post. I would love to hear your thoughts on anything I’ve spoken about.

Siobhan x

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

May Goals

As if it’s time to write my May Goals post when it feels it was a week ago I was writing my New Years resolutions. Although now it’s actually starting to feel a bit like summer, temperatures have been reaching a tropical 12 degrees in the Highlands. Saying that, as I write this I’m looking out the window to see dark, grey skies. 

Personal Goals 

1) Race For Life 10k, I’ve already signed up for this and am super excited to take part. I am pretty unfit so I am gonna struggle with this race but all that matters is that it’s a fun day and I will be raising money for a good charity. 

2) Spend more time with friends and family. I love my own company but sometimes I think I spend too much time alone. I don’t want to feel isolated and it’s important to make the effort with the people who mean the most. 

3) Finish reading Eat, Pray, Love and read two other books. 

4) Create a solid work-out routine. I’ve gained over half a stone since coming back from Aus and now my clothes don’t fit so serious action needs to be taken. 

5 Save money. I need to save money for going to uni in September and for the travelling I want to do next year. 

Blog Goals 
1) Create a blogging schedule and stick to it. I did create one with a list of future posts up until the middle of June but I haven’t been able to stick to that as I am working two jobs at the moment. I need to get into a routine with work, then work my blog around that. 

2) Engage more on twitter and Instagram. My Instagram is not very blog related at the moment, so I need to try and fix that without making it too cringey for the time being. 

3) Reach 150 followers. At the moment I have 92 followers, so if by the end of the month I am up to 150 I will be happy. 

4) Better blog photography. At the moment all my photos are taken on my iPhone and it is soooo obvious. I have my eye on a nice wee Nikon camera at the minute so when I have a little bit more money that will be getting purchased. 

Okay, these are all my goals for this month that I will hopefully complete. I would love to know what everyone else’s monthly goals are too 😊 

Hope you all enjoyed reading, 

Siobhan x