February 2016 Goals

This first month of 2016 flew by. It’s also been very irregular January as it’s the 31st and I’m sitting on my porch and it’s in the 70s’ … oh Texas.

So before we jump into February’s goals let’s review how I did in January.

January 2016 Goals

Personal

Read Year of Yes and Yes, Please . Trying to read 2 books a month.

No just no. I have to be 100% honest I didn’t read a single sentence of either of this books this month. I have been super busy and by that last 30 minutes of the night all I really wanted to do was watch an episode of Futurama on Netflix.

Deep clean the new tub so I can get back to weekly bubble baths for relaxation.

Nope I did not do this at all. I’ve wiped it out but that isn’t good enough. Between being sick, my washer breaking :(, guest posts and some things I’m not ready to reveal yet…I have been swamped!

Hang up my art in the new apartment.

Nope! I have my diploma and a canvas piece a friend gave me a few years back hanging but I just haven’t been able to decide what pieces I painted fit into my new home. It’s just such a different layout than my old place and very different colors. Maybe it means I need to make new stuff.

Don’t get a sinus infection. Hopefully I can keep up the good health. If I make it past February I should be in the clear.

I failed hard at this but it was bittersweet. I took some time off work to recover. Rested and watched a lot of new movies on Netflix…hey back off no one wants to read when their brain feels like an 8-ball all full of liquid.

Blog and Freelance Goals

Post twice weekly

Yes! This took a lot of focus and time but thankfully I managed to nail it.

Be more consistent with newsletter.

Since I started my blog my newsletter has been a very inconsistent thing. I started with just the automatic wordpress emails, that sent every time I posted. Then I moved to mailchimp, which was better but I was trying to write one every week and it seemed like too much then I decided once every other week and that turned into every three weeks. But his year I’ve decided bi-weekly is the most manageable way to go while I still have so much going on and as I grow my list.

Be more consistent sharing my posts on other sites.

I have an awesome spreadsheet I use to track my blog posts and sharing them on other sites to help with traffic ( I will have it available for you all to download soon and I’m super excited to share it because it makes it so easy to keep track of.) I’ve done a really good job of this year and traffic has been great!

Work on my first webinar.

While I’ve gotten some work done on it, it hasn’t been completed just because of all the other irons in the fire but it is coming and I am so excited!

Publish at least 2 pieces on other sites (at least one paid)

I’m happy to say my month of rejection is over! After a discouraging December, I managed to publish 3 contributor posts this month and already have another lined up for next month.

Check them out here:

Do Men Keep Ghosting You? How to Stop it From Happening Again… on Digital Romance

What I learned about adulting from binge watching friends on HelloGiggles

I’m A Young Black American, And This Is Why I Disagree With Stacey Dash on Elite Daily

Gain at least 15 new subscribers.

Sadly I did not get my 15 via my MailChimp plugin but my site reboot isn’t totally finished and I did gain 15 between my Bloglovin account and email list…so partial victory.

Have 275 Instagram followers

318! Yay! This was probably in large part to me posting more and using more hashtags.

Have 930 Twitter followers

1,088! I cannot believe I reached not only my goal but more than 150 followers over it! Thank you so much. I think a large part of this is I have been really utilizing HootSuite and sharing useful content from other sites. Also I have been using images in my tweets more often and actively participated in a few Twitter chats.

Have 170 Facebook Page likes

214! This was really shocking and exciting. Thank you again if you follow. I think the growth here was because I started posting more often. I didn’t want to over post when I created my page so for while I was only sharing posts once and on the day they came out. Now I’ve started trying to post at least 2 times a day. Not just my own content but other interesting content. I also have started posted questions to grow engagement on my page.

Have 360 Pinterest Followers

402! I have really been trying to up my Pinterest game. It really isn’t hard to do, you just have to be consistent. Creating better graphics for my own site has been a huge help!

Clean out my emails

My constant battle. On my personal email I managed to do a good job of this. In my business email it has been a lot of back and forth. One of the biggest reasons was because I did sign up for a few new newsletters. I don’t regret it because I have gotten some very interesting content but it is often hard to keep up with it all.

Create a blogging consistency for irregular posts like recipes or funny stories.

I wanted to post some recipes last month but other things just felt more important at the time. I have gotten more into a trend of Blogging posts on Monday and Lifestyle posts on Thursdays. I think that as I continue to grow my brand and write for other sites 2 times a week is an attainable posting ratio.

Create a Facebook Group for the Mastermind Group and have 2 meetings this month.

While I did finally great a group for my mastermind group, two of the wonder ladies who originally joined had to drop out because of scheduling but I have found 2 new members and am so excited to have the 2nd meeting of our group this week.

(Also, keep an eye out for my upcoming post about the importance of mastermind and lead groups.)

Health and Fitness

Get back in the habit of eating all meals at home at least 5 days a week

Did pretty good on this for the simple fact I wasn’t eating much and bought a big bag of frozen fish and big bag of greens. There is always room for improvement but little by little becomes a lot.

Get back into meatless Mondays

I didn’t do every Monday! But I did a 3rd of them and to be honest I really do love how I feel when I do it.

Work out at least 3 times a week 30 minutes to 1 hour or 12 hours a month want to have the group ready to go to kick off the new year.

I suck! I still have not gotten in the gym! But I already have my gym clothes laid out so I can go in the morning.

Last month’s highlights:

I’ve been planning my product launch.
Wrote my first pieces on Digital Romance and Elite Daily.
Scheduled my first live Blab! Be there or be square…. more details to come.
Sarah Michelle will be at Blogher 16 and I am doing all kinds of crazy dances on the inside! I love her #buffyandspikeforever.
Also something else big is happening in my life and while I’m not ready to officially announce it, I am very excited and it has taken up a lot of time (no mom I’m not pregnant).

Okay so while I had an AMAZING month personally, it doesn’t really show in my goals. I got a lot done and made a lot of big moves which you will slowly be hearing about soon but between being sick the first 2 ½ weeks of the new year and life obligations, like finally booking a place for my bestie’s bridal shower, I have been otherwise swamped.

February 2016 Goals

Personal

Read Year of Yes. I’m going to bring this down to 1 book a month until things calm down or at least even out.
Finalize the details for my best friend’s Bachelorette Party.
Organize my closet. At my old apartment everything in my closet was organized by color and type (I know I’m intense…but I loved it.)
Celebrate what would have been my grandmother’s 87th birthday on February 2nd. It’s the first birthday since we lost her and I want to do something to honor her.
Find a bedside table so I can stop living out of the boxes of shorts and t-shirts in my closet.

Blog and Freelance Goals

Post twice weekly
Be more consistent with newsletter.
Be more consistent sharing my posts on other sites.
Work on my first webinar.
Publish at least 2 pieces on other sites (at least one paid)
Gain at least 15 new subscribers.
Have 350 Instagram followers
Have 1,125 twitter followers
Have 230 Facebook Page likes
Have 425 Pinterest Followers
Continue to post to Facebook twice daily
Schedule posts on Twitter each night for the next day
Pin at least 30 pins a day
Post to Instagram at least 5 times a week. A mix of personal and blogging.

Health and Fitness

Keeping these the same since I majorly failed on them!

Use my crock pot more. At least twice a month.
Use my new blender to make green smoothies at least 3 times a week.
Participate in meatless Mondays
Workout at least 2 times a week.

Wish me luck!

How did your goal go in January? What are you hoping to accomplish in February? Share below! 🙂

61 comments

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Katie

Ugh; I’m sorry you were sick! I’m really impressed with all the goals you were able to accomplish this month, despite illness! Good luck in February! I am sitting down and writing about my goals for the month today!
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Dia

Thanks Katie. I saw you had a awesome month as well being practically debt free! Woot woot! Good luck on your February Goals 🙂
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Gill {from jamjargill.com}

My goodness babe you are setting yourself a lot of goals for just one month! Give yourself a break – sounds like you’re doing great. Doing fab things with social media, blog posts and guests posts. Which are all on my wish list too. I have liked all your social media links, hope you get a chance to check out mine too 🙂 In terms of books, I really struggle to find the time to sit down and read a book but I had a revelation last yr when I discovered the joy which is audio books and I have never looked back. Perhaps try it – it could help with your hectic life. Hope you have a great week 🙂
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Dia

Thanks for stopping by Gill.
It has been a busy time but I tend to do better when I’m busy…but don’t worry I am a big believer in work hard play hard.
I’ll be sure to check out your social media accounts. Thanks so much!
You are so right about the autobook thing! My family lives about 4 hours away and my trip there for thanksgiving and Christmas I listend to autobooks and was able to finsh at least one per trip. I have some more trips planned (Bestie is getting married) so I think that will help me hit my goal…”Reading” while driving.
I hope you havea great week too 🙂
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Kailei

Way to go! I’m especially impressed with your blogging goals. You have been working hard and seen a lot of success. Here’s to a great February for you!
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Ashley

I’ve heard good things about Year of Yes. Great list of goals–I’ll make one for myself, too!
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Autumn

You have a lot of goals for February!! I love all of your measurable blogging goals and I could use some guidance from your fitness habits too!

I am hosting a goal link up here and this would be a great post to add if you are interested! 🙂
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Dia

Thanks for the invite!
It helps when I have them published and then I’m more accountable! But day one did pretty good
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Dia

Thank you so much. I have really been trying to reach more people because I love what I’m doing
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Dia

I hear it’s great. I am going to make more of an effort this month
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Lucy

Email is my downfall too! I just hate dealing with it! And I’ve been vegging on tv instead of reading as well!
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Leslie Rossi

great goals! i should make a list like this to keep myself in check
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Athena

This is a great list of goals – even if you accomplish half of them you will have accomplished a great deal.
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Christin

What a great idea to track your goals, both personal and business. I should try that!
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The Oracle

Great goals ! I have a few of those goals myself
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Dia

Like what?
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Dia

It really does help keep me on track
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Dia

Awe thank you Athena. I really love your name btw
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GiGi Eats

NO SINUS INFECTIONS!!! And just followed you on Pinterest 🙂
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Dia

My issue with the email is I only open urgent thing because I would open something and see an article I wanted to read but didn’t have time so I’d mark it as unread lol
The thing with tv is it doens’t even feel relaxing because 90% of the time my laptop is open doing blog stuff
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Dia

I don’t always hit them all but they do help me do a little better than if I didn’t keep track
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Dia

Awe thanks Gigi…sadly I got one but I’m better now.
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Jenn

I like that you split it up in to categories real life goals and blogger/work goals. I need to do this too! I’m sure you will kick butt this month.
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Marette @ Floradise

Wow, you have so many great goals. Congrats on growing your social media following. That’s something I’m working on as well. I just posted some goals for the month on my blog, and it looks like we have some similar items on our lists! Glad I found your blog.
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Becki S

Dia you are crushing it! I loved reading this and am totally inspired to do more this month. I am dying to get to 1,000 twitter followers so hopefully this will be my month! All the hashtags 😉 I would also love to see your template for the traffic growth and congrats on those 3 articles!
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NYG@NaughtyYogaGirl.com

I just love that you do this goal review … I’m writing this down as an idea for me – what a cool way to keep yourself accountable. Plus, I just love reading other people’s goals (both personal and with their blogs) – totally inspiring. 🙂 Congrats with your social media numbers and blog posts – I need to sit down and think about mine. Also, glad you’re feeling better. Good luck with an awesome February! Thanks for sharing!
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Lindsey

You accomplished so much in January that was blogging related! Congrats, all of your hard work is paying off. And I am so like you when it comes to my closet. It makes it so much easier when it is organized by type and color!
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Jenn Slavich

First off good luck for your February goals! Love that you implement personal, blogging, and health. This month I started doing monthly goals for my blog. I posted it next to my computer so it stares at me everyday! Hopefully this can keep me honest :). Love the goals! Keep up the good work, you are doing great!
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Kusum

Oh my gosh Dia, you are a total rockstar!!! These are amazing goals and you are doing so great, I am going to have to pin this post to motivate myself. I cannot wait to get a peek at your mastermind FB group.
Sorry to hear about your grandmother, happy birthday to her wherever she is resting in peace!
xx, Kusum | http://www.sveeteskapes.com
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Paola

You have amazing goals. Well done for listing them so well. Unfortunately life does happen and get on the way of our plans. But keep it up, you can do it!
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Cori

Good luck with all your goals. I completely understand the not being able to read thing. I have books I want to read, but if I sit down to read I fall asleep. I see you have fitness goals of working out twice a week. Are you able to walk on a treadmill for one of those workouts? I’ve had to start reading on the treadmill if I’m going to get any reading done. Just a suggestion.
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Dia

Thanks for that suggestion I someone else suggested books on tape… I think that might be a better combo … listeing to books on tape while jogging lol
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Dia

Awe thank you so much Kusum. Thats so sweet!
For the time being the mastermind facebook is just for memeber communication but hopefully we will one day start a newworking group…one step at a time
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Dia

Thanks Paola thats the plan! 🙂
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Dia

Than you Jenn! I hope you rock your goals!
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Dia

Thank you so much Jenn!
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Dia

That’s awesome I’ll be sure to check out your goals! Thanks for stopping by.
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Dia

Thanks Becki I want to start posting how I get my numbers up and increase engagment but it is on a long to-do list. Good luck on your goals Becki, I think I already follow you on twitter but I’ll check.
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Dia

Thank you so much. Yes I am so glad I’m not sick anymore. I still feel like I haven’t rested much but at least I have another 3 day weekend to look forward to.
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Dia

Yes! And when I know what I want to wear I love it just being in the right section instead of hunting around. lol
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Jenny

Great goals for February!
I am sure you will nail them all 🙂

Make sure to link-up with me tomorrow for my monthly goal-setting link-up!

xoxo, Jenny
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Dia

Thanks Jenny! I’ve asked a few people but no one has really explained the whole link up thing to me
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Jess

Those are great goals for February. Even though you didn’t get everything done in January, it still sounds like you had a good month. I know when I get sick I can’t accomplish anything – well, except Netflix. Good luck with February!
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danielle

sounds like you’re doing pretty well especially on the social media front! good luck this month 🙂

http://www.avecdanielle.com
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Dia

Hahah right. Netflix was a huge achomplishment last month in those days when all I did was sleep and watch tv and drink fluids lol
Thanks for stopping by Jess!
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Dia

Thank you so much. I am really trying to do my best! Have a great day!
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Tara

Wow, lots of goals, and it sound like you did pretty well. This is a great way to hold yourself accountable!
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Mistle

Congrats on meeting most of your goals from last month!! I did not accomplish all of my goals but I accomplished most of them. You have a lot of great goals for this month Dia! I can’t wait to see what you accomplish!
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Dia

Awe thank you so much! I hope you have a super successful month 🙂
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Lee Anne

I love setting goals for your blog! My goal is to post 3 times a week this month! Let’s see if I can stick to it 🙂
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Victoria

Good luck with your goals! Looking forward to your first webinar 😀
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Natalia Pessoa

Oh my god… you reminded me of my newsetter. Eeek. I need to go back to every other week. Good luck!
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Dia

Oh no! I have made it a strong goal of mine to do this year. Good lick!
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Dia

Thanks Victoria. You’re so sweet!
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Dia

Thats awesome! Good luck with your goal!
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Mimi Rose

Congrats on getting 3 pieces published last month!!! YAY! Also – I love HelloGiggles, so great work! That’s awesome that you managed to surpass all of your social media goals too. It sounds like you have another busy month of goals ahead of you but you got this!
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Dia

Thanks Mimi! I hope you got to read the HelloGiggles piece. I have been tyring really hard. So fingers crossed for February.
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melody pittman

Great goals and totally attainable. If you figure out how to keep the email cleaned out, please share with the rest of the world. I have never mastered that one to this day. 😉 Congrats on the new growth exceeding your goal. That is fab!
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Dia

Thank you so much. As far as the email goes I think deleting the account totally is the only way lol
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CAROL CASSARA

These are products i have always been curious about but never tried. Thanks for filling me in today!
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Dia

Hey Carol, what products are you referring too?

January 2016 Goals

Personal

Blog and Freelance Goals

Health and Fitness

Last month’s highlights:

February 2016 Goals

Personal

Blog and Freelance Goals

Health and Fitness

How did your goal go in January? What are you hoping to accomplish in February? Share below! 🙂

61 comments

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