New Year, New Outlook, New Look

 

Every year people make resolutions about what they want to change in their lives. But to be honest, how many of us really keep up with those resolutions. Webster Dictionary defines a resolution as a firm decision to do or not to do something. This year instead of using the word resolution, I used the word outlook. Because I decided to  make some changes in the way I look at my blog.

Renewed Love

Lately, my blog had become a chore, instead of an outlet for me to express my opinions and a way to help supplement my family’s income. Looking at it like a chore had me sometimes dreading even opening up my computer. But this year I realized a change had to happen. The first thing I did was change my attitude. I decided that yes it is okay to have sponsored posts but I still want to have posts that are about things that are happening in our lives or my take on current situations.

New Look

Next I realized that for a new attitude I needed a new look. Although I changed my blog design a while back, I still wanted something a little different and a little easier on the eye. I toyed with buying several new designs but when I came upon Sassafras. I just couldn’t help myself. Last weekend if you visited the blog, you would have seen the message Be Back Shortly. Jennifer from Hello You Designs was such a gem. I contacted her because when I installed the theme, everything was a little off. She took my blog into maintenance mode and fixed everything. If you are looking for a new design, I highly recommend this company.

Proofreading Tools

Next I started looking at all the plugins I had installed. And boy did I have a lot. I found that I several plugins installed that basically where the same thing. It was slowing down the blog loading.  But there is one that I just absolutely fell in love with. And that is Grammarly. I love that it eliminates not only spelling errors but also grammar errors. I know sometimes I need a lot of help with that. Although it is not a plugin per say, it is an extension that I can download so not only can I use it for blogging work, but also for any other correspondence I may have.

Organizational Tools

Organization was also not my strong point. I have tons of ideas and posts to write but somehow I seem to miss the chance to write them because of being disorganized. One of the things I did was purchase a crate and some hanging file folders.  On the folders, I categorized the post by month, then by categories if they didn’t fall into a particular month and finally I have one for my sponsored posts. Keeping organized is helping me to stay on track with my goal for the blog this year.

The next thing I did was invest in a planner. This goes right along with my disorganization. I would miss dates that blog posts were due and that meant missing out on money that I could have earned. I mean who just wants to throw away money. Not me. So I invested in the Blog Success Planner  and so far it helping me stay on track.

New Header Coming Soon….

Lastly, I am in the process of working with a designer on a new header for the blog. Sarah at Dirty Fish Designs just gets me. I had the opportunity to meet her last March at a blog conference  and we have been friends since then. I don’t think there is a week where we don’t chat on Facebook. She did the header for my other blog, Champagne Style and Bare Budget. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with this time. So far I am liking what I am seeing. Can’t wait to show you the finally reveal.

So tell me what goals have you set for yourself this year? What new outlook have you gained? Share so we all can encourage each other.

P.S. This is just my new outlook for the blog, look for another blog post about my new outlook on life soon.

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