Archive for the ‘Goal Setting’ Category

If you are serious about blogging then it’s time to set some serious goals. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the term goal as:

n. The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective.

First things first…what is the purpose of your blog? Whether you are keeping a personal blog or blogging for the universe, setting some well-planned goals will help you focus on the purpose of your blog. My goal system is pretty complex. I use a spiral notebook and I track both weekly and daily goals for my blogs. My blogs are a borderline full-time job. I spend on average probably 5 hours a day working on my blogs in various ways…including reading other blogs, networking, writing, designing, etc.

Keeping both weekly and daily goals keeps me focused and on my toes. My system works well for me. It helps me to write things down by hand. On one page I will outline my weekly goals: What do I want to accomplish with my blogs this week? Some examples of recently accomplished weekly goals would be launching weekly posts and designing logos for those posts. I do a Wednesday and a Friday weekly post in addition to regular posting on both of my blogs. On the pages following my weekly goals, I outline my goals for each day. The daily goals consist of a list of several things that will help me accomplish the larger objectives on my weekly goal list. For example, I am in the process of learning Adobe Illustrator. I list this as a goal on my weekly goals…maybe something like “Complete 5 tutorials” for the week.

In my daily goals, I list “Complete 1 Illustrator tutorial” for each day.This system can be converted for use on a computer simply by using Word, Excel, or even notepad in the same way. Or…you can be totally Web 2.0 and track your goals online. One of the simplest free online goals trackers is http://www.joesgoals.com There’s nothing to download, it’s easy to share with friends if you want to, and it’s FREE.

Setting goals for your blog will help you keep your purpose in the forefront and
reach a level of accomplishment. If you are a beginning blogger or a seasoned veteran of the medium, goal-setting will make a big difference in your level of productivity.

Article originally posted in November of 2007 on waxingpoetic75.com
Photo: Eric Kilby from Flickr under Creative Commons