Well, we did it guys. We made it to the end of January! My god, that was a long month wasn’t it? I for one am glad it is all over with and so I take great pleasure in sharing my February goals 2018 edition today. I actually did this type of post for the first time last year – you can have a gander at my goals for last February if you like.
I feel like February is my real start of 2018 – if you’ve read my post about how this year didn’t get off to a great start for me, then you’ll know why. But I am ready now to leave all the negativity behind me and get on with achieving what I want to do this year. I actually feel really motivated at the moment and I haven’t felt like that for a while!
I’m going to be structuring these goals posts a little differently from now on – everyone seemed to really enjoy the format of my 2018 goals post so I’m going to continue with that. So basically, not only saying what my goals are but actually setting out the steps for how I’m going to achieve them. It’s as much an exercise for me as it is (meant to be) interesting for you!
Focus on learning
This is a goal for me for the next month, but also going into the rest of the year. There are a few things I’d love to learn about this year and also some things I’d like to refresh my knowledge of. I know it’s going to take some time though, so I want to start off slowly!
For February, I want to start learning InDesign and also get to a more advanced level of Photoshop. I think this would be useful for both blogging and also my IRL career (it’s tough out there, you’ve got to do it all to stand out right?). I also want to have another creative outlet – something I can do in the evenings that doesn’t involve Netflix.
So in order to achieve this:
- Invest in InDesign subscription
- Sign up to an online learning network, where I can take e-courses in my own time.
- Dedicate a few nights a week to studying and practicing.
- Ask for advice from the designers in my workplace and hopefully gain a few useful tips!
Get going with that side hustle
I mentioned in my 2018 goals that a big focus for me this year will be building the revenue I make from my side projects. At the moment, that only involves this blog and my other social channels. But I want to start doing more freelance work and trying to build a decent income from it.
I was able to make a small amount of progress with this in January, but not as much as I would like. So February really is going to be the month where I get to grips with it all and hopefully launch my freelance website. I also want to make some effort with blogging work and have some resources in place that will allow me to secure more work.
How I’m going to do this:
- Create a media kit for Sartorial Scot (at long last!) and get into the habit of replying to all enquiries with it.
- Revamp my YouTube branding and get into the swing of uploading once a week again.
- Design my freelance website and populate it with all the necessary information.
- Send at least 1 pitch to a brand (I’ve never done this before!) so that I can get used to it.
Write more (and better)
Since working in a job where copywriting and producing work that doesn’t involve academic journals and marketing theory, I have fallen back in love with writing again. Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer but after a few blows to my confidence in High School (don’t do Advanced Higher English, folks) I didn’t end up pursuing it.
However, I’m determined now to get back into it and improve my writing skills. Obviously, I write here on this blog, but most of the time it’s quite casual and I write like I’m speaking to a friend. So I want to make more of an effort to write about stuff that is perhaps a bit more serious – I have a list of ideas on my phone currently that I’m planning on writing about. So watch this space!
How I’m going to do this:
- Continue making the time to read, but reading more widely. Novels, non-fiction and also reading editorials in magazines/papers.
- Keep a notebook on me to write down any ideas I have when I’m out and about (that are a bit longer than a bullet point on my lists app on my phone).
- Write 2 posts in February that are more topical and perhaps more personal.
- Actually get around to fleshing out the ideas I have for a novel and make a plan for how I can start to write it.
So there you have it – my February goals 2018 edition. I promise I am planning on having some fun as well this month, in among all the serious goal-getting. It’s actually my birthday next week and I’m flying home to Scotland for it. I’m really looking forward to having some time off and seeing my friends who I haven’t seen for months!
I’d love to know if you have any goals for this month, or if you don’t believe in all this goal-setting stuff at all. I understand that in the blogging community, goals are such a bloody cliché. But I honestly think it has helped me to be more focused over the past year – so I’m gonna keep doing it!