Balancing Blogging Goals

My life as a blogger has been incredibly surreal.

Reading my first blogs ever in the summer of 2008, I realized that there was this whole virtual “world” about which I had no idea.  I couldn’t believe what I had been missing. Any topic I was passionate about connected me with some other amazing woman that was sharing her ideas on the matter.

I was hooked on reading…I am a voracious reader, but writing a blog? That didn’t interest me…for about two weeks. Had it been any other time of the year, I would have bypassed this new virtual world due to my over extended schedule,  but it was SUMMER time.

As a home school mom, I was on break and my extracurricular activities were not starting up again until the end of August.  Without a clue of what I was doing, I set up a free blog and began sharing some thoughts about my balancing act – the good, bad and ugly.

It became sort of therapeutic for me as I processed the joy of embracing the simple things in life.  Appreciating details in a fresh, personal way drew me to a new level by viewing it through the lens of a writer.

Little did I know how this new role would affect my life in unbelievable ways. Blogging is so much of who I am now.

The down side? Free “brain space” is  used up by thinking in blog titles all day long, but I’ve also made lifelong friends and accountability partners who enrich my life on a daily basis.

As I am challenged to take my blogging to a new level for 2010, my father’s old adage “nothing is dynamic until it becomes specific” rings loudly.

Even though I rebelled against New Year’s Resolutions, I know that if I aim for nothing with my blogging, I’ll hit it every time.

• Scheduling Computer Time. Even though I consider myself a fairly proficient multi-tasker, face time and screen time are two completely different things, and often the lines are blurred as a work at home mom. Blogging can creep into all aspects of ones life if time is not closely guarded. As a homeschool mom, I think multi tasking works by giving spelling quizzes while checking my emails. But in my daughter’s mind, I am not paying attention to her. I will be scheduling “office hours” for my blogging, just as I would if I worked outside the home so that line is less blurred and my family is prioritized…always.
• Creating a weekly topics schedule. For the last year, I have written and posted everything you read on my blog as it happens. I  have  never written articles ahead of time, and as spontaneously fun as that can be, it adds to the lack of margin that I am trying to eliminate. I have lot of great content I desire to share with you, but I haven’t scheduled time to sit down and do it in a thorough manner since it’s always off the top of my head. Just because I bring you a Tasty Tuesday recipe doesn’t mean it has to  be written midnight on Tuesday, right? 🙂
• Creative Content/Topics. As I create my loosely held topic schedule, I am excited to bring fresh new ideas, in addition to the Frugal Fashionista, couponing, and Trash to Treasure favorites. Some of the articles and series that will be coming in 2010 include 1.) Home Management 101  2.) Continued sharing of our financial journey beginning with my teenage “Riches to Rags” years and how that has shaped how I look at personal finance/financial stewardship. 3.) My long promised Weight Loss Journey, and how I’ve kept it off.  4.) a new series written with my sons, nieces and nephews called “Ask the Teenager” – a vulnerable and authentic look at raising teens during this cultural revolution driven by their ideas/opinions and posts 5.) Some collaborative efforts with other bloggers, as well as a newsletter and radio show that is kicking off shortly.
• Cultivate a spirit of interaction and encouragement in the comments. I love hearing from you – your joys, struggles and successes. Since I recently switched to this new site, it now enables easy interaction in the comments section below each post. Readers can comment to others readers and I can respond to specific questions. Iron sharpens iron and I hope that we can be that for each other, even if it’s in a “virtual” way.
• Develop a stronger working relationship with advertisers and PR firms. What started as a hobby, and continued from a passion to encourage strong families and model frugal living has now turned into a small work at home business. I commit to offering you giveaways and product information from family friendly companies and people that align with my mission of Balancing Beauty, Bedlam AND the Budget.
• DIY tutorials and Vlogs Encouraging women through the spoken word has been a passion of mine for a long time, and I thrilled to be speaking at both the Blissdom and Relevant blogging conferences. I would rather sit down with a cup of coffee and share real life with you any day than write a blog post, but alas…this is a blog, so I must write. My Easy Meal Planning tips – “4 Meals in 4 Minutes” vlog was such a success that I am committed to sharing more videos this year.  I am open to ideas. Be looking for my next vlog that will be posted soon…Saving money by cutting your children and husband’s hair. 🙂
• Survey of interests. One of the joys of this blog is sharing things I learn on my personal family manager journey. I am always looking for ways where I can better connect with my readers. I will be putting together a short little survey of things you would like to see me continue or maybe address for the first time.

Realizing that I could continue with many more goals for the year, I will stop since all my non-blogging friends are now asleep. 🙂 (Yes, another goal…attempting to keep my posts shorter.)

I look forward to an exciting year with you all. I am so thankful for each of you, and the unique aspect you bring to my passionate pursuit of balancing it all – the good, bad and ugly. 🙂