2016 Goals

'Ello! In lieu of a Files post this week (and also to stall a bit since I'm clearly not finished with the design lol), I wanted to chat a bit. I didn't get to make a post about my goals for 2015 because I was still on timeout then, but I wanted to make one this year. I know it may sound silly, but I'm a list girl and making a list of goals helps give me direction. They give me structure and help me get my ass in gear when I'm dragging it. lol Resolutions don't move me quite as much as they used to, but goals do. Here's my list of goals for ATV this year:




1. Try to complete more posts on time!
2. Do better post and research prep
3. Be more creative
4. Start all of the other planned post series 
5. Maintain a better social media presence
6. Aim for more variety with post ideas
7. Grow my audience
8. Be more consistent with posts!



1. Try to complete more posts on time! The first goal is probably the most obvious. It's no secret that many times, I struggle with keeping to the deadlines that I set. After so many failed deadlines, one would wonder, "Then why make deadlines in the first place?" Because I need to get better at keeping deadlines, and I prefer having a blog schedule. It goes hand-in-hand with the last goal on my list, so completing things on the time I schedule them will accomplish the goal of me being more consistent, as that is how I often schedule my posts. The schedule itself isn't the problem; I don't prep enough beforehand and this causes me to constantly run late with posts, which brings me to the next goal. 

2. Do better post and research prep When I schedule my posts, I often don't prep for them because I already have how I'd like the post to progress in my head. This is often the case when I'm planning out monthly themes and Spotlight topics. I'll think of something and I'll figure out a skeleton for it in my head, but I won't prep after that, which then causes me to either delay the post, scrape it together quickly and ultimately post it late, or scrap it entirely. I'd like to get better at that, which will allow me to post on time and achieve the consistency I've been chasing.

3. Be more creative Because this isn't the normal vintage-themed blog, I find that I have to think outside of the box in terms of what I post. I would love to have tons of outfit posts and give a first-hand account of what repro designers to try because it looks like tons of fun, but I can no more afford vintage today than I could three years ago. I also don't have the audience for companies to just send me stuff, and that's okay too; I'm not in this to get free stuff. That's my review blog. LOL joking. Anyway, as a result, I have to find topics that I haven't already posted about, that interest me and might interest my audience. I've always struggled with this one, but I'd really like to get better at it and have more creative posts this year. I think having more posts that are creative, unique in terms of the subject content and well-written would help a lot with my confidence in promoting the blog. 

4. Start all of the other planned post series  That brings me to the next goal, which I've unsuccessfully been trying to launch for a couple of years. I have several different series that I'd like to rotate on the blog, both to prevent things from growing stale and to help me get out of the house a bit more. A few health complications keep me from going out as much as I'd like, and I don't always have transportation so that stands in the way of me starting these series as well. I don't have quite as much control over this particular goal as I do over the others, but I'd still like to get my health and transport issues in order so I can finally start the series this year. 

5. Maintain a better social media presence Much like my habit of posting late, it's also not a secret around here that I don't care much for social media. I don't mind reading other people's social media, but I don't care much to maintain it for myself. I've been blogging long enough to know that one of the most, if not the most, important tools a blogger has is self-promotion. Gone are the days where blogs are a novelty and people are prone to find your blog sooner rather than later. You have to know how to properly market yourself and draw people to your blog now, and while I don't lack the ability, I have to admit that I lack the desire. You can chalk that up to nothing more than my reclusive tendencies with a healthy dose of insecurity and maybe a splash of forgetfulness. I used to live-tweet TNTs regularly, but live-tweeting to yourself, after a couple of years, is not only a bit tedious but it also makes you feel just a tad pathetic. lol I've decided to resume live-tweeting TNTs every week whether I'm talking to myself or not. I enjoy it and it makes going back through my Twitter feed a lot more entertaining. LOL I need to get better at social media in general, especially if I expect to accomplish goal #7 at any point in my blogging career, so this is a goal that I need to work steadily at. 

6. Aim for more variety with post ideas This goal comes back to the creativity goal, in the sense that when I find tried-and-true posts that I enjoy and can find a good deal of information on, I'll post on them frequently. One of the problems, especially as we get further and further from the decades I like focusing on, is that the ability to find material from those places and times begins to dwindle. There have been quite a few post topics I've had over the years that seemed like they'd be great on paper, but once I started to research, came up with very little or no material to build a post. Because I didn't do that research in enough time, I usually ended up scrapping the post. That would lead me back to my tried-and-true subjects, which, in time, grows stale. This year, I'd like to bring a bit more variety to the topics that I post about and keep things lively. 

7. Grow my audience Growing my audience is hand-in-hand with maintaining a constant social media presence, and in order to grow my audience, I need to promote myself. If I'm on more social media outlets, I can promote my posts, which will bring more people to the blog. If I start reaching out to other bloggers (which they all recommend that you do, yet I haven't) not only can I get opinions and constructive criticism from those bloggers if they come over, but maybe someday one of my posts will be worthy of a share or repost, which also brings over new eyes. It's funny, my main blogging goal was and is still to find new people to share my love of vintage with, but the main thing I need to do to accomplish that goal--market and promote myself to tell people about my blog--is the one thing I struggle with the most because of my own insecurities. I can't grow my audience if I don't put myself out there, which I won't do if I'm not satisfied with the content. 

8. Be more consistent with posts! And finally, I want to work on keeping to my schedule and being more consistent. If I continue to do the proper amount of prep for a post and remain consistent with my posts, I'll be able to stick to schedule which will give me more to promote on social media, which will eventually help me to grow my audience, as long as I don't allow things to grow stale in terms of creativity or variety with my content. See how it all comes together? lol


I guess there was no explanation needed for any of these goals, but I realized that listing my goals was also an opportunity to explain things a little bit. It really isn't my desire or my intention at all to have things as stagnant as they tend to get around here, but unfortunately many times it ends up that way regardless. My issues, I've noticed while writing this post, are largely cyclical. Progress in one area, if handled correctly, can equal progress in several areas. That's what I'm hoping for this year. I won't accomplish any of these goals overnight and I can guarantee that I'll still be late with posts, but all in all I hope I can take the blog up a notch this year. Mostly though, I hope you'll be along for the ride. Tell me some of your goals, what do you hope to improve this year?