It’s hard to believe it, but we’re in the last half of 2020. And, we definitely won’t close out this year with saying how uneventful it’s been. In fact, there’s been one life-altering event after another. And, we’re still in the thick of things.
Even though I’m going to lay out my remainder of the year line-up of activities I’m planning to participate in, by no means is this year anywhere near its end. Although, I can only imagine that there are many people already looking forward to the new and, hopefully, improved prospects that a new year can bring.
As for me, I just completed one of my major goals for the year: OPENING UP MY ETSY SHOP and displaying my first set of reading and writing learning and teaching tools for children and parents. So, I’m definitely in a mode of reflection over the past 6 months and what’s been accomplished at Degrees of Maternity. And, I’m looking forward to covering more ground with new product development in the next 6 months to come.
Therefore, I thought that today’s post would be a perfect time to lay out all of my content creation goals for the remainder of 2020. And bear with me, because I have some major changes that I’m going to spring on you. (Well, I’ve got to shake things up around here every once in a while, so my growth as a content creator doesn’t become stagnant and my contributions to the blogging community (as well as all of the communities in which I’m a contributing member) don’t become of no effect.)
In no particular order (although my next set of products to go out on Etsy will take priority), here’s a breakdown of the major projects that I intend to focus on the rest of the year:
Documenting a Process
I’m of the mind that documented processes can make life so much easier for the individuals going through those specific processes. The pioneers who pave the way are often confronted with so much extra work, inefficiencies, and fear of the unknown when dealing with a particular process that is brand-spanking-new to him or her and many others. Now, I’m not saying that creating digital products and displaying them in an Etsy shop is new to everyone, but it was definitely new to me and I’m still working out some of the kinks. But, what I would like to do is somewhat document the steps (or create a checklist of activities) to cover in order to successfully go through a new product development process and bring it to fruition in the online world (no matter the online platform). It’s definitely been (and continues to be) a learning process for me. And, I’m currently fine-tuning my Etsy shop set-up and engaging in post-product launch activities such as marketing. So, I think it would be great to get as much detail about the process down in writing somewhere, so I can have it handy for future projects and help others streamline their new product development journeys as well.
Learning New Platforms
In this blog, I’ve admitted several times that I’m not the most technologically-savvy person. And, it takes me twice as long as some people to gain my bearings when it comes to navigating around a new online platform for content creators/entrepreneurs. I’m tellin’ ya, the tech stuff gets me every time. And because I’m trying to do things as independently as I can (with the exception of all the graphic design work that Toodlez is kindly helping her mother with), I’ve never experienced a time where I went through totally smooth waters in my tech travels, while establishing my online presence. As a matter of fact, I have two “help support” cases open right now, requesting assistance on setting up my shipping profile in Etsy and in combining my personal and business accounts on Pinterest.
It’s so difficult waiting on help from the help support desk, because of the length of waiting time it may take for customer service to get back to you. And, waiting puts a pause on the momentum of what is trying to be accomplished. But, wait I must. I have no choice, because I’ve searched high and low for the answers to my dilemmas in the online help manuals, forums, and Q & As and I can’t find the answers. So, I’ll wait for the experts to come to my rescue (soon I hope).
While I wait, I continue to look at tutorial YouTube videos, read training manuals and articles, and surf the platform websites to learn all I can about Etsy and Pinterest. And what I’m learning is that there’s much to learn.
In case you wondering . . . to access my content from these two platforms, feel free to visit me at:
New Product Development Plans
For this section, I’ll just give you a “speed round” list of ideas I have in development and you can just let your mind wander on what I might be up to with some of these items. (Others will be pretty self-explanatory).
- Add Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult (paperback version) to Etsy shop.
- Create and add themed journal bundles to Etsy shop.
- Create and add personalized bookmarks and door hangars to Etsy shop.
- Create and add activity books/coloring books/games to Etsy shop.
- Create and add audiobook for Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult to Etsy shop.
So, this list is a very ambitious one (for me, anyway), but I’d like to tackle as much of it this year as I can. I haven’t gotten far enough into the goal-setting process to establish priority-ordering or time frames for completion of items just yet (with the exception of items 1 and 2 on the list). Those two projects will take place before all others and I’m hoping that they will both be completed by the end of this month.
Blogging Schedule Changes
Well, I’ve determined that a few more changes are needed to the blogging schedule. I want to do what’s in the best interest of you and me both. And because I don’t want to wear out my welcome on this platform, I’m going to cut down my posting to two times a week for the time being.
By doing this, I hope to bring more quality to the posts that I publish and stay relevant in your eyes. So, you might notice that the posts will be more lengthy because I’ll be cutting my posting down to the two days. Those two days will be Mondays and Thursdays.
On Mondays, I’ll share content creation stuff and productivity tips. So, “Productivity Tuesdays” will essentially be incorporated into Monday posts. And the “Untitled Book #2” series will be discontinued until further notice. However, the “Back to Natural Basics” series is on like the break of dawn, as I strongly believe there’s no time when health and wellness becomes unimportant. So, Thursdays will continue to be reserved for those particular posts.
In Conclusion
All in all, I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with the rest of the year. It’s been a challenging one for everyone (to say the least), but having constructive goals to pursue helps to keep my head in the right place and gives me some positive purpose-driven direction to preoccupy myself with.
Most importantly, I look forward to continuing to serve you. Always feel free to let me know how I can do things better. As you know, I’m a student of learning and a seeker of growth.
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