Revisiting Writing Goals and More for the Remainder of 2020

With us having passed the halfway mark in October, we are well into the last quarter of 2020. And, many people are of the mind to say “so long” to 2020 and “hello” to 2021. However, time doesn’t work that way. We can’t just beam ourselves into a new year with all the new aspirations and hopes we have for the positive things we pray will materialize with the onset of a new year. I’m of this mindset though: since we still have some more of 2020 to muddle our way through, why not make the most of the time we’re given right now? 2020 is still here and so are we, so I say we should start our positive outlooks now. No time like the present. A little positivity can go a long way in a darkened world.

And for those of you reading my “Goal Set With Me” posts, you know that I’m all about the positivity these days and trying to hold on to an “attitude of gratitude”. I figure . . . why not? It couldn’t hurt to have an outlook that seeks to transcend the ugliness of our political, civil, economic, and healthcare climates. So, in my own little nook and cranny in this great, big world, what can I do to keep a forward-thinking mindset?

Well, I decided to look back in order to answer that very question.

I decided to check out my blog post, entitled Writing Goals and More for the Remainder of 2020, for a little inspiration as to what I should be doing with my life for the remainder of the days left to this year. And in a nutshell, here’s what I laid out as my goals to-do list back on July 6, 2020 and August 24, 2020:

1. 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).
2. Become more adept at managing my Etsy shop and Pinterest account by increasing my knowledge of both platforms.
3. Add Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult (paperback version) to Etsy shop.
4. Create and add themed journal bundles to Etsy shop.
5. Create and add personalized bookmarks and doorknob hangers to Etsy shop.
6. Create and add activity books/coloring books/games to Etsy shop.
7. Create and add audiobook for Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult to Etsy shop.
8. Change my blogging schedule to posting two days a week: Mondays for content creation and productivity topics and Thursdays for “Back to Natural Basics” topics.
9. Create an “I Miss You” cards product to place on the Etsy shop.

Along with my “The Daily 10” healthy habits I’m seeking to pursue for the remainder of my lifetime, I think the above goals will be enough to keep me quite busy for now, and I’m sure I’ll be adding some additional goals or bringing over the goals that I didn’t accomplish in 2020 into 2021. So, let’s just see where I’m at with those goals that I laid out for the remainder of this year (based on the list above):

1. This goal is a work-in-progress. I would still like to create a new product development checklist before the end of the year but haven’t started to put the pieces (which are currently all over the place) together yet.
2. I have continuously been working on this goal and will continue to inevitably learn something new weekly whether I’m trying to or not.
3. This goal can be checked off as completed.
4. This goal can be checked off as completed.
5. This goal is somewhat completed. Meaning . . . I currently have digital bookmarks and doorknob hangers on my Etsy shop, but they’re not personalized. They’re theme-based off of 6 different child themes. I also have the physical bookmarks of the themes on my shop and will be getting the physical versions of the doorknob hangers out on the shop this week and next. I’ve decided to go the digital route (predominantly) but also the physical product route with some of my products in the shop. As stated in my blog post entitled, Accommodating a Wider Customer Base, “I’ve come to the understanding that there’s a customer base who enjoys the physical product market and I want to expand my horizons to accommodate this audience as well as the digital product market customer base.”
6. This goal may be partially completed this year or not. Time will tell. I definitely would like to get some reading and writing game-like items out on my shop before year’s end (if possible).
7. This goal will totally have to be carried over to 2021. It’s currently not in my immediate horizon for this year, I’m afraid.
8. Well, I’ve tweaked my blogging schedule several times recently to meet the demands of content I’m seeking to distribute through the different Degrees of Maternity platforms. The way the schedule currently stands is as follows: Tuesdays are dedicated to content creation and “Lessons Learned as a Parent of a Virtually-Schooled Student” posts and Fridays are dedicated to “Back to Natural Basics” and healthy habits goal-setting posts.
9. As stated in a previous blog post entitled, New Product Development Ramblings, I mentioned that the “I Miss You cards will be created for children to give to their friends and grandparents — two groups of individuals that school-aged children may not be visiting very much these days.” I also went on to mention that “I see the card activity as a great opportunity for young children to share important news with loved ones, let their loved ones know how much they mean to them, and provide a writing exercise on top of all that.” However, I don’t know that I’ll necessarily be pursuing the cards as a product for my Etsy shop for this year. I’m thinking of moving this goal into 2021 and working on a whole new product altogether, once I get the physical doorknob hangers up on my site.

So, you can see that I have my remainder of the year goals in various stages of the goal completion timeline. Some have been completed, some are being delayed until a future date in 2021, some are being working on currently and will be worked out on an on-going basis, and some goals will be completed by year’s end (hopefully). All in all, I think I’ve made some noticeable strides in accomplishing items that have been on my 2020 list of to-dos. My overarching goal, however, is to finish out this strangest of years on a strong note with an outlook of positivity and relentless determination.