Day 25 of the 30-Day Challenge: Creative Movement:
Task: To do miscellaneous follow-up tasks (one that’s brand-new), needing some attention.
Reason for Task: I only have 5 days left! Figuratively speaking, I’m pretty much in the home stretch, and I want to close out this 30-day challenge with getting a few more items completed before it’s all said and done. So, I’ve decided to devote the rest of the challenge to tying up loose ends, or what I like to call my miscellaneous tasks remaining on the to-do lists.
I’ll admit that I’m going to have some left over tasks to complete after this challenge ends. (And “no”, there’s absolutely no way I’m going to extend the challenge for a few extra days or do a whole new 30-day challenge back-to-back.) I will do no such thing. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m a glutton for punishment, so I’ll be ending the 30-day challenge as scheduled.
However, the end of the challenge doesn’t signal the end of my goal-setting/goal-achieving ways. I’ll continue to make progress on the left-over goals that I started during the challenge until I get them completed. And of course, I’ll be continuously adding to my list of goal to-dos as I continue my journey as a Content Creator.
But, I’m determined to get a few more things wrapped up in the next 5 days. Overall, I’m currently in a good place because I’ve established some work momentum, but I need this extra push at the end to make the kind of dent in my list that I envisioned when I initially started out on this goal initiative several weeks ago.
Duration of Task: 1 day at a time until the 30-day challenge ends.
Outcome of Task: Overall, mission accomplished! I didn’t push myself to accomplish anything unrealistic, because Mondays are one of my busiest days outside of the house. So, I took this fact into account and decided to set myself up for task completion success on day 25. I completed all four items that were on my to-do list for the day, and they are as follows:
- I completed my WordPress course. First-mention discussion of this task took place here.
- I set up my Anchor by Spotify account and linked my WordPress site to the platform so I can start uploading podcasts to it. First-mention discussion of this task took place here.
- I submitted a request to my local literacy coalition to be a “Partner” with their organization. Next steps will hopefully be a meeting with a representative so I can discuss products and services that Degrees of Maternity can offer to the different literacy programs throughout my community. First-mention discussion of this task took place here.
- I purchased an ebook on SEO. (I need all the help I can get.)
Here’s a brief report on the 4 tasks I completed today:
WordPress Course
I got ‘er done. Whoo hoo! I just have to say that a lot of the course information was more review to me since I’ve been blogging for almost three years now, and that was to be expected. This course was geared more toward the beginner blogger but could easily help existing bloggers make improvements on their current sites or start up additional blogs.
Overall, the course provided helpful information and suggestions for taking action as a newbie blogger and one who’s trying to improve upon his or her blogging prowess. It was a worthwhile experience and I’ll be going back to refer to those modules that will be especially helpful when I do my revamping of the Degrees of Maternity site sometime this summer (I hope). I haven’t pinpointed a date yet and I probably won’t say anything until I’m actually ready to get going on this huge project. I’ve decided to get through the challenge first and then I can think more about future goals.
A couple of the modules that I learned new information from were the articles on using “blocks” and different ways in which you can earn income through WordPress.
When WordPress made some changes to the WordPress Editor, I have to admit that I didn’t do much research on the different block options that could be used to enhance one’s blog posts. I simply stuck with the “Classic” block, which I’m familiar with. So, I found the module on blocks to be helpful to my understanding of how some of the new-to-me blocks work.
And, I never really studied up on all the ways that bloggers could generate income from their blogs. I mean I do have my products displayed on the site and have payment options established for the purchasing of those products, but the module went into other methods of earning, such as memberships, subscriptions, donations, and the WordPress referral program.
Furthermore, I’m excited about joining the WordPress community forum and becoming involved with my fellow bloggers out there as well as accessing the expertise of the WordPress staff when it comes to the questions I’ll have about revamping my blog site.
Anchor by Spotify Account
I was really excited to get my Anchor account set up. Audio is becoming an increasingly important interest of mine. So, the opportunity to podcast my blog seems right in line with my goal aspirations for audio work I’d like to engage in. If it’s as simple as Anchor is presenting the process to be, I’m thinking I’ll get my first episode uploaded sometime next week.
I currently have a public site out there for Degrees of Maternity on Anchor. Once I set up my account, it created my space on the platform. But since there aren’t any episodes yet, it’s pretty bare. Believe me when I say that you’ll be the first to know when I’ve uploaded my first episode and how to get to it.
Local Literacy Coalition Involvement
Well, if you’ve been following my daily challenge activities, then you know I experienced a huge set-back when I was officially notified that the school system would not be needing my products or services this summer for their elementary educational program. And I was so looking forward to partnering with the school system that has served my family so well.
However, never say never. I’m still going to hold the goal of working with the public schools near-and-dear to my heart. Maybe something will open up during the upcoming school year. Who knows? But in the meantime, I wasn’t about to waddle in my pity party for any length of time and become stagnant just because I had a set-back. It was time to move to plan B, and plan B involved the literary programs within the city (outside of the public school system).
I’m determined to work with organizations that can use products and services to help the youth develop strong reading and writing skills sets that can set them up for academic, professional, and life skills success. And with that being said, there are other entities that I could seek the opportunity to partner with on this front. Today’s task is leading me on that path. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet the movers and shakers of the literacy movement in my local community very, very soon.
Ebook Purchase
I recently got an email from Angela with Stray Curls, detailing a new book that she has out and it’s discounted this week. I’m a sucker for a good deal, so my attention was piqued. And when I saw the book was about SEO, my arch enemy, I decided to look at what she had to offer.
Since I thoroughly enjoy Angela’s blogging style in the blogging voice she uses and her eye-catching (humorous too, by the way) illustrations, I was hooked on purchasing the book. It’s entitled The Ultimate Blogger’s SEO Blueprint and it looks like 211 pages of enjoyable information. I’m guessing if anyone can make SEO come alive for the reader, it’s Angela. So, I’m definitely looking forward to this read. However, it’ll have to wait until after the challenge ends. I have too much finish-up work to do before starting something new.
Practical Application of Day 25 for Your Life: I don’t know about you, but it feels good to get things crossed off my list of to-dos. Why spend time starting things you’re not going to finish? Such an unfinished state is reminiscent of wasted time and energy and empty promises. And, that’s not the state that I intend to settle into.
I want to be found working toward the achievements that lead toward my successes in life. And sure, there’ll be those pesky tasks that get in the way of my progress to that success, but I’m learning to view them more as stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks.
I firmly believe that there are very profound reasons that we go through some of the things we go through to reach progress in life. And even the not-so-fun parts of growth and development along the journey are a means to reaching the end result we’re ultimately looking for.
So, I will continue to move forward, taking one step right after another until I reach my goal destinations. What about you?
degreesofmaternity.com 