Well, that's it, the year is nearly half over. The summer is here (I hope it's a cool one, as I don't care much for the heat), and with it, it's time to look back over my goals for the year and see how I'm doing on completing them. I reviewed them back at the end of March, and was falling behind on quite a few of them. I've been trying to do my best in the months since then to do better, but as with most things worth doing, it's been quite an exercise.
So, to help gauge my progress and motivate myself to keep at these goals, here, again, is how I'm doing on my goals:
Roger's Resolution Rundown
Resolution #1: Write At Least One Post Per Day
Comments: I'm about two months behind in my one-post-per-day goals. Still, that comes out to about four to five posts a week, which seems pretty reasonable for most blogging goals. If I can do two posts a day for the rest of the summer, I'll be caught up (and if I can keep it up through September, I'll be well ahead of the game).
Grade: C+: It's a pretty lofty goal, but I'm not doing that badly at reaching it, and I'm going to try to be even better in the coming months.
Resolution #2: Write At Least One Guest Post Per Week
Comments: This is easily one of my worst resolutions. As of my last update, I had written two guest posts this year, and as of this update, I've written…two guest posts this year. If there's any area to which I should devote more of those posts I mentioned in Resolution #1, it's guest posts.
Grade: F: Yup, I'm definitely failing on this resolution. I need a lot more effort in this area, including more posts on the Yakezie website.
Resolution #3: Promote My Blog In More Places
Comments: Well, I've been doing better in this area; I hosted the Yakezie Carnival just last week, I've been consistently submitting my blogs to other carnivals, and I've been trying to interact more with my fellow bloggers. I still need to do more work, but if I have more months like this June, I won't be doing bad at all.
Grade: B- : Definitely a good start at this resolution, but more effort is needed to truly ace this goal.
Resolutions #4 & #5: Read At Least 50 Blog Posts Per Day & Comment On 10 of Them
Comments: Well, not too much good news to report here. I'm still quite a bit behind my commenting goals. I'll need to work harder to comment on all the great bloggers there are out there.
Grade: F : There's really no way to sugarcoat this: I have fallen way behind on my commenting goals. I'll need to do better to boost my ‘grade'.
Resolution #6: Pay Down My Credit Card Balances
Comments: A heaping helping of bad news here. My credit card debt is still quite substantial, in spite of repeated attempts to pay it down as I've taken out more money in student loans. So, not only is my credit debt hovering near the highest it's ever been, but I'm adding a sizable amount of student loan debt on top. Not a good progression.
Grade: D- : I definitely need to rethink how I use my credit, and make more of an effort to cut down on my credit card debt. (Granted, it doesn't help that my pay is about a third lower during the summer, meaning I barely have enough income to pay my rent and other necessities, but still, there's definitely still fat to trim in my credit card spending.)
Resolution #7: Create at Least Three More Sources of Income
Comments: Good news: My blog is as profitable and successful as it's ever been, and only likely to keep improving. Bad news: I haven't had much time to work on other alternate income sources. Still, as we'll see with my next resolution, perhaps focusing on my blog is not a bad idea…
Grade: C- : I'm doing somewhat alright, but I'm at least two income sources short of a full alternate income portfolio. Luckily, the summer gives me some time to put some of my new ideas into action…
Resolution #8: Generate At Least $1000 Per Month in Alternate Income
Comments: I'm actually doing pretty well here; this quarter, I've gotten at least $100 in blogging income each month, and in April, I actually cleared $800. A few more months like that, and I'd be making more blogging than I do as a graduate student.
Grade: B+ : I'm actually doing nearly as well with this as I was hoping to do at the beginning of the year. If I do better on creating a few other sources of income (my big summer project), I should hopefully be clearing $1000 a month, every month, by the end of the year.
Resolution #9: Go to the Gym At Least Twice a Week
Comments: Mostly good news here. I missed a few trips while I was finishing the semester or feeling sick, but I've gone (at least) twice a week for the past few months. If I can keep it up, I'll be as fit as Charles Atlas by the end of the year.
Grade: A- : Not too shabby, not too shabby. If I can be a bit more consistent and continue to build up my strength and stamina, I'll be an inhumanly strong machine by the end of the year.
Resolution #10: Reconnect with My Old High School and College Friends
Comments: Well, I'm still staying in touch with people (Facebook is a great tool for reconnecting), although the class reunion I mentioned in the last update seems to have fallen through. (Trying to organize people you haven't seen for a decade via the computer is a bit like herding cats.) I'll have to keep trying, and perhaps set up some individual meetings with some of my old friends.
Grade: B : Well, it's a mixed bag. I'm still connecting with old friends online, but getting together in real life is proving to be troublesome. Still, it's nice to know that so many of them are doing alright, starting families and doing well at work.
Overall: C- A little bit better than I was doing at the end of last quarter, but still plenty of room for improvement. With luck (and lots of effort), the next update I'll have a head of the class grade to report.
