Hello, 2015!
Whew! I can hardly remember what I last wrote about. It feels like I was making Christmas cookies ages ago. Since then, we’ve been to Niagara for a wonderful Christmas with my family. The weather was so mild that I was able to go running outside. I loved it. The Canadians? Not so much.
A week later, we were driving up to Muskoka on New Years Eve in the worst snow storm I’ve ever experienced on the road. When we finally arrived, we all hunkered down, rang in the New Year, and spent lots of time eating and visiting with S’s family.
Waking up to a winter wonderland in 2015
We drove back yesterday and I think we’re both still processing everything as we try to get back to a routine. I know I feel a bit of the holiday hangover. So much good food and family and visiting, but it never feels like we’ve slowed down enough to appreciate it and soak it all in.
At the same time, I’m so excited to start a new year. I like that January feels like a clean slate. I like being able to look back, reflect, and set new goals for the year ahead.
I already know that it’s going to a year of big life changes and adventure. S and I are getting married and going on what is shaping up to be a wonderful honeymoon.
I’d love to make it a big year for Histoire Travel, too. So I decided to take some time today and do a little planning and goal-setting for 2015.
Intention
Last year I decided to forgo any resolutions. Instead, I took a page from my favorite yoga instructors and set an intention: Let Go. I returned to those words throughout the year whenever I got frustrated or my inner control freak wanted to throw a hissy fit. I didn’t become a zen master, but it worked so well that I decided to set another intention this year: Be Fearless.
5 Goals
I’m keeping them simple and actionable. It’s going to be a very busy year and I wan to keep focused on moving forward slowly but surely.
1. Finish the Versailles Vignette Guide
I’m prioritizing this for the year. I have a feeling it’s never going to feel perfect or “done” to me. I’m always going to want to make it more concise or do more research or edit one more time or find one more resource or. . .At some point, I just need to stop put it out there!
2. Write less (but more)
My goal last year was to be more consistent with my blogging. I worked really hard to make that happen and learned a lot in the process. I realized that I tend to be a wordy, slow writer.
This year I’m challenging myself with a word count limit of 500 words for awhile to see if that helps tighten things up. I think it will help me write more often in the end. I want to be able to free up some time to work on the guide/other projects without letting the blog go.
Considering my wordcount right now is 526 (before edits) and I’m only on my second goal, I think this is a worthy challenge!
3. Plan ahead
I’m going to sit down on the last week of each month and plan out my blog posts, research, and projects so I’m not left scrambling for something to write about at the last minute. Along with this, I'm going to continue keeping office hours. I started doing this about halfway through the year last year and it was excellent for keeping me on track.
4. Have fun
Read more, research more, learn more, be curious, try new things on the site, write lots, play, get inspired. . .just have fun with all of this. If I'm having fun, you're having fun (that's my hope!).
5. Get Social
I focused so much on writing last year that I neglected my social media accounts. I’d like to spend a little more time figuring out the best platforms for Histoire Travel (like Pinterest!), focus on updating them regularly, make connections, and enjoy it. Meaningful social media is the goal!
That’s what you can expect from me and Histoire Travel in 2015. It’s always a work in progress and I’m always trying to get better. My biggest goal is to put interesting, helpful, and fun content out there for lovers of history, travel, and food.
Here’s to a happy, healthy, adventurous, travel-filled, wonderful 2015 to you and yours!