Happy New Year!!

I really enjoy this time of year. For one, I indulge in the most amount of sweets during the holidays than at any other point of the year. Secondly, the New Year provides a wonderful time to reflect on the past twelve months and to envision what you would like the next twelve months to look like.

So, I thought I would do just that in this post (my first in several months): review my goals from 2019 and set some new goals for 2020.

Review of 2019 Goals

  1. Launch my website. Back in the fall of 2018, I worked with a company to help me with my branding. They helped me to design a logo (which you can see in this email), design new business cards, take professional quality photos, and launch my website. Everything, except for launching my website, was completed by the end of 2018. The only reason why the site wasn’t launched is that the developers were waiting on step #2 below.
  2. Complete an ebook on balance for subscribers to my website. The primary reason for failing to launch my site in 2019 was because I kept procrastinating on my ebook on the PROMISE wheel – my acronym for the areas of a balanced life. But, I’m happy to say that in early December 2019 my ebook (about 2,000 words) was sent out for graphic design. I’m just a few weeks away from giving you a copy. 
  3. Publish 24 blog posts. My goal for 2019 was to release two posts per month. Since this is the first post in about nine months, well, I didn’t do a great job of sticking with this goal. In fact, I only managed to write four posts in 2019 and ten posts in 2018. In 2020, I’ll have to set a more realistic and achievable writing goal.
  4. Dr. Richie in 60 YouTube videos. Back in late 2018, I started my YouTube channel. My goal is to produce short, 60-second (or close to it) videos on topics in psychology and mind-body health. I managed to produce 14 episodes between October 2018 to March 2019. Similar to blogging, I’ll have to change up this goal for 2020 to make it more realistic. 

Looking ahead to 2020

Now that 2019 is behind me, here’s what I’m planning for 2020.

  1. More regular engagement with readers on FB. I keep getting automated messages from Facebook stating, “Your readers haven’t heard from you in a while…” My goal for 2020 is to be more engaged with my FB group by sharing one new article per week from the field of psychology.
  2. More blogging — 12 posts per year, or one article per month. As frustrating and challenging as writing can be for me, it’s still something I really enjoy. I especially enjoy connecting with you, the reader and subscribers to my blog. I think 12 posts per year is doable, but still challenging enough to be outside my comfort zone.
  3. One “Dr. Richie in 60” video per month. For my birthday, my wife gave me a camera and lighting kit for streaming and uploading videos. My goal is to put this to good use in 2020.
  4. Complete my manuscript for Straighten Your Wheel. Other than a few people, most people don’t know that I’ve been working on a book for the past seven years. My pattern is this: work on it for several weeks at a time, then completely avoid it for several months in a row. Rinse and repeat. I’ve completed 80% of my word count goal. I plan on completing the next 20% this year.
  5. Do a FB live webinar on the topic of balanced living. I’m getting a little more comfortable in front of the camera. The next step is to host something live for readers and subscribers. I’ll keep you posted on when I plan on doing this.

I feel like I’ve set some lofty goals for myself for 2020. But I also feel they’re attainable. You’ll have an idea of how I’m doing on my journey based on what you receive in your Inboxes.

What are your goals for 2020? What’s your process of goal-setting? I’d love to hear about it.

Here’s to a fantastic year for all of us!