Blog Goals for 2020

Theme for 2020: Mindfulness

I’ve got a lot of big plans for the blog this year, but it all boils down to the way I really want to feel and my personal priorities. I want to feel mindful, present, and connected, rather than my normal “distracted, distant, and disconnected.” I want to feel sensual, inspired, and restored (for more information on how I narrowed my “core desired feelings” down to these, see Desire Mapping.)

I’m a planner by necessity.  In order to organize my thoughts, I have to plan. And to plan, I have to consider my priorities (relationships and health). From there, I have to list everything that must or should get done (gotta work and do chores), along with all the things I’d like to do (a little fun from time to time).

So, it starts with a jumbled to-do list in my head. And then I categorize that craziness into Google Keep. I color code those lists and put the most important ones at the top (wellness, marriage, writing). From there, I decide what is most important for this year, this month, this week, today…right now, all the while referring back to my priorities and “core desired feelings.”

Because the idea is that most of what I do should make me feel the way I want to feel. And if it doesn’t, I’m not doing what I should be doing.

In theory it works beautifully. I’m not very good at it, though. I tend to work all day and then focus on errand and chores, leaving little to no time for things that actually make me feel connected, sensual, inspired, and restored. I get better at it every year, though…very, very slowly. Basically, I get it backwards. I do all the things that I feel have to be done first, leaving no time for the things I want or need to do to keep my relationships thriving and my own mental and physical well-being in check.

I have whittled my chore list down to the bare essentials, and I’ve promised myself to only work when I’m at work (they get me from 7:30-4…and that is it). It still doesn’t leave enough time to do everything, but I’ve promised myself that my marriage (and family) and my blog will be my top priorities this year.

Blog Features

Since my theme for 2020 is mindfulness, I’m introducing two new weekly features: Mindfulness Monday and Lessons from the Mat.

I’ve also updated my About link for the upcoming year and polished my site up a bit, adding badges for my new (and old features).

I’ll continue doing sex toy reviews (but on Sundays only – for Sex Toy Sunday). And The Erotic Journal Challenge will be coming back for a second year with monthly prompts! I’ll focus on EJC maintenance on Saturdays and post new prompts the first of each month.

This means I am generating original content for my own features on the website Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, plus hosting a monthly meme.

I will rotate writing for various of my favorite memes (see the link list in the footer) as I have time and impetus, but I’ll continue to take Fridays off, as usual. I also plan to take part in January Jump Start, February Photofest, Every Damn Day in June, and to come up with a month-long challenge for September, as that is always my hardest month to write.

Supporting Others

I’m not very good at keeping up with Share Our Shit Saturday, so instead, I’ll be maintaining #coffeerotica on Twitter. This is where I share what I’m reading in the morning with my coffee. I’m more likely to share more often by doing it this way, so I feel pretty good about it. I’ll create one #SoSS post at the end of the month from these items shared on Twitter.

Smut Marathon

I will also continue as a jury member for Smut Marathon 2020! I’m very excited about this, as I enjoyed it this year. It takes a lot of time and commitment to read and comment and select the best writing from each round, but I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with this year.

Podcast

I plan to build Brigit’s Erotic Bedtime Stories up a lot better than I’ve been doing. This will mean purchasing a domain, designing the podcast site, and working on advertising and sponsors…which leads me to…

Business & Advertising

I’m gonna have to get a business license, a PO Box, a personalized logo (which I’m working on), and start building up the advertising on my site. I’ve had several opportunities for it this year, but without the business license, I’ve been unable to do all that I’ve wanted to do.

Publishing

I’m keeping this goal small…since I’m working on so many other things. No need to overextend myself, so I’m just planning to keep up with my monthly E[lust] submissions for now.