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Multiple times a week I do research on the internet on how I can improve this website. I’m searching for ways to increase my traffic, make it user friendly, ideas for great content, how to keep it organized and from getting too cluttered and a million other things. A lot of the time when I am doing these searches and start to find some of the answers I want, I start to panic and feel overwhelmed. How am I ever going to implement all of these tools? And then I tell myself to “get a grip.” In fact this morning I was pacing the kitchen telling myself “Get a grip Stefanie, you can do this!”

It is easy to get overwhelmed with a lot of new information. The cogs in my brain start turning a million times a minute and that leads up to the moment when I need to calm myself down. Everything cannot be accomplished right now, and results will not happen over night. I know these things in my head, but emotionally not so much! Here are a couple of tips I want to share with you (and write down to remember myself) for your “get a grip” moments!

1. Write it down! Have a notebook handy (preferably one that is designated for your ideas, or one that contains important information so it won’t get easily lost) and write your ideas, or search results down! You may have a moment of inspiration on whatever project you are working on and it would benefit you greatly to write it down immediately rather than trying to remember it later! Also, I find once I write it down, my brain can slow down a little because I know I have the information on paper.
2. Make a plan of action! Once you have it all written down perhaps you want to make a list of the items you want to work on. It always helps to have a plan in place for accomplishing tasks!
3. Set small, attainable goals! Chances are if you have a bunch of plans and you’ve made a list of what you want to accomplish they are all pointing towards the big picture. Now it is time to take that big picture and break it down. The big picture is overwhelming, but little chunks of that pictures seem completely do-able. If you set little goals that lead to a major goal you will have an easier time accomplishing that goal and staying on task.
4. Weigh your options. Just because you want something doesn’t mean you can actually have it. You have to weigh your options and figure out if what you want really is best. For example, there are a couple programs I would like to try on my website and I think they would really increase traffic and my stats, but for $147 it isn’t realistic for me right now. Perhaps it would be wise to try other options, or keep that idea stored away until a more reasonable time.
5. Lastly, reward yourself! When you have done a good job and accomplished one of your smaller goals, make sure to reward yourself. That doesn’t mean go buy a car because you hit 1000 visitors in a day, you should pick a reward that is proportionate to your goal. So if your goal was that you hit 1000 visitors in a day perhaps you reward yourself with a new template, or finally get that customize blog button you’ve been wanting. Some rewards for small goals and larger rewards for larger goals. If you don’t feel like you need a reward because attaining the goal is reward enough, more power to you!

After all the information I gathered this morning, it is now time to implement my strategy. I am going to go make a plan of action with some small goals from the information I gathered. This all seems so familiar from talking about goals earlier this year. I’m excited for you to see some of the things I will be implementing into the blog in the near future!

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