Last Updated on February 18, 2024

Another year and another chance to do everything right

Yet another year and YET another chance to do everything right! I hope you did well on achieving that goal in 2020. It was a messed up year. A lot of adjustments. A lot of home office. A lot of sickness and loss.

Chances are we will stick to our new years resolutions as long as the bubbles last in the bottle of champagne we opened on New Year’s Day. We shouldn’t let that get us down. Certainly looking back over the year I can pat myself on the back for a few small steps forward.

I published three books in 2020 – two novels and one textbook – and met some new and really great clients. I was lucky enough to not have anyone in my family contract COVID – and only one friend who did. However yet another year has passed and I never did learn mysql properly, or get to Paris, and I am still on facebook – even if just to rant. I lost about 10 000 euro in cancelled classes due to COVID, but, I guess it could have ben a lot worse, so I am thankful.

It’s important to consider not only personal resolutions, but also those for the home/workplace. We spend most of our day working, so I have not neglected resolutions for the HomeOffice. For 2021 then I will try to stay real, and build on my successes. As they say – don’t think about what you have done, think about what you will do!

80% of resolutions normally fail by the second week of February, so the odds are against us. How did I do with my resolutions from last year, and do I have any new resolutions? See for yourself below. How did YOU do in your 2020 Resolutions?

Resolution #1 Go to Paris (*I went to Munich and it was NOT fun travelling)
I think most resolutions fail because they are too far out of reach. Bench press 300, marry the Head of Client Services, buy a Ferrari. I mean, it’s important to challenge yourself – no pain no gain – but a few low hanging fruit are important to start with for sake of motivation. I haven’t been to Paris for more than 10 years. I don’t see myself getting there in 2021. HOWEVER I will keep it on the list.

Resolution #2 REALLY Master Google Ads (*not yet but really REALLY on it!)
Starting to need a step ladder for this one. While I have used Google Ads for many years, and was certified, I really want to make this tool work for me rather than the other way round. I will block specific time each day to get as comfortable with Google Ads as I am with the cappuccino machine. This is what I have said for the past two years, and while I DO feel more confident, I am still not where I want to be.

Resolution #3 Get Back Together with Drupal (*no, this never happened. I am still teaching and working in WordPress.)
I’ve worked with Drupal since 2011, but then a little less each year. In 2018 there was only one site in my stable of clients still in Drupal. Now all sites I manage are in WordPress. I guess it appears I am a WordPress guy.

Resolution #4 Get Less Social (*big fail – really REALLY big fail!)
I know we all think the world revolves around us, and our followers can’t wait to find out what we ate for dinner, or the great sweater we bought, but it really isn’t true. I’m going to see if I can spend less time talking to myself via social media and more time on learning another language, or memorising the names of my friend’s children. Alas this 2018 through 2020 resolution will probably hold for 2021. I DO feel less inspired by instagram than I did a year ago so I believe there IS hope. I’m not on Pinterest much at all if that counts.

Resolution #5 Understand the Entire Customer Journey (*this was a trick resolution in the event anyone believes that possible, BUT as I am teaching Online Marketing now I am much more in tune than I was a year ago.)
Oh this is a funny one. What IS the Customer Journey anyway? If you are like me this buzzword peeps up in every meeting and project plan. However it isn’t like Understanding Sugar, or Understanding Quantum Physics. It isn’t static. It’s something unique for every product, every medium, every day of the week. It will be very important to marry this resolution with #6. I think this is still a keeper :o)

“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.” Anais Nin

Resolution #6 Create More Data Driven Content (*still trying, but definitely still a vertical.)
Oh yes. Creating effective, relevant, and useful content that answers the needs of the users. This obvious need is not always self-evident, and I will be trying to combine adwords, analytics, and sales results with market trends on a week for week basis. People only read a few words of the content we produce, and they want it in CONTEXT. So these words should be clickable for anyone in my business. To be honest I am very much a hands on gut – driven person and will probably remain so.

Resolution #7 Learn to Love Gutenberg … (*mostly failed in 2020, but much less angry going forward)
If you are like me, WordPress 5 really had me over a barrel – even though I tried out Gutenberg for many months prior to the final release, and have been into WordPress for the last decade. All I can say is – was this REALLY necessary? I am clicking more, scrolling more … spending more time interacting with the tool than I am with the content. That can’t be good. Now I am teaching almost fulltime, I find Gutenberg is much easier for my students to grasp. Basic HTML just does NOT seem to be most people’s liebling. So, I will call this resolution a success!

Resolution #8 Collaborate and Coordinate with Sales (*I DID do this, but was not so happy with the results)
Another obvious one you might think, but you might also know from experience that these two departments are very siloed. Much like service and kitchen staff never see the same restaurant they are working in, Sales and Marketing often see things from different perspectives. Time to understand what the other hand is doing! I would call this a pass – especially in my teaching, understanding and working over silos is really necessary.

Resolution #9 Make More Time for Self-Improvement (*on the fence here as the gyms are still closed)
Indeed. As often as we say we will take time out for ourselves, it never seems to happen. Every time we say we will learn French, or go to the gym, or learn Python – it just seems to get lost in the shuffle of the day. There should be enough time for improvement each and every week. I will never become a better person, but I reeeeally would like to learn something new. In 2020 I began the new Google Career course on IT Support, which is something that I really want to better understand. In addition, I dusted of my youtube account and began using videos as part of my marketing.

Resolution #10 Buy an Entire Outfit (*not even tried yet)
I think, if we start with a low hanging fruit, we should end with one. This might seem like an odd resolution, but I have a history of buying shirts and pants and shoes and sweaters, and even sports coats INDIVIDUALLY. Then I get home and realise that I have nothing to go with the item I purchased. This seems to work well for movie stars – a mix matched bag of thrift shop throw togethers – but they never seem to come together for me. In 2020 this STILL never happened. I am not a entire outfit kind of person :o) and, we’re all working from home so who even needs pants?

NEW Resolution #11 Learn Better German (*odd one so bear with me)
This is probably still my biggest fail, though my Digital Thinking book will be released in German, probably shortly after I publish this post. I have lived in Germany since 1992, but my German is at a very basic level. Mostly this is because all my employers speak English, and German is something I only really needed in a shop or cafe – where the staff are only too eager to practice their own English! This year I am teaching almost full-time, so I do wish my German was at a higher level. I think if I keep that up, and continue writing German lesson plans et al. I might get to where I want to be. :o) In fact, there is no time like the present to begin living my resolution!

„Websites, Online-Marketing, und digitale Visionen“, richtet sich an alle Unternehmer, die verstehen möchten, wie sich Digital- Kompetenz auf ihr Geschäft aber auch ihr privates Leben auswirken kann. Dies ist kein weiteres trendiges „How to“-Buch; es ist ein Buch, das neue Perspektiven sichtbar macht. Es soll ihnen u.a. helfen zu sehen, wo Ihre Kunden heute sind und wahrscheinlich morgen sein werden. Das Wesen des Internets und der Digitalisierung sind die Verbindungen. Von Inhalten aber vor allem von Menschen um möglichst vielen von ihnen neue Chancen zu eröffnen.

Digital Thinking Buch – hier klicken und mehr erfahren

I will let you know at the end of the year how I did with everything. ;o) Have a simply great year, stay safe! and stay healthy.