Last Updated on May 22, 2023

Creating effective, relevant, and useful content that answers the needs of the users

Another year and another chance to do everything right. 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 we can pat ourselves on the back for a few small steps forward.

We are still going to the gym, eating less meat but of a better quality, we have a new job in a new city, have acquired no credit card debt, and we haven’t accidentally become pregnant. Right? However we still probably never really learned mysql properly, and might still be on facebook even if just to rant.

It’s important to consider not only personal resolutions, but also those for the workplace. We spend most of our day working, so I have not neglected resolutions for the Office. For 2019 then let’s stay real, and build on our successes!

*update 03.03.2019 80% of resolutions normally fail by the second week of February, so the odds are against us. How did I do so far? See for yourself below. 5 out of 10 I am working on very hard. 3 of them were simply wishful thinking, so I give myself a 30 to 40% failure rate. How did YOU do? :o)

Resolution #1 Go to Paris (*went to Prague instead)
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, but I am scheduled to go there at the end of January for a project meeting. ;o)

Resolution #2 REALLY Master Google Ads (*not yet but on it!)
Starting to need a step ladder for this one. While I have used Google Ads for many years, and am 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.

Resolution #3 Get Back Together with Drupal (*slowly, but yes)
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. Most sites I manage are now in WordPress. I have some new and more challenging projects in 2019 which are all Drupal based. Drupal is going to move into version 9 in 2020 as well. So, I will be turning my radar towards Drupal much more in the coming quarter.

Resolution #4 Get Less Social (*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.

Resolution #5 Understand the Entire Customer Journey (*this was a trick resolution in the event anyone believes that possible)
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. So, It will be very important to marry this resolution with #6.

“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 (*trying, but 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.

Resolution #7 Learn to Love Gutenberg … (*failing)
If you are like me, WordPress 5 really has me over a barrel – even though I tried out Gutenberg for many months prior to the finaly 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.

Resolution #8 Collaborate and Coordinate with Sales (*trying)
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!

Resolution #9 Make More Time for Self-Improvement (*failing)
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. Each day I commute two hours – and on the weekends 12. 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.

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.

I will let you know at the end of the year how I did. ;o) Have a great year!