Changing Priorities: A Year-End Reflection

A year end reflection

Last year at about this time I wrote a blog post about…

…how I spend the last week of every year (as I have for many years) in quiet reflection on what I’ve accomplished during the year that’s just passed…

…did I meet all of my goals? Some of them? Am I happy with how the year went? What would I have changed or improved, if I could?

At the same time I also think about the coming year, and what goals I’ll set for myself (trying of course to be realistic, but not always succeeding at it)…..there’s nothing worse than setting myself up for failure when success is so much more conducive to health and happiness.

What goals will you set for the coming year?

I’ve decided to make this an annual post – the last one of each year – to share with all of you who participate in this with this wonderful community of writers, that I’m blessed to be a part of, my thoughts on where the ending year has taken me professionally and where I hope the new year will lead me.

I’ve also decided that instead of making specific resolutions (that can sometimes be hard to keep), I’ll choose a “theme” for the coming year to light my way and help me stay focused on my goals.

Last year at this time I thought mostly about inspiration — where I sought and found it, how it effected what I did and wrote about in 2010, and what I was hoping would inspire me for 2011.

This year what’s foremost in my mind is priorities……2011 was a very tough year for me professionally, with unexpectedly shifting priorities and continually changing goals.

While I am adaptable and can generally deal with whatever comes my way, there’s still only one of me and only so much I can do. I’d rather do one job really well than do three mediocre jobs. Unfortunately I lost sight of this in 2011.

Opportunities came and went, many I accepted, some I accepted and shouldn’t have, and some I was unable to accept…..I overestimated my abilities and overextended myself a few times…..but we’ve all been there, yes? Everyone I know seems to be busier and stretched in more directions than ever before.

The hardest thing for me this past year was having to shift my focus away from TWE, which is where my heart lives, in order to take care of those things that paid the bills……but I imagine that many of you have been in that boat too.

So this week will be one of planning for me, as I’m resolved to do a better job with my time and attention in 2012, and focus only on opportunities that achieve one (or both) of two objectives; either pay my bills, or benefit our community here at TWE. That doesn’t mean I won’t still occasionally have some fun, but it means I’ll be letting go of a few responsibilities that don’t meet those goals.

For 2012 I’m choosing the theme of “Priorities”. My occasional blog posts throughout the year will incorporate this theme, in ways intended to be useful to all of you, with my hope that it will inspire you in choosing your own priorities, and help you to achieve your own goals, whether they be about writing, editing, or publishing.

Since my intention for this coming year is to do more to help you, I invite you to share with me your own goals and aspirations…..and to let me know what we at TWE can provide you with to help you with your goals.

~ Trisha

About Trisha Miller 116 Articles
Trisha Miller Editor-in-Chief, TravelWritersExchange.com - Trisha joined the Travel Industry in 1996 with a background in telecommunications and helped to build (and later sell) one of the industry's top inbound call centers specializing in air travel. Her career in Travel Writing began with creating destination-specific content for a corporate travel intranet, and continued as she contributed content to a large number of travel-related companies that were establishing an online presence throughout the late '90's and early '00's. Currently she is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, and a former Board Member of the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (2009-2015).  Still a frequent world traveler, and occasional guest-blogger on a number of other Travel Blogs, Trisha writes about travel and technology, sometimes both at the same time. You can follow Trisha on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/TravelWriting

8 Comments

  1. It’s been a quiet year without you, Trisha, but I know you were really busy. I’m looking forward to seeing more of you on TWE this year. As for me, I actually sat down and put together a true business plan for this coming year with a number of goals that reflect both travel writing but also all the other writing projects that I love but haven’t really focused on. It’s not all about making money, and I need to remember that in 2012.

    • Thanks JoAnna – Brava to you for putting together a business plan, everyone should have one and I’m sure it will help you stay focused this year. I totally agree that it’s not all about making money, a couple of the things I’m rearranging my schedule to make time for in 2012 will not bring in any income but will make me happy, and I’ve taken a vow to do more things to make myself happy this year. :-)

  2. Good luck with everything in 2012. I agree with Joanna, there is definitely a large void in the Travel community without you this year, but we think of you often and look forward to more TWE in 2012. Our goal is to have better time management. We have to learn to have fun, work and still make time for friends and family. It can be very difficult to have it all, but we’re going to try our best. Wishing you success and happiness in the coming year.

    • Thank you Deb! I appreciate your support as always, and am looking forward to having more time to keep up with your and Dave’s adventures this coming year. I need to work on my own time management, so if you discover any worthwhile tips please share them! I wish you both much success and happiness as well. :-)

  3. I was lucky enough to find your blog one week ago and so far it’s been both encouraging and enlightening. My husband and I are planning to move abroad in 2012 and my desire this year is to cultivate my writing. I’m attending my first writing workshop in February, writing everyday, and planning a travel blog. Thank you for all the help.

    • Hi Erin – sorry for the delay in responding, I’ve been off gallivanting again!

      Thanks for your kind words about TWE – I’m glad that you’re finding something useful here. If you haven’t already read the Case Study we did some time ago, you should as there is a lot of good info there on starting a travel blog….you can find the case study posts by clicking on the Case Studies link in the Topics section of the footer below – remember they’re in reverse order, so be sure to start at the beginning and read going forward. :-)

      Good luck and I hope it works out well for you both!

  4. I miss my horseback riding buddy and travel blog mentor. Priorities is a wonderful theme for 2012.

    My goal for 2012 and going forward is to be able to continue travel writing and increase revenue from both of my blogs.

    As always, thanks for your inspiration and positive outlook on everything.

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