New Year's Blogging Resolutions | Emily Villere Dixon

I made my ownNew Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the month, but I wanted to come up with a second list that is purely blog related. I am a fan of making lists for any and everything, so this is another way I can remember what I set out to do. I have been “blogging” for a little over a year now and find something new about it every single day. Now that I am finished with grad school, I can use those extra free hours each week to devote to this blog and website. Here are my blogging resolutions for 2017!

Get Ahead Of Posts
One of the things that always gets me is trying to write, edit pictures and put everything together the day I want to publish a post. By organizing my week and getting ahead, I feel like I will be able to eliminate the stress of blogging. I love to plan and map things out, but my hectic work schedule sometimes doesn’t allow for that. If I can consistently get ahead and have posts and pictures stocked up and ready to go, I will feel better and have more fun blogging. Full disclaimer: I am writing this post the day that I am posting it, because I worked over 30 hours this past weekend and did not have any free time. This will be a work in progress!

Update Social Media Channels
Each time I think of something that I need to do while reading other blogs, I make a list in the notes on my phone or on a good ole’ Post-It note. A lot of times each item on my list is a task that will take a good amount of time to accomplish. This year, when I think about pinning all of my posts on Pinterest or updating my YouTube channel, I am going to block out a day or week or whatever I need to concentrate on one social media channel at a time. I’m not successful if I try to do it all at once, so I need to plan out my tasks based on the amount of time I need to dedicate to each one. Focusing on a channel each week will help me stay concentrated on one thing at a time and with making every space cohesive.

Learn My Camera
I received my Canon DSLR as a Christmas gift a few years ago with the intentions of learning photography during my “free time”. Shea and I bring the camera everywhere with us and are always taking pictures, especially now for the blog, but I haven’t taken the time to properly learn the ins and outs of it. I want to really get to know my settings, the best time and place to take pictures and all of the other details to make our pictures look nicer. These pictures were clearly taken in the wrong lighting situation, but again full disclosure, we took them after brunching for a few hours after more than a few mimosas! I really like this out fit and still wanted to share it with y’all.

Have Fun On Social Media
I love this blog, but it is not my full-time job or even my part-time job right now. I want to spend more time on it, but the reality is that my real job (you know, the one that pays the bills) takes up the majority of my life. I need to look at Instagram and blogging as fun again and not use it as a platform to compare myself and my work to other people out there. I have met some of the ladies behind local brands in Baton Rouge through Instagram and realized how fun that part of social media can be. It is a great way to meet new people in your community who have shared interests.

Remember Why I Started Blogging
I did not start blogging to become a fashion expert or receive free clothing items. I started this blog because I frequently have young women ask me about my life in sports. That paired with my love of all things local and a passion for fashion are what make this blog unique. I need to constantly remind myself to stay true to that. There is a way to be able to mix all of my interests while being unique and myself in this whole blogging thing.