Reflections of Blog Goals 2013

Almost 4 months has passed since last year ended, and I was thinking of skipping a reflections of the blog goals I made in 2013 all together, but then, what's the point of making goals and not seeing how far you've come? Writing this also gives me a good opportunity to reminisce on the time that passed by :)

2013 was about stepping out of my box and breaking boundaries, to challenge myself and my blog.

1. Step-Out with Action
I wanted to more be outgoing and reach out to work with people, brands or organisations that I admire. From the beginning of the year, I had a little project, Joys of Parenting, where I approached random strangers on the street to ask them what they loved most about being a parent. It wasn't easy but I'm glad that I managed to complete it for 52 weeks!

As not many dads were forthcoming in wanting to write a guest post in Celebrate Fatherhood series, I had to pitch the idea to complete strangers {e.g. Daddy Wayne}, ask my mummy friends to help me ask their hubbies {thanks Daddy Adrian & Daddy David!} or even the owners or the brands {e.g. Daddy Guillaume} who approached me to work on other projects haha.  

Also, as there was more focus on health and fitness in our lives, I also approached brands that gave us the opportunity to run in Safari Zoo Run 2013 {we did it again in 2014} and Energizer Night Trail Singapore 2013. I would love to do this more with other brands, and there are a few other projects I have in mind but haven't had time to execute. Hopefully, with me being more willing to propose projects, I can continue on this year too.

2. Step-Out with Heart
We've donated to some charities off the blog and on it, I worked with small local shops like Precious Junior and Mama Shoppe to build their online presence and raise awareness on their charity work. I also hope that I inspired others to see the rewards of a simple life when raising kids and live healthier with the start of my Fitness Diary on the blog and on Instagram.

I can certainly do more in stepping out with my heart. Some of the mums I know have started a little project to craft and raise money for Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore {MINDS} and I recently found out about Mom Bloggers for Social Good which I'd like to look more into. I'm also thinking of how to help my friend, Shannon, raise funds for the less fortunate and needy among us as she runs marathons.

3. Step-Out with Mind
I reckon I was more daring in opening my mind to accepting blog projects that I usually wouldn't. For one, I tried out Restylane dermal fillers on my face. I'm quite particular about health/ aesthetics services because I'm scared I'd have a horrific reaction to a treatment and I already have trusted health/ aesthetics clinics that I attend regularly. However, I've known Dr Kang for a while now and trust his services so accepted this when he asked.

Sometimes other than lack of time and interest, I think I don't take up projects because of fear. Fear that I might not have the technical know-how or specialisation skills to share the product / service properly with my readers. This is quite apparent when I touch on technology as I still think I'm quite a tech noob so can't write deep stuff about it :P However, I did review the Foscam Wireless IP Camera as it'd be very useful in our home. I'm slowly getting my head around that if the brands trust me enough to approach me, then I should have more faith in myself to at least give it a go, and write about the service/ product in a way that I know how and fits with my blog. 

My writing doesn't just involve projects with brands but also my personal projects too, like my Go Local series, where I feature some unique & heritage-filled places in Singapore. I had open my mind to new experiences, step out of my comfort zone and explore the paths less trodden. Singapore is changing rapidly and I want to document Singapore for my memory, and for Lil Pumpkin.

It's been an eventful 2013, and one that I'm very grateful for it was the first time I won the Best Family Award in the prestigious Singapore Blog Awards. All these blog goals that I set for myself are long-term ones. Even those from 2012. They are just signs pointing me in the right direction for my blogging journey and aren't the destination.

What will 2014 hold? I'm not sure but I have my Blog Goals for 2014 ready. I'll let you know about them in a week or two after I return from Shanghai this weekend :P

Have you made any blog goals this year?

I Blog on Tues with Essentially Jess. 

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