February Wrap-Up

Long-term Goal: 26 / 28 Days, or 93% (6% higher than January)

Short-term Goals: 54 total, averaging 1.93 per day (0.33 less average per day)

Daily Goals: 380 / 476, which is 80% (6% higher than January)

The long-term goal for February was a website. I envisioned the month broken down into: 

1. Learn about the different hosting companies

2. Purchase 1-year of hosting

3. Learn my way around the site builder tools

4. Build a basic site: landing page, about page, blog

5. Use whatever time is left in the month to refine the site as much as possible

   
   

January taught me to be more specific. I thought I took that lesson to heart for February. It turns out I did and didn’t. I focused on one goal: a website. But I often let myself become distracted beyond the landing page, about page, and blog. With so many tools and options, I became frequently sidetracked.

Most importantly, I decided on Wix as the site host and builder. I signed up for trials or poked around the free versions of three other options, but I just kept going back to Wix because it seemed slightly more manageable for me. I cannot emphasize enough how steep the learning curve was, though. I last created a website in the 90s and early 00s. I used GeoCities to start and then basic HTML for a site hosted on a private server.

I’ll be honest; I still haven’t scratched the surface of what’s available. However, I did accomplish quite a bit: a Welcome page, an About page, a Blog, a Forum (such as it is with no members other than myself), a Projects page, a page for Resources, and, of course, a Contact page.

I planned to publish the site on either the last day of the month or the first of March. However, it seemed silly to just sit on it as it evolved. I kicked it out into the world once there were Welcome, About, and Contact pages. I spent the next three weeks adding pages, creating blog posts for future releases, and tweaking whatever caught my attention.

I have an extensive list of additions that will grow organically with me and the business. One thing I need to do at this point is structure the continued progress. Hello, spreadsheet, my old friend!

Outside of the long-term, I adjusted short-term and daily tasks. Some I combined, some I eliminated, and some I completed as far as I wished to take them. I’m still typing a Daily Accountability document to plan what I want to accomplish and note what I did and didn’t get to. And, as you can see from the stats at the top, my trusty tracking spreadsheets are going strong.

I have one current dilemma: March's goal was meant to be social media. That was the plan until my distaste for such things hit an all-time high. The only platform that hasn’t completely turned me off is Pinterest. (Please, no one ruin it for me! Or, if you plan to ruin it for me, can I have some time to adjust first?) I don’t think dedicating an entire month to one platform would be a good use of my efforts. I have a few days yet, and by the time you read this, I will have decided on my next course.

February’s progress was so intangible that I don’t know if I feel great accomplishment. I feel proud of myself for consistently showing up and working toward my desired life. A website is a big step to build on. However, I need to take some time to consider which foundational block to place next.