One of my goals for 2018 is to work with more of a purpose. What I mean by that is that I want there to be a goal or an intention behind my efforts. This is true for every area of my life, professionally, personally, blogging, etc. I felt like last year I stumbled upon a few successes but didn’t really apply myself in the most effective way. 2017 wasn’t a bad year, but it wasn’t the most rewarding either. This year I decided that I would work smarter, not harder. I want the work that I do to have a purpose.

I have been trying to take a deeper look at the highlights from last year and determine what made them a success. For example, when I look back at my insights for the blog in 2017 there were a few things that really stood out to me. Like I said, I kind of stumbled blindly through 2017. I wasn’t really connected with what was working and what wasn’t. Looking back at the year I can see that my most popular posts revolved around personal topics and blogging. So in an effort to work smarter, I have been creating an editorial calendar that includes more of these topics.

I also noticed a few areas that I need to be applying more effort. I spend a massive amount of time on Instagram. And while it is one of the biggest referrers of traffic to my blog, it’s not the most efficient. With the constant changes on Instagram (you can read my thoughts on that here) it’s not worth the amount of energy I expend. There are a couple other areas that have been generating great traffic with very little effort from me. So if I spend a little less of my time on Instagram and focus on these other areas, I know my time will be spent much more productively.

It’s easy to see areas that you need to improve on when you have analytics. Seeing the numbers in black and white makes it clear what you should be focusing on going forward. But what about the areas in life that we are being unproductive?! This takes a little more self-awareness. So at different points during the day I try to stop and ask myself is the work that I am doing getting me closer to a goal? Now obviously not everything I do is going to be life changing. But is doing a load of laundry worth it? Yes. I need clean clothes and can’t afford to just buy something and wear it once, therefore laundry is necessary. But the point is to pay attention to how you spend your time.

At work, I make a to-do list each morning and the first three items listed are the three things I need to accomplish that day. There are a million things I could add to that list, but I ask myself “is this task the best use of my time?” If the answer is no then I either remove the task or delegate it to someone else who can take care of it while I work on things that only I can do.

It’s all about working smarter, not harder. Our time is precious so it’s important that we spend it on the things that are making us better! We all want to be the best versions of ourselves, so that’s why I intend to have purpose behind all of my actions. And hopefully as a result, you will find the content on Waketon Road helpful and full of value. Because that is my intention! xo Bryn

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Coat: Zara (similar), Sweater: old, similar, Bag: Cuyana, Leggings: Lou & Grey, Hat: Ann Taylor (sold out, similar), Shoes: Sezane, Scarf: similar