My 2019 Review / 2020 Goals

I love goal setting. Though I’ll admit, I’m not so great at the bit that comes after the goals are set–the work bit. But still, I love writing them out each year, and better yet, I love the period of review that comes, weeks, months, or my favourite, years later.

I genuinely believe there is value in writing things down–in putting things out there. Over the years, I’ve written down so many goals and then forgotten about them…or at least, forgot the specifics of them. But more often than not, upon finding and reviewing my lists years later, I’m always surprised by how many of them I’ve crushed. Maybe not in the time frame I wanted. but still… crushed.

So let’s break it down into a few categories. Life, Blog, and Hair (because this did all start as a Natural Hair Blog).

Life

2019 in Review

This was the year that fed my soul.

I’m pretty sure I’ll always look back on 2019 as the year that kicked off the rest of my life.

Okay, that sounds dramatic, but if you follow my writing Twitter & Instagram (both under @KETomash), you might already know what I mean. Before 2019, I had called my goal of becoming a traditionally published author, a dream.

What changed?

Well, 2019 was the year I really connected with the writing community, both in person and online. I invested in a writers’ conference and attended local writing events, and above all, I made incredible friendships. I could gush about this for hours, and thousands of words, but what I really want to highlight is this:

Having a group of people who share your goals and dedication towards achieving them is life-altering. You get to celebrate the highs with people who get it, and you’re equipped to help each other navigate the lows.

In addition, every industry has its idiosyncrasies, and its drama, and it’s also so healthy to have a safe space to discuss them.

This little insta carousel was an ode to some of the amazing people I met last year:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by K. E. Tomash | YA Writer (@ketomash)

That being said… despite 2019 being a huge big magical year, I dealt with anxiety for the last couple months of it. It disappeared for my big family trip to Ghana, but now that I’ve returned to every day life, it’s back.

While I haven’t been able to pinpoint the cause, I’ve realized that I really have been juggling a lot of things at once. Even if they’re a lot of smaller things, the weight of them adds up.

2020 life goals

1. Keep the momentum going, but also…
2. Prioritize Self care

My two 2020 goals are sort of at odds… and honestly, I’m relearning every day how to find the balance between them–and often failing. (So if you have some self care tips, please drop them in the comments).

I really want more of what I had last year, so that means staying engaged with the community that’s aligned with my personal goals, and to keep on hustling.

But to avoid burnout, I really want to take care of myself.

While I haven’t discovered how to make that little ball of stress go away. I think I know how to start: In 2020, I’m going to say yes to things that serve me, and no to things that pull focus from my goals.

This year, I’m going to be more selfish, and more focused. I’m a yes person, and I also get excited about… well, pretty much everything.

This isn’t to say that I’m not going to support others, or try new things. But I am going to be more realistic about what that support looks like, and be more aware of what I’m sacrificing in order to take new things on.

Blog

2019 in Review

2019 was a year of recovery.

In 2018, my blog took a massive hit. I all but let it (and my social media platforms) die. My traffic dropped by 49%, kept afloat mostly because I still had Tailwind automatically posting to Pinterest. (I wrote a post explaining how I used Tailwind to drive traffic numbers, if you want some tips).

Because that was the year I got married, I credited me dropping the ball to wedding planning, but in retrospect, I was just so incredibly unfocused. That year, I somehow managed to do absolutely everything but blog…

I won’t get into every single thing I tried to pursue, but to give you an idea, in 2018, I suddenly decided I wanted to do couple’s photography. I was a loose canon as I manically attempted to build up a portfolio when I already had 3 other passion projects on the go.

ANYWAYS. That was 2018. But I needed to explain all that to say that in 2019 I spent a good chunk of it working to recover my following and my views.

As I worked to recover though, I actually saw growth. My page views increased by 162%. And this was because I finally figured out what type of content was successful, and also how to better-implement SEO.

My top 3 posts of 2019:

30 Awesome Picture Books Uplifting Black Kids with Natural Hair (successful because of content type–has been shared on social media 30k+ times at the time of writing this)

LUS Brands – Love Ur Curls | Kinks + Coils Review (Successful Search Engine Optimization. Search LUS Brands Kinks and Coils, and I’m on the first page!)

Naptural 85’s Melanin Haircare Review + Results on Type 4b Natural Hair (Again, thank you SEO!)

2020 Blog Goals

January 4th 2020 was my FOUR year blog anniversary. I really don’t know how that snuck up on me.

My goal is to keep with the momentum from 2019, and consistency. That’s a little fluffy you say? Well lets drill down to the specifics:

1. Post a minimum of 24 blog posts in 2020. This gives you guys consistent content every two weeks. I may sprinkle some bonus posts in there, but this is the most realistic schedule that allows me to keep my sanity.
2. Be intentional with every blog post. I’ll probably do a blog post on how I do this, but I want to make sure the blog posts I write are going to actually be seen. To do this, the content I write needs to do one of three things:
   1. Be Search Engine Optimized with keywords that I can realistically rank for.
   2. Be interesting enough to be highly shareable.
   3. Allow my audience to connect with me on a deeper level.

Hitting all three of the above would be the jackpot, but that isn’t always an option. But if I put together a post that isn’t any of these things–the reality is that no one is probably going to read it.

In terms of what actual topics I’ll be blogging about… well, I asked on Instagram what you wanted to see more of from me this year, and the answers were:

• More Natural Hair posts
• Lifestyle content
• Blogging tips

I can work with that. If you have more suggestions, drop them in the comments below!

Hair

2019 in Review

I kicked off 2019 with this blog post on a Natural Hair Update.

The question is… WHERE DID 2019 GO?! I set out all these goals, talked the big talk about taking care of my hair this year. then.. the year just disappeared.

Really the only thing I remember about my hair in 2019 is cutting it.. I actually took a good handful of inches off it.

I kept trimming it and trimming it, patting myself on the back for dealing with split-ends.. but never actually dealing with the fact that my hair wasn’t being cared for. I was going way too long between wash days. And I kept my very under-moisturized hair up in a bun more often than not.

I think we can see where it all was going wrong… why do you think I lived 2019 in head wraps?

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A post shared by Kaya: Natural Hair & Lifestyle (@comfygirlcurls)

2020 Hair Goals

2020 I’m going to buckle down and take care of my hair.

I really do find that taking care of my hair is the ultimate act of self-care. And the fact that I was neglecting it gives you an idea of where my headspace was.

1. Keep my hair in low-manipulation styles. I know my hair breaks when I keep it in buns. So tell me why I kept doing it?! This year, I’m keeping my hair in two strand twists (or other low-manipulation styles) through the work week.
2. Have a thorough wash day every two weeks, minimum, and a refresh once a week…. minimum. Again. I know my hair dries out.. so why didn’t I pump moisture into it?! Who knows… But all I know is I’m not playing around in 2020.

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So those are my 2020 goals, and the reasons why I’ve committed to them. Feel free to hold me accountable by nudging me on social media. If you want to share your own goals loudly and proudly, post the below to your Insta Stories, and fill them out. Don’t forget to tag me so I can hold you accountable too!