As I was writing the seventh issue of Top Three Thursday, I decided to start with a personal reflection on goal-setting and Top Three Guide. It quickly turned out that it was going to be a bit longer than an introduction should be. So I turned it into this blog post.
I am a big fan of setting goals around input, not results. It means setting goals that are within control. I can control how many times I promote the newsletter, not how many new subscribers I’ll get, for example.
I don’t doubt this is better for my mental health. It means I won’t get as anxious or stressed about uncontrollable results. Yet, this may also be perceived as a lack of ambition. And it makes me wonder how long I should keep trying.
Two ideas are clashing. One, patience is necessary to reach my goals. Two, I might be wasting time waiting for Godot, I mean the results.
So, while it’s not my preferred method, I’m going to set a clear goal for myself.
“By the time my first child is born, I need to have 100 newsletter subsribers or I’ll quit.”
Simple as that. Why?
While it’s hasn’t really dawned on me yet that I’m going to be a dad in two months, I know that I will need to reconsider my priorities. I’m always busy now. If I’m not writing, I’m learning or promoting Top Three Guide.
I never want to stop learning, so Top Three Guide is going to have to be the victim.
If it’s worthwhile, and there are enough followers, I know it is going to cost me less to keep this boat afloat. But if it’s only you, me and about 20 others, I doubt it’s worth it.
At the moment, I’m fighting the Top Three Guide promotion battle on three fronts:
- Newsletter
Ironically, what I like most is where we get least followers and engagement.
I prefer the newsletter, by far. (22 subscribers)
Twitter is a close second. (66 followers)
And Instagram is a bit behind in third place. (224 followers)
I haven’t really really made an effort to grow our accounts, so it’s a bit to soon to judge. I haven’t been social enough on social networks. (In case you noticed the double “really”, it’s there on purpose.)
I want to give them a fair chance starting next week and see how it goes.
Again, the goal is to reach 100 newsletter subscribers in about two months. If I don’t make it, all three fronts are lost. It doesn’t make sense to continue with the newsletter if I won’t be promoting it elsewhere.
So here we go. Let’s start the countdown.
