The Plan for 2020
I like sharing my plans with those who will listen. For example, last year I said what I was going to do in 2019, and as far as I can tell it is mission accomplished. Now my goals for 2020 are a little more structured and ambitious..
Whereas last year, I wanted to just kinda “go with the flow” and see what happens. Looking back, it went well and relatively according to plan. The first half of the year was a lot of work, and then things sort of leveled off in the summer and into fall. The last few months of 2019 were a blessing, as they enabled me to recharge my creative battery and prepare for what’s next.
So now in 2020, I am feeling super-charged and focused, ready to go. The plan is to simplify and amplify my efforts toward better results. Currently I’ve got a million projects and things all over the place. So I’m putting much more emphasis on simplifying my workload and routine.
A big part of simplification is consolidation and elimination. As much as I dislike ending projects (especially long-running ones), I want to cut way, way, way back on the number of “little” tasks I have to do, each year, each month, etc. The more stuff you put out there, the more time it takes to keep things updated and working with all the latest. And with 20+ years working online, it definitely is time to simplify.
Instead of having a million little projects, I want to consolidate my efforts and focus on two things: books and plugins. By the end of the year, around 90% of my online time will be spent on either writing books or developing plugins. That’s a lofty goal, but something definite to work towards.
Online work goals
Here is a quick overview of some of the online goals I want to achieve in 2020:
- Redesign Perishable Press
(in progress)(complete!) - Add a books.perishablepress.com subdomain
(in progress)(complete!) - Build a bookstore on the subdomain
(in progress)(complete!) - Move my bookstore at wp-tao.com to the new subdomain store (in progress..)
- Remove e-commerce stuff from current book sites (e.g., DigWP.com, .htaccess made easy, The Tao of WordPress, and WP Themes In Depth)
- Write some more books :)
So the current book sites will be more static (read: less work) and just point to the books subdomain here at Perishable Press. That way I’ll have two main properties to focus on: Perishable Press (books/tutorials) and Plugin Planet (plugins).
More focus = higher quality.
I find that, between books and plugins, I get to do most of the things I enjoy online. Like writing, blogging, designing, publishing, graphic design, photography, web development, server ops, security, SEO, and the occasional audio track and/or video production. Producing books and plugins makes use of all those thangz.
So that’s the big push for this year. Lord willing, there will be enough time to achieve these goals while maintaining a good balance between online and real-world realities. It’s gotta be 50/50 or you’re just missing out on too much good stuff.
Here’s to 2020 and beyond.
6 responses to “The Plan for 2020”
Well good for you!
I hope all goes according to plan (at least, as close to it as possible).
Hopefully, I will get a few opportunities to do a few video and media projects (for pay, maybe?), being that a friend of mine is an old hand at organizing and running car shows. I am to have an asisting role in that, and perhaps learn the trade myself.
Anyway, looking forward to what other possibilities I can make happen.
BTW: Two of my first little video projects are up on my channel with Brighteon. – So I hope this year brings more of the same luck.
– Jim S.
Thanks Jim!
Video production is so much fun. I’ve been using FCPX to make tutorial videos for plugins and such. I wish I had more time for it.
And hey drop a link to your Brighteon channel so we can check out your video projects.
Just click on my name on the post above you to see my work. ;-)
I am going to be working with Pitivi very soon. “Movie Maker” does not exist on Linux. I just need to make sure I can support most of the common video formats (which GStreamer libraries often help with – and – Pitivi uses some of the GStreamer functions).
Yeah, I’m a bit-o-the old geek! ;-)
– Jim S.
Hey Jeff, well I’ve only recently come to be familiar with your work after having purchased your book WP Themes Indepth. That book has really been helping me understand the whole concept of and the process of developing a WP theme, so truly thanks for that book. It was money well spent.
But I have a question for you. You mentioned in your post a variety of things that you do; “graphic design, photography, web development, server ops, security”. Professionally, did you transition from design to coding and web development or coding then design. Also, do you feel that they are starkly different and using different aspects your brain or you feel comfortable with the two areas?
I just ask as I am an instructional designer with graphic design and video design skillsets too, and I like web development (php to be specific) and I am a bit desirous of getting deeper into coding but some times wondering if I’m stretching myself too thin.
So was just curious about your own skills development and trajectory
Hi Christopher, thanks for the great feedback on WP Themes In Depth. Much appreciated.
Yes my current skill set requires both left and right thinking, which is one of the reasons I find my work so satisfying. I actually began many years ago as an artist, then got into graphic design and desktop publishing. From there it was web design and some development, then into heavy development and tons of code, etc. But it’s not like a “transition” per se from one skill to the next; more like a continuous learning process, where new skills are learned as they are needed to accomplish goals, etc.
My work basically is constantly learning new things and evolving existing skills as technology changes. After 20+ years online, I am very much a beginner.
Thanks for the feedback Jeff. You made me smile with this …”After 20+ years online, I am very much a beginner”
Cheers