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2018: My Year in Review

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open paper monthly desk calendar

As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back and reflect on what I accomplished in my personal life, work, writing, and event planning.

Here are some of my highlights from 2018:

Personal

  • I read 15 books this year, including books I read when I was a teenager. I still have many of my books when I was in high school, it was fascinating to read my handwritten notes in the margins. (Yes, I’m one of those readers who write in their books!)
  • Saw 50 life birds, which averages out to almost one a week. A life bird is a bird species you’ve never seen before. Originally, I had set a goal of eight life birds in 2018. But when I reached that goal in mid-March 2018, I knew I needed to reconsider the challenge.

    So I set my goal to be one life bird a month.

    Trips to Colorado and Ohio helped me to reach that goal. It was harder for me to find a life bird in August than it was in December (fewer birds in Michigan in December).

    Highlights included the Spotted Redshank in November (a bird that typically is found in Europe).
    brown waterbird with bright pink legs steps through the marsh.
    And the Brant seen in Marine City, Michigan in October.
    small geese with black heads and subtle white necklace gathered on the grass

  • Return to the western slope of Colorado for vacation. We loved going to Colorado a few years ago and wanted to return. This year’s wildfires kept us from doing much hiking, but we managed to return to Independence Pass and Maroon Bells as well as enjoy time in Carbondale and Denver.
    pink and white water lilies in bloom
    Close-up of the water lilies in the Denver Botanical Garden Monet Pool
  • Landscaped the backyard with more bird-friendly shrubs, including evergreens, winterberry, and ninebark which I can’t wait to see in bright golden orange foilage in fall next year.

Work

  • I launched six new websites in 2018, including three redesigned sites and a WordPress theme change for new clients. I wrote about the redesigns for Greenlawn Landscape Management and The Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast.
    The Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast desktop, mobile, tablet views
  • Added several monthly website maintenance clients, who have entrusted me with managing, updating, optimizing, and keeping their websites safe and secure.
  • Troubleshooted and resolved major issues (crashed sites) on 10 websites previously created by other designers. All the websites no longer had technical support. Converted several of the websites to paying monthly website maintenance clients.
  • Conducted monthly individual training sessions for setting up WordPress, blogging, customizing theme options, and using CSS.
  • With me reducing my event planning activities in 2018, I had more time to invest in my business. And it showed! In 2018, I more than doubled my income by taking on new projects I wouldn’t have time for if I continued with my event planning work.

Writing and Curation

Meetups and Conferences

Thank you to my clients and colleagues, I enjoyed working with you in 2018. Can’t wait to get started in 2019!

How about you? How was your 2018? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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