blogging

July Recap + August Goals

I can’t believe that it’s time to write another one of these. Where did July go? I am super excited for August because back-to-school season is one of my favorites, and I’m super excited for my classes this semester. Plus, it should start to cool down a bit this month, which I am so ready for! It’s been much too hot around here.

July Recap + August goals: monthly traffic report, a look at last month's goals, and new goals for this month

July Recap:

July was my first full month of blogging, and my stats blew me away. I never expected so much traffic in my first real month! My guess is that these will definitely slow down when the back-to-school season is over, but for now it’s pretty cool.

Pageviews: 31,034
Sessions: 28,223
Users: 26,004
Average users per day: 839

My most popular posts this month:

Life-wise, July was a pretty quiet month. Not much actually happened in my personal life. Work, blogging, friends. The usual. It’s nice to have quiet months though, especially because next month will be crazy with moving and school.

July Goals Recap:

1) Read at least four books.
This month I read The Great American Whatever (part coming-of-age story, part LGBT romance with my favorite kind of twist), Isla and the Happily Ever After (a super sappy, dramatic romance set in France), and When You Reach Me (this was miscategorized at my library; it’s definitely a children’s book, but I still enjoyed it. It’s about friendship, judging people, and time travel). I’m also halfway through The Rest of Us Just Live Here (which is my favorite of the bunch so far. It’s got several strong, relatable characters with mental health issues who live their everyday lives in a town that happens to be under some kind of paranormal attack, so what’s not to love?). I’m counting this as a success, even though I’m not quite finished with that last book, because close enough.
2) Connect with friends.
I did this! I went on an ice cream run with one friend, swimming with another that I haven’t seen in years, and got to see a ton of people I haven’t seen in a while at our mutual friends’ wedding. It was a month full of friends, and I loved every minute of it.
3) Get outside more.
I’m counting this as a win too. This month I’ve been swimming several times (something I never do!). I’ve also gone on several walks. Could I have done better? Yes, but I’ll save that for when it’s not 100 degrees outside!
4) Utilize social media more.
Yeah, this didn’t happen so much. Social media intimidates me. I just never feel like anything in my life is instagram-able! I need to continue to work on this next month.
5) Average 200 users per day on my blog.
Um, yes. This month I averaged more than 800 users per day, which was 4x my goal. I am counting this as a win, win, win!

August Goals:

1) Back to the social media thing. This is the part I’m struggling most with with blogging. I absolutely love writing posts! But I hate promoting them. I just need to dive in and get into the hang of it, I think.
2) Figure out a weekly schedule for fall semester. This includes things like studying, working out, etc. I can’t believe by this time next month I’ll have already started my very last fall semester! I’m hoping to get into a good schedule early on. I need my work schedule before I can start to really plan for the semester, and then there’s a bit a of trial and error figuring out what works best for me. However, I hope to settle into a good schedule by the end of the month, or at least have a good foundation for one.
3) Continue eating better. Lately I’ve been on a “healthy” eating kick. I’ve started incorporating more fruits, veggies, and real food and less processed food and sugar into my diet, and I’m loving it!  Eating well just makes you feel good friends! I plan to continue trying to eat better because my diet, while improved, is nowhere near perfect.
4) Packing and unpacking. My current apartment contract ends about two weeks before my school year contract starts, which means I have to move out of this apartment, back home, and then into a new apartment. That’s a lot of moving for two weeks! My goal is to be on top of packing so that moving is as easy as possible. I also want to be completely unpacked by the end of August.

August is a busy month for me full of changes. I have to move out of my current apartment, go home for about two weeks, and then move into my new apartment. I also start school the last week of August! I’m excited for the new semester to start, but there’s a lot I need to do this month!

What does August look like for you? What are your goals?

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