Looking Back, Looking Forward

This time of year it’s traditional to reflect on our achievements over the past year, while setting the wheels in motion to accomplish even bigger and better things in the new year.

I have to admit that I did not achieve everything I hoped to in my personal life, mainly because I didn’t make it a priority. I realized this while I was reading Alex Fayle’s e-book, I’ll Get Around to It Someday, and the message was reinforced by Kathy Stinson’s blog post, The PIRDY Plan, in which she outlines how she’s going to fit leisure activities into her busy schedule. I haven’t yet figured out which interests I’ll focus on, or when I’ll pursue them, but I am absolutely going to give it more effort than I have in the past. After all,

No one on their deathbed ever says
they wish they had spent more time at the office.

Source Unknown

Professionally, although things didn’t go quite the way I pictured them, I am extremely pleased with the way that things came together. The following seemingly separate events have proven to be not quite as random as they seemed at the time:

1. I used Google to find an answer to a technical issue I was experiencing, which led to my being invited to participate in a blogging course. You can read more about that in The Mysteries of Technology.
2. To complete the course work, I needed to create a specific type of blog. Worried that my current readers might not like me to make major changes, I decided to start a new one. You can read about that in Introducing “Your Organizing Business”.
   
3. Through Twitter and my new blog, I found myself connecting with more and more professional organizers, and closer to my dream of becoming known as THE virtual assistant to successful professional organizers.
4. I created an increasing number of client sites in WordPress, including static websites, blogs, and websites with a built-in blog. You can read about that in Introducing Maestro Quality, A Web Makeover, and Introducing More Than Admin.
5. As I saw the benefits of the combined website and blog and the power of premium WordPress themes, I was starting to feel like a barefooted shoemaker.

Do you see where this is going? If not, take a look at the Organized Assistant website!

I enjoy working with the Flexx Blog Theme so much that I was tempted to use it for this project, but I really wanted a custom design combining features from the old site as well as the original theme for Your Organizing Business. In the past I’ve used a blank open source theme for my custom designs, but I wanted something even more flexible. I’d heard a lot about Thesis and Headway, and after doing a little research, I chose Headway because it allows you to create unique sidebars for different pages of your site. With a brand new logo (thanks to Trudezign Graphics and Marketing) and updated content that reflects our current focus on Internet marketing, I am just beside myself!

What’s next? Hopefully, lots more work with WordPress and Headway, and more clients from the organizing industry.

Aside from that, watch for exciting new changes on this site too!

What does 2010 look like for you? Can I help you make it happen?