Goals for 2009

After the whirlwind of a year I had in 2008, I’m looking forward to this new year. As customary for many bloggers, I’m going to list some goals for the new year.

I hope you all look forward to some of the things I have in store as much as I do.

Life-related goals

I suppose I’ve come a long way since the days when my best friend and I would make resolutions about things we planned to accomplish with girls for the year. Ah, the good ol’ days.

I did set my sights a bit higher this year.

  • Get my ass back into shape. I had to start with a classic. Isn't this everyone's New Year's resolution?
  • Meet WordPress users and other bloggers in person. I've met so many people online in the last couple of years that I've become friends with, but I'd love to meet some of you in person.
  • Travel to a foreign country. I'd really like to go to back to Japan, lie on a beach in Thailand, or visit a ton of other Asian countries. I'd also like to visit some of my Canadian friends.
  • Participate in a charitable event. I want to be a little more involved this year in events that help others, such as the Alanta Breast Cancer 3-Day in October.
  • Save more money. Last year, I managed to pay off $8,000 of debt from college. This year, I'd like to pay off and save at least as much.
  • Help others in their quest to work from home. What we don't see enough of is practical tips about working online. I want to share more of my experiences and how they apply to my life offline to help others.
  • Continue studying foreign languages. I've got a little Spanish, German, and Korean under my belt, and I like to continue improving my skills with those languages and maybe start adventuring into one more.

WordPress-related goals

I have plenty of goals dealing directly with the WordPress community as well.

  • Continue fostering the growth of Theme Hybrid. Our community at Theme Hybrid is growing daily, and I can only imagine what it would be like in a year's time.
  • Write more about WordPress. Most of my posts here on this blog are about WordPress, but I'd like to write more tutorials, give more tips, and start more discussions than last year.
  • Attend at least one WordCamp. Unfortunately, I came home to Alabama only about a week after WordCamp Birmingham in 2008, which would've been a perfect opportunity for me. I'd like to attend one this year.
  • Design some BuddyPress themes. I've been tinkering around with BuddyPress for a while (whenever I have the time), and creating specific themes for it would be cool.
  • Provide bbPress alternatives to my WordPress themes. bbPress is a fast, lightweight forum software that I've fallen in love with. Expect to see my WP themes getting bbPress makeovers.
  • Make more WordPress plugins. I tend to focus on themes, but creating plugins is another passion of mine, which are typically ideas I get when developing a theme.
  • Create quality WordPress themes, of course! I have loads of theme ideas in various categories that I plan to release this year:
    • Magazine/News
    • Store/E-commerce
    • Photo/Portfolio
    • Video
    • Book/Movie/Etc. Reviews
    • Lifestream
    • And many more!

Any goals this year?

I’m always interested in hearing what other people plan on doing for the year. For me, a large motivational factor is announcing my plans to others because I’m much more likely to follow through with them.

Please share any goals you’ve made for the new year. Or, you can just discuss mine.