2014 First Quarter Goal Check In

Can you believe that it's time to check in on 2014 goals already?

Building Passive Income

I've been dragging my feet about writing this post because I wish that I had a better report for passive income. I have to remind myself that it's an ongoing process, and I may not see significant gains for at least a few more months.

• HubPages. I did really well publishing new HubPages content on a regular basis through January, and then I let it slip as I got crunched to meet client deadlines before the Vegas trip. Now that we're more than a week into March, I'm getting back into a regular HubPages writing routine. It's been tough getting the earnings to increase, but with time and continued new content, they will.
• Jewelry patterns. I did set up a Craftsy account and uploaded my first PDF pattern. It's something, right? I would like to get more patterns uploaded there, write a couple more patterns, and promote all of my patterns more than I currently do before the end of the year.
• Other endeavors? I've decided that I would rather put my time into writing an ebook than pursuing any other passive income options at this point. As I previously mentioned, I have narrowed down my first idea. I even wrote a rough outline. Now I need to find the time to keep pushing forward with it.

Maintaining Personal / Home Goals and Client Writing

• Personal / home. Going to Vegas and finally having some warmer days (read: above freezing) has allowed me to get outside and talk walks again, which has been great. I am still using the exercise bike, but it's nice to be able to mix up the exercise routine a bit. Cleaning has been hit or miss. I find it tough to stay motivated with it when the weather is terrible. I know that it'll get easier again in the spring.
• Client writing. My client load has remained steady for the first few months of 2014, which has allowed me to meet my client writing goal most days. When the load is slow, I more than meet my writing total on HubPages or elsewhere (i.e. Bubblews).

Maintaining My Etsy Jewelry Shop

Sales keep coming online, and I'm slowly building my 2014 craft fair schedule. I had my first show last week, have one holiday acceptance, and have one spring app pending. I was happy with my show list last year and am trying for all of them again this year. I'm conflicted about whether or not I want to try for some summer shows. For a number of reasons, I haven't much in the past, but there are a few great ones that seem worth a shot. We'll see how that goes over the next couple months. I would like to plan better for Christmas in July and holiday sales online this year than I did last year. It seems ridiculous to be thinking about that already, but it's not.

Challenging Myself Artistically

Again, with the lousy weather, it's been tough to stay motivated to stretch myself and try out new artistic ventures during my down time. I have been getting outside as much as I possibly can to take pictures. I never thought that 35 degrees and sunny could feel so good, but it really does this year. I've got a couple ideas for new crafts that I could eventually turn into ebooks if I get enough ideas together, projects completed, and high quality photos taken. I'd potentially have new items to sell at shows as well.

How are your 2014 goals going so far?