No, this is not a list of goals for the next or maybe it is, but not really. Over the last 2 months I realized that my workload is spread out quite a bit and I want to achieve a lot for 2009. So, I have centralize and automate and outsource tasks to become more efficient. I also want to have a better plan available for what I need to do where and work less day to day figuring out what needs to be done. I want to continue to be prepared for the ongoing recession by not being limited to one or two industries or niche markets in case one goes south and tanks with the economy.
So, I am mapping out the year 2009 and how I want to approach it. I am picking 4-5 different niches and will concentrate on those. I do have websites in many niches and so I am building a list of which websites have the best income currently and the most potential to increase this income. That list should end at around 10-12 websites – some well established and some newer ones.
I am writing down tasks that I need to accomplish to increase traffic and income. I am listing things I do want to improve on those websites – be it design or better usage of ad placements. I am preparing outsoure orders and review existing ones. 2008 was a good year as I found a very reliable article writer that delivers good content for $5 per article – and able to increase the output (currently 10 articles per week). And best of all – the writer is located in North America, so that I do not have to deal with crappy content coming out of India by so-called “natural English speakers”.
With the detailed map and list of things I want to do, I can then drill down to tasks on a daily level and combine work, too (example: SEO or upgrading Wordpress blogs, etc.). I also know early on what to work on during the week and plan accordingly. That allows me set my mind to right topic and “think” that topic all week. The result should be more detailed work with less distractions.
So, I think 2009 will be a great year and I will see an increase in income if things work out the way I hope. I also have to change my mindset and instead of aiming low, shoot for the sky and act accordingly. This will increase my risk and my financial exposure, but it also increases my income potential dramatically. I wrote about my Adsense income earlier this week and how dependent I was on that at one point and how that has changed. But the process is not done yet and I am highly motivated to move forward and to put in more work accordingly.
I am maintaining my list in Excel 2007* and will print it out weekly. Having a hard copy is a good way to take notes and write down thoughts. I can then easily transfer those into a clean state into the original file and print it out again. Rinse and repeat.
To a great Year 2009 – Cheers 
*Excel 2007: I just saw the low ratings people gave Office 2007 at Amazon and how many people whine about what changed. I have used every single version of Excel and Office since 1997 and yes – there are some differences, but all that whining over at Amazon – geeez. I actually love Office 2007. Sure, there is a small learning curve, but I am so much more productive with 2007 compared to 2003 …
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