1 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

If Gladys can do it, so can you.

You heard me: dust off your blog! Or your website, if that’s where your writing stuff is laying about.

Here’s the thing. The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to do a little house-cleaning. And by house-cleaning, I mean getting your web presence in order. (I suppose you could actually get your home in order, too, but I’d probably be the last person to give tips on housework.)

The best part is that it doesn’t take a ton of your time. Just check all the links you have listed. Do they take readers to where they’re supposed to go? You’d be surprised at how often website domains change names (or maybe not, if you’ve noticed that I changed my domain name here at the blog). And if you come across an inactive site or blog or link you’ve listed, get rid of it. There’s no point in keeping clutter around.

And then, spruce up things a bit! Have you kept the same old, same old links to your work? A visitor might think you haven’t produced anything since 2007! So add your new stuff, a touch of color here and there, maybe rearrange your favorites, freshen things up.

In a half hour or so, you’ll look around and think, “Wow. It looks completely different up in here.” And besides, you know how much everyone loves a sweet-smelling blog.

The first week in a new year is always exciting for me. It’s like opening a brand-spanking new notebook and finding all those blank, crisp pages. Wheeee! Such potential for great things, right?

But then life and reality comes along and before I know it, my potential is sagging, even though I’ve made careful lists of yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals.

I do accomplish quite a bit, but it occurred to me after reviewing 2012 that I was perhaps getting too caught up in checking things off the list–while the things I really love get short shrift. And so I knew I needed something different this year, something to shake up my compulsive list-checking while still accomplishing the writing things I need to do.

So I decided to open my mind (and talents). I wrote a post called Just for Today, For Writers over at The Muffin. And I’ve printed it out and slapped it on the board above my desk, to remind myself that if I follow a few simple steps, every day, I’ll accomplish my writing goals and find new adventures and opportunities along the way.

And maybe, just maybe, I can start each day with a Wheee! Such potential for great things!