Hint of Jam’s 1st Quarter Report Card

This month Hint of Jam hits its first quarter milestone. Yay! *shoots confetti canon* And due to residual teacher tendencies, my natural instinct is to reflect at the end of each four-month cycle. (You could take the teacher out of the system, but you can’t ever really take the system out of the teacher.)

Recently, a friend and fellow blogger Haley M. Pettit from Whatever Bright Things mentioned creating a Report Card for her writing. And I thought that was brilliant! Such a clear way to figure out what’s working and where major adjustments / improvements can be made.

So I’ve made a report card with with three areas of focus (the “subjects”) – Explore, Embrace, and Engage. Each can incur up to 10 points (the “grade”) using the following criteria:

  • Quality: Authenticity, complexity, and thoughtfulness
  • Uniqueness: Sense of individuality and interdisciplinary connections
  • Audience-focused: Direct address towards audience
  • Clarity: Focus with a particular purpose
  • Consistency: Attention on a regular basis

(If you’d like to grab a bonus copy of the report card I used so you can apply it to your own passion project, click here!)

HoJ’s 1st Quarter Report Card

February 2016 ~ May 2016

Explore | Learning & Researching

Explore: Learning and researching through books, blogs, courses, workshops, and podcasts. | Hint of Jam

In the past three months, I’ve been absorbing as much information as I possibly can. The most valuable experiences were Jeff Goins’s webinar during the Teachable Summit (check out his book and bonuses by clicking here), Melyssa Griffin’s “List Surge” e-course on building email lists, and Regina Anaejionu’s “Blog Like a Mag” workshop.

On the flip side, because I’ve been constantly searching for information to keep growing my awareness and to strengthen my business frame of mind, I may have overdone it. At one point, I signed up for one too many webinars (and most of ‘em shared information I already knew) in one week, causing me to feel overwhelmed and jaded, on the verge of scrapping everything. Not good.

  • Quality: 1 pt
  • Uniqueness: 1 pt > Needs improvement
  • Audience-focused: 1 pt
  • Clarity: 1 pt
  • Consistency: 2 pts > Strength
    • TOTAL: 6 pts

Lesson Learned: Pace myself. Learning is powerful, but overwhelm is a killer. Perhaps one webinar every two weeks MAX.

Embrace | Creating + administrative tasks

Embrace: Creating content through posts and media while handling administrative tasks like accounting, auditing, and record keeping. | Hint of Jam

I love this part of my business, which is why I started it in the first place! Sitting, planning, writing, & creating. In this first quarter, I’ve managed to publish one post and one newsletter for my email list every week. *throws confetti in the air* Woohoo!

Although I’ve got a handle on content creation and back-end administration, I’m still figuring out if my content resonates with my target audience. If you’ve read this far, please let me know in the comments below what you think. Your thoughts would greatly help! *sends cake your way*

  • Quality: 2 pts
  • Uniqueness: 2 pts
  • Audience-focused: 1 pt > Needs Improvement
  • Clarity: 1 pt
  • Consistency: 2 pts > Strength
    • TOTAL: 8 pts

Lesson learned: Keep on keeping on. I shall continue with the momentum I’ve got going.

Engage | Interacting

Engage: Interacting through comments, emails, social media, and conferences. | Hint of Jam

Particularly on Twitter and blog comments, I’ve definitely enjoyed interacting with all you fine folks! I’ve made many friends and am so grateful that technology brought us all together. *group hug*

However, my consistency here is lacking. Big time. I may constantly check in on Twitter (like . . . every day) and email, but other points of connection need more attention. Although there’s a slot for it on my schedule, I’m going to challenge myself further by actually setting a special alarm for “interaction time.” *solemnly nods* It shall be done.

  • Quality: 2 pts > Strength
  • Uniqueness: 2 pts
  • Audience-focused: 2 pts
  • Clarity: 1 pt
  • Consistency: 1 pt > Needs improvement
    • TOTAL: 8 pts

Lesson learned: Try a different method (setting an alarm) to refocus my time around interacting with all the lovely people.

> Hint of Jam’s overall score for its 1st Quarter is 22/30 (or 73%). <

Not bad. But I’m definitely looking to keep improving. To keep getting better as I continue to explore, embrace, and engage in my passion projects to help like-minded creatives do the same. Here’s to our successes!

In June 2016, Hint of Jam turns four months old! Jamae uses a creative’s report card to reflect on this first quarter based on strengths and on areas of improvement. | Hint of Jam

Write Time

Are there other ways you’d like to see Hint of Jam improve? How are you faring with your passion projects? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below, lovely!

Want the Creative’s Report Card with Rubric worksheets for your own passion projects? Grab your copy by signing up here or clicking on the image below.

Creative's Report Card with Rubric | Hint of Jam

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