Hi everyone! With the new year approaching and Riese turning one, I’m coming out of the first-year fog and ready to make some changes here on the blog. I want to shift my focus from simply maintaining my work to actively growing both the blog and my private practice, AnneTheRD.
Photo credit: Rachel EH Photography
I’ve been thinking about a major redesign for years, and this year I’m finally ready to act. My blog’s look hasn’t changed much since I launched in 2009, and I want it to be more user-friendly and visually engaging. I also want to better organize and highlight recipes so visitors can quickly find seasonal dishes and key posts. To do that well, I’d love your feedback. If you’ve seen website designs that are particularly intuitive or visually appealing, please share what you like. Even general thoughts on what you enjoy seeing on blogs—layout, navigation, photography, or how recipes are showcased—would be helpful.
I’m leaning toward a homepage or landing page that features seasonal recipes and relevant posts up front, so readers can choose whether to dive into recent blog posts or explore curated content. I’m open to other ideas too. And if you know (or are) a talented blog designer, I’d appreciate recommendations.
Another change I’m considering is reducing the blog schedule from four days to three days per week to streamline content and improve quality. I’m thinking of posting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday instead of the current Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. That extra day between posts would give me more time to create thoughtful content rather than rushing to publish.
My tentative plan: keep Monday as a weekend recap (if readers still enjoy those), use Wednesday for recipes or themed posts, and reserve Friday for Fri Faves—weekly roundups of eats, exercise, and other randomness. What do you think? What would you like to see more or less of here—recipes, weekend recaps, quick meal ideas, fitness recaps, Friday favorites?
This past year has been strange for my businesses. Financially, it’s shaping up to be the best year yet, but behind the scenes things have felt chaotic. I haven’t been proactive about bringing in new work and my processes have been disorganized. That’s understandable given the demands of new motherhood and juggling two businesses while reducing my workweek, but in the coming year I want to be more efficient and intentional. I don’t regret prioritizing family at times, and I’m grateful my business still grew despite some lean efforts, but I don’t want to let the long-term progress I’ve built slip away.
One personal goal for the new year is to own my success more fully. While Riese was napping yesterday, I listened to a podcast on building confidence and it reminded me how often I downplay my accomplishments—especially now that I’m working part time. When people ask what I do, I tend to lead with “I’m a Registered Dietitian with a private practice” and then add, almost as an afterthought, “I also blog.” I think many people view private practice as more of a “real” job while blogging is seen as a hobby. But the blog is far from a hobby: it’s demanding work, it occupies most of my working hours, and it generates the majority of my income.
Over the past nine years I’ve built this blog into a substantial business on my own. Saying that out loud makes me realize how significant that accomplishment is, and it’s time I stop minimizing it. I want to celebrate that work and speak about it confidently.
I originally sat down to write a typical eats-and-exercise post today but found myself reflecting on these bigger changes instead. I’ll be back tomorrow with Friday Faves and a recap of this week’s food and fitness. Thanks for reading—see you then!