2016 was quite the year for me personally. During the year, I learned a lot about being a market research supplier and being a market research client, switching from supplier-side to client-side part-way through the year. I signed up to lead the Seattle branch of the New Research Speakers group, an effort led by Annie Pettit. I also took a step back from my blogging, as I was working extremely long hours on the supplier side of the fence, and then needed some time to recover and get my footing on the client side of the fence.
So, really, 2016 was less about me writing about market research trends and topics and more about me continuing to learn not only in my career, but also personally. I learned about depression, learned about how much therapy can help with it, and learned so much about myself in the process!
I’ve started 2017 with a refreshed focus and some goals.
First, I’ve realized that to write, one has to read. Because of all the time my work had taken in my life, and because I needed to focus the rest of my time on keeping my family and friend relationships in good order for my emotional and mental sanity, I stopped keeping up on so many of the market research blogs as I’d done before. I’m actually excited to get back into the various blogs I’d followed previously and get back up to speed on the topics du jour. That will help me immensely as I get back into writing for this blog.
In my career, I’m learning how to adjust a study from being a product-satisfaction tracker to being an audience measure. It’s stretching me, and I’m loving every moment of it! I’m looking into gamification, thanks in large part to Betty Adamou’s new podcast (of which I am a HUGE fan), and finding ways to implement principles of gamification and games for research into revamping a tracker.
I’m also working with my managers to identify a conference at which to speak as a new speaker myself. There are so many to choose from, which is really exciting!
I’m really looking forward to blogging regularly again, though I’m still determining the cadence. It might be twice a month for now, as I find a sustainable blogging cadence.
And personally, I’m making sure that while I take on all of these different things, I still have time for myself, my family, and my friends – relationships that have supported me and continue to support me with all my various endeavors, goals, desires, and high aspirations.
Here’s to 2017!