Scaling It Back a Bit

Over the past two months, I’ve successfully completed a challenge I set out to try: posting on my blog every day. I didn’t set an end date for this, but just kept at it every day. Once I had a visible streak, I felt like I couldn’t stop. In fact, I still have a continuous streak… I don’t have to stop.

But this evening, after a very full day preparing for my daughter’s birthday party, hosting guests, cleaning up after everything… I don’t feel like I have anything to write about. Nor do I have any pictures I feel like posting. I have even begun to see the downsides to posting something on the blog every day. I haven’t had adequate time to edit, and when I go back to read my articles (which I do), I usually find something that bugs me about how I explained a concept, or I find that I’m overusing a word or something. You know, something like that.

And I’m struggling to keep up. Some evenings in the past week, I’ve almost been in bed when I realized I hadn’t posted something. So I run to the computer, try and find a photo or a random article I liked during the day, and it’s a mad rush to get it posted in some semblance of quality. Usually my wife decides to do something else while I’m writing, so it isn’t necessarily helping build a closer relationship with her. Then throw in days like today where I honestly can’t think up anything I want to write, and it feels like a burden.

So, we get back to why this blog exists. I do this because I want to get better at writing. I want to turn ideas and thoughts into something tangible that I’d be willing to share with the world (literally). I honestly don’t care if I get tons of views or likes on my posts; the purpose is to journal, to hone my skills in writing and publishing content, and to have a record of what I’m going through, thinking, etc. I think I’ve reached a place where the habit has begun to work against my goals.

What I want to do is really put time into writing down my thoughts carefully; to edit and polish, and then let the entire thought sit overnight in it’s “publishing ready” form, so I can edit some more the next day. One way to do this and keep up the posting-every-day thing would be to “get ahead” and prep my posts days in advance. The other alternative is to reduce the schedule. Aim for 3-4 posts per week, not one per day. I’m leaning towards this approach, primarily because it gives margin. Right now, my attack in this area feels like a page that’s literally filled with stuff from top-to-bottom, edge-to-edge.

So, after almost 60 days of pushing through the routine of posting something on this blog every day, I’m going to scale it back a bit. We’re aiming for a post three days of the week. The weekend will be my time off from posting, since that’s when I’m doing things around the home with my family and also when I have more time to write drafts. I’ll also be aiming for a mid-week post that has been longer in the works. I’ll be letting it sit a bit longer, and I’ll take the time to edit more.

What might still be included? Definitely longer-form writing about the things I’m learning and stuff I’m thinking about. I’ll also aim for a weekly photo/art posting, and also a quote from a book or article I’ve read. I’d also like to incorporate some sort of tech tool, automation tip, or coding trick I’ve picked up. In a word, there’s still plenty to keep my writing skills up and give opportunity to publish excellent stuff here on the site. So, starting today, I’ll be on a Mon, Wed, Fri schedule. I’m looking forward to the break, but also the routine. For those who read my blog, thanks for stopping by and joining me in this adventure!