Day 68: What Could a Long-Term Blogging Habit Look Like?

It’s day 68. We’re officially more than 2/3 of the way through this 100 day blogging challenge. In some ways it feels like we’re heading into the last lap, so to speak, and that has me wondering: what’s next?

This challenge has been good for me in a variety of ways.

  • It’s forced me to think through a variety of logistics and issues I might not otherwise have worked my way through in as thorough a fashion.
  • It’s provided a degree of accountability around my exercise routine and work habits that has proven powerful in keeping me on track.
  • And I also just like putting something of myself out into the world again, regardless of how widely (or narrowly) this blog is read.

Point is, I don’t want to hit day 101 and have this blog screech to a halt. I want to keep this thing going.

Possibilities

I can think of a few different possibilities for keeping this blogging thing going.

  1. I could keep blogging every day and set a second goal for myself (e.g. through the end of August or September, until Thanksgiving, for the rest of 2020).
  2. In conjunction with that idea, I could trim the sails a bit and only blog on weekdays, or only blog on the weekend.
  3. Alternatively, I could set a quantity goal for myself (e.g. 10 posts a month).
  4. Instead of a time-based goal, I could come up with a series of posts I wanted to write. Finish that series and then dream up a new series.
  5. Or I could come up with activity-based process, treat this blog like a journal or log, and write a post for each workout, for each book I read, and write monthly updates on how my habit journal is working out.

I’m sure there are other solid ideas out there as well.

Making It Stick

My biggest concern, and one I’ve had from the start with this blogging challenge, is finding a way to work this habit into my routine. Even now, I admit I don’t have a routine. Sometimes I toss open a post and work on it on-and-off all day. Other days I hammer it out first thing in the morning. Many days, I’m up at 10 or 11 PM, after the kids have gone to bed, finishing up a post and hitting “publish.”

This lack of routine worries me. I’m good at practicing mindfulness because I have a routine. I do it at the same time, in the same place, every weekday. The same goes for my bodyweight exercise routine. Reading I genuinely enjoy, so it’s relatively easy to do consistently as long as I have good material on hand.

But blogging is a different animal. I enjoy having blogged, and sometimes I enjoy the actual act of writing a post, but more often than not I’m writing while feeling pressure to go work on something else. I’m feeling that way right now actually.

I don’t have an answer to the routine conundrum, but it’s one I need to find an answer to if I hope to make this blogging thing a long-term part of my life.

Wrapping Up

We’re entering the last lap. There’s still more than 30 days to go, but with 68 days in the bag, the end of this 100 day blogging challenge is starting to come into view.

I know I don’t want this blogging habit to fall by the wayside once I cross the finish line so I’m giving some thought to what a long-term blogging habit might look like. I don’t have all (or any of) the answers yet. I just know that I’ve gotten a lot out of this challenge and I’m not ready to lose the benefits.

Featured image by Jason Strull on Unsplash

4 thoughts on “Day 68: What Could a Long-Term Blogging Habit Look Like?”

  1. I think quantity is the way to go. After this challenge, I’m shooting one post per week. As a parent (I’m sure you know the feeling too), I think blogging every day or weekday is too demanding with a full time job. I thought about adopting a weekend schedule as well, but ultimately don’t want to commit to that because weekend is family time. I think setting a goal of one post per week at a minimum is doable.

    Reply
    • I agree that setting a quantity goal makes the most sense. My son Grayson is trying to get into blogging and is constantly hung up on only writing posts that don’t exist anywhere else and are super useful. I keep encouraging him to take all that pressure off of himself and just post something. I need to take my own advice here, I think. The key for me in doing anything consistently has been finding a way to build a routine around it. Once I have that sorted out, I think the quantity question will answer itself.

  2. I’m down with keeping the challenge going in some form or another. I feel less like it’s a chore now. Doing it everyday has helped me sit and get focused and write. It’s also keeping me from watching YouTube or reading the news which is all good.

    Reply
    • I’ve wondered about converting the 100 day challenge into a long-term “kcp bloggers” group that’s basically a space for folks who write to share what they’re writing with the rest of the folks. Might be a way to maintain some connections while backing off on the “you must post every day” pressure.

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