Blog Rhythm
Dear Worlds,
Yesterday and the day before, I wasn't able to write on my blog: it sucked. But what do you do with things that suck? You learn! So here are a few things I learned (or re-learned) about my process, over this short period of time.
1. Skipping a day (or two) is okay
I have to remind myself that whatever goals I set up for myself, I have to be kind to myself. Guilt will likely not lead me anywhere. If I can't write on a specific day for whatever reason, it doesn't diminish my value or what I have done so far. And, I can always rethink/adapt my process, keeping my possibly evolving purpose in mind. The idea is to keep building over time.
For more on this particular point, you can (should) listen to Stephanie Pellett's excellent podcast episode (aren't they all), (spoiler alert: they are), "Add It Up".
2. Skipping a day is actually important for my mental health
I live with c-ptsd, and one consequence of that is that any kind of stress is more draining than before I lived with this condition. And having too many "have-to's" or "keep up's" can add to the stress. It can also be true of people with a perfectly good mental health (aka unicorns). For me, at this point, with the current state of my self-care "have-to's", I feel like I can blog daily, but that I need a break every few days to keep it rolling.
3. Writing (almost) everyday requires more frequent recharging time
In her book The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron prescribes a weekly "artist date". It is actually just you, going on a date with your inner artist (don't invite a friend!), and refilling the creative well by taking a break (two hours are enough) from everything else to expose yourself to beauty, art, colors, music, flowers, new materials, whatever it is. It is a time for you to play, just like when you were a child. I used to do it only once in a while, but I have come to find that blogging everyday makes me need to recharge more often. So I will try to incorporate that more intently in my weekly planner.
4. Quick topics, long topics
When I started the blog, I drew a list of topics that I wanted to write about. I keep it growing, and I choose a topic out of that list every evening for the next day. Some topics require more diving in and writing than others, hence more time, which I don't always have. I need to hold a list of quick topics for those days when I don't have time. Quick doesn't mean shallow: I always want to bring meaning. I have also found that I need to dedicate a few minutes to add to/edit the topic list every two or three days.
5. Draft away
I found that, even if I generally give myself time to write only about one certain matter, it is helpful to start several post drafts on different topics. Just writing down a few basic ideas on the screen when they come to me. Then, on a day when I don't have too much time, I can just open a draft and develop those ideas. It is easier for me to do it that way than to take handwritten notes or to start a post from scratch.
It's a work in progress! I'm glad I took some time to regroup (yes, after just a week haha) and readjust my process. Five posts a week seems like something that's good for me, we'll see how it goes. I am curious if any of you are writing or creating everyday, and what kind of process you have. You can comment below!
Have a great day, and I will talk to you tomorrow!
Yesterday and the day before, I wasn't able to write on my blog: it sucked. But what do you do with things that suck? You learn! So here are a few things I learned (or re-learned) about my process, over this short period of time.
1. Skipping a day (or two) is okay
I have to remind myself that whatever goals I set up for myself, I have to be kind to myself. Guilt will likely not lead me anywhere. If I can't write on a specific day for whatever reason, it doesn't diminish my value or what I have done so far. And, I can always rethink/adapt my process, keeping my possibly evolving purpose in mind. The idea is to keep building over time.
For more on this particular point, you can (should) listen to Stephanie Pellett's excellent podcast episode (aren't they all), (spoiler alert: they are), "Add It Up".
2. Skipping a day is actually important for my mental health
I live with c-ptsd, and one consequence of that is that any kind of stress is more draining than before I lived with this condition. And having too many "have-to's" or "keep up's" can add to the stress. It can also be true of people with a perfectly good mental health (aka unicorns). For me, at this point, with the current state of my self-care "have-to's", I feel like I can blog daily, but that I need a break every few days to keep it rolling.
3. Writing (almost) everyday requires more frequent recharging time
In her book The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron prescribes a weekly "artist date". It is actually just you, going on a date with your inner artist (don't invite a friend!), and refilling the creative well by taking a break (two hours are enough) from everything else to expose yourself to beauty, art, colors, music, flowers, new materials, whatever it is. It is a time for you to play, just like when you were a child. I used to do it only once in a while, but I have come to find that blogging everyday makes me need to recharge more often. So I will try to incorporate that more intently in my weekly planner.
4. Quick topics, long topics
When I started the blog, I drew a list of topics that I wanted to write about. I keep it growing, and I choose a topic out of that list every evening for the next day. Some topics require more diving in and writing than others, hence more time, which I don't always have. I need to hold a list of quick topics for those days when I don't have time. Quick doesn't mean shallow: I always want to bring meaning. I have also found that I need to dedicate a few minutes to add to/edit the topic list every two or three days.
5. Draft away
I found that, even if I generally give myself time to write only about one certain matter, it is helpful to start several post drafts on different topics. Just writing down a few basic ideas on the screen when they come to me. Then, on a day when I don't have too much time, I can just open a draft and develop those ideas. It is easier for me to do it that way than to take handwritten notes or to start a post from scratch.
It's a work in progress! I'm glad I took some time to regroup (yes, after just a week haha) and readjust my process. Five posts a week seems like something that's good for me, we'll see how it goes. I am curious if any of you are writing or creating everyday, and what kind of process you have. You can comment below!
Have a great day, and I will talk to you tomorrow!
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I am happy to read your thoughts on the matter!