When December came, and I announced that I would be participating in a month-long challenge to blog every day, I know a lot of you must have thought “Is she crazy?” Well, the answer is clearly yes, but not because of the whole blogging thing. I pride myself on just the right amount of crazy to be interesting without getting put away.
Well, I did it. I finished up the whole month of December with a blog post every single day, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And I’m so very happy I did. So happy, in fact, that I have agreed to take another stab at the challenge for the month of January. To write what’s on my mind. Every. Single. Day.
Why would I do this, you ask? What possibly benefit could it have, and how much time out of your real life is this taking away? Don’t you want to actually do things?
Yes. I do. That’s actually why I’m doing this.
Beyond the fact that writing every day is a great way to build up content on my blog quickly and increases my views, I’ve learned many reasons why this whole “write every day” thing is good for me. First off, reflection. Looking back over what you have thought, said, and done, where you’ve gone, how you’ve lived lately, is so important to life. Constantly reflecting on who and how you are in the world is invaluable. By writing daily, I am forced to think back over what’s happened (both recent and far-gone) and wonder at and make sense of it. To look for ways I might go further.
Instead of aimlessly surfing the internet in search for kitten videos and unnecessary things to purchase, I’ve been learning how to write quickly and efficiently, when I do have time. Now I can pump off a few posts in just half an hour’s time, and often have drafted bits and pieces waiting for me to come back to them (I seriously cannot stop thinking of things I want to write – it’s overwhelming at times!). I’m getting better and better at knowing what I want to say, and figuring out a way of saying it without telling you every detail of each bite I had for dinner and how many pennies I keep in a jar upstairs – leaving the unimportant parts out. This, I’ve learned, is where I often have troubles – both in writing and in conversations.
That’s not all I’ve learned about myself, either. I wrote a whole post on What I’ve Learned Though a Blogging Challenge last month, and now I have even more to add to it. From being forced to assess what’s going on in my world and how much I put into life, I’ve learned what’s most important to me. I’ve learned that I can accomplish so much – if I actually just go out and do it.
If I didn’t start blogging, I never would have thought out clear goals for this year with my New Year’s Resolutions, much less put them down and out where everyone can see them, making me feel more accountable to them. I wouldn’t be striving so hard to nourish my family, to create, to play, to organize, to enrich and to grow. And I am. I’m very satisfied with how well I’ve been working towards my goals each day (more to come of how my resolve is coming along in a future post). Of course, these things should be worked towards, with or without a writing platform, but when you have somewhere to gather and account for your time, it all seems so much easier and more direct.
A large part of the goal of this blog is to be able to make some stay-at-home-mama money, but even if I don’t (which I will, just you wait), there is a lot of other benefits to draw from. I will never feel like my time was “wasted”.
So whether you write on a blog, in a journal, or in a note on your smart phone, whether you write every day, every week, every month, or even once or twice a year, I truly hope you are reflecting on your life. Thinking about where you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go. Because without reflection and aspiration, it’s easy to fall into a crack in that couch and only come up for air when work or children come a-calling. And that’s not life.
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” – Ashley Smith
If you’re interested in checking out the daily blogging challenge, follow my group on Twitter using the hashtag #blog30days. Would you participate in a challenge like this? Let me know in the comments below, and if you feel the benefits of the blogging world, please share this post!