Well, it’s been 3 months since I started blogging, and I’ve learned some, and have so much more to learn. Phew, so much.
How did I get started?
As I’ve written in other posts, when COVID-19 sent everyone home, a byproduct of the pandemic was more time. Though I continued to work, the business was/is much slower than normal. In fact, the business is completely different today, and will continue to be so.
As I was looking for another outlet for the additional time, my oldest son and I had a conversation about COVID-19, discussing if future history books would show a large increase in creativity during the pandemic. Not sure, yet it is fun to think about.
What I do know is that it got me thinking about creating a site where I could get out my own creativity, and could also invite others to do the same. Though the latter hasn’t been fully realized, the former has been, and in ways that I never anticipated.
At the time, I had no idea how far it would go, and it pleasantly surprised me for sure. Pretty cool.
I’ve actually integrated the blogging into my normal daily workflow. They are very relevant to each other, and in many ways, they feed on each other. Fun.
What have I learned?
Phew, so many things. Here are a few.
- How to create, manage, update, and maintain a website – lots of work, was a steep learning curve for me. Yet, like anything, once you get into it, starting moving work forward, you learn, read other blogs, and adjust as needed.
- How to connect social media accounts to websites – actually not difficult. The difficulty is in managing the social media accounts. Making the time to learn how to use them, as they are all very different. Lots of work.
- How to manage my time differently – even though there was/has been more time since COVID-19 began, I had to strategically create time each day to move the work forward.
- How to differentiate writing from working on the site – both are needed. I write everyday, and, at first, worked on the site everyday. Now, I still write everyday, yet only work on the site once or twice a week. Not sure if that is a proper balance, as I do know updating the site is very important.
- How to follow and interact with other bloggers – much fun. I have greatly enjoyed reading other blogs, asking questions, and giving my perspective on other topics. Fun.
- How to connect videos to websites – about a month ago I wrote this blog, How We Learn, and Why it’s Important to Understand, and after reflecting upon it, it occurred to me that creating videos would be super fun, and would be another way to engage with people.
- How to market your blog – learning more here every day. Lots of ways to market and engage people. I will say, however, that being active and consistent is super important.
- How to sign up and write regularly on medium – I had never even heard of medium before beginning to blog. You can follow me here.
I’ve learned so much, and have so much more to learn, which is why I thought this new diary series would be super fun to write.
Let’s take a look at how my blogs have iterated in the past three months.
Here is the first one, Creativity During COVID-19, and here is the most recent one, The Blog + Video Series 2: Writing and Life Series #4 – On Pain and Healing Through Writing.
Lots of development over the past three months. A wonderful journey thus far, and I have every intention of continuing to write in this medium.
Here are some of the topics I’ve covered in the past three months.
- Relationships
- Mindfulness
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Human Development
- Self-Development
- Writing
- Social Action
- Business
- Letters
- Inspiration and Imagination
- Possibilities
- The Sound of
That’s actually a pretty inclusive list. The letters category is really new, it was just created last week. There is only one blog in there now, which is the one about my father passing, Letters: For My Dad.
That was a tough one to write, and has me in tears now. Phew. I miss him.
What’s next?
Continue to write, and learn. I’ve got a long list of topics to write about, much more than the time to get them all written anytime soon. And, you know, that’s totally okay.
I see blogging as something that will continue to be a part of my life forevermore. I’m not interested in the short game, only in the long one.
I also see my work in higher education and blogging, as something that will continue to converge. Actually, I’ve just recently added coaching services to the website, which I am super excited about. You can check them out here.
I’ve got a deep passion for personal and professional development, and have been working in this field all my life. Fun.
I also get very excited about new ways to engage, and new topics to write about, which I continue to reflect upon.
Alright, that’s all for this entry. However, before I go, I would like to thank each of you.
Develop. Inspire. Transform. 