Post-wise, 2017 was my slowest year since I started blogging (2012 doesn't count, since I only was at it for two months and a half, but from 2013 on, my best streak was in 2014, with 52 posts). Last year I got sidetracked by...life, basically, with an increasing number of problems that sucked away my free time and my will to sit and bang my keyboard with a purpose. It's not that I was in a blogging slump - I wanted to write, but most of the time, I lacked the time and energy. During the first half of the year, I produced a grand total of 13 posts. Then I decided that maybe - just maybe - a schedule might help me focus and be more productive. I know there are many people who hate schedules (hello Karen 😉) because they can't handle the pressure and/or end up feeling like rebelling against their own goal list. I'm lucky in that respect, because not only I can follow a schedule, but I even ENJOY making lists of things to do, and basically, trying to organise my week around my husband's shifts (he does all three, while I always work in the afternoon). So I decided to apply this skill (?) of mine to blogging, and go figure, it worked. I closed 2017 with a total of 36 posts, that are still few, but let's not forget I had 13 posts written at the end of June, so I wrote 23 in the second half of the year...Also, I know my limits. Even a post a week is difficult to sustain in my situation - plus, I don't want to turn blogging into a chore. All this long premise to say that, in 2018, I hope to (HERE COMES THE LIST!!! 😁):
- STICK TO BLOGGING. Heck, consider it done. I'd never for a moment entertain the idea of calling it quits.
- POST AT LEAST THREE TIMES A MONTH. It worked last year, after all. If I can do better, good for me. Either way, if I can't reach that number, I won't smash my head into a wall. But I think that 36 posts are a reasonable goal for me. That's what counts, right? 😃
- GO BACK TO REVIEWING BACKLIST. Last year, for the very first time since this blog was born, I only reviewed new/newish books. But I have a few older ones that I want to give a spotlight to, so I plan on going back to that!
- DO SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR HALLOWEEN. Every year I swear to myself I will, because while I don't really celebrate Halloween, I like to see other bloggers doing that and showcasing creepy/thrilling books, so I'm inspired to do the same - except I never can seem to get around to it. That needs some planning ahead...so I'm putting it on my by-now-infamous schedule! 😂
- January 16th: What books or series that are languishing in your TBR are you finally going to try this year?
- January 23rd: How do you beat the winter blues?
- January 30th: What were some of the big best seller books that disappointed you?
- February 6th: What are some light, fluffy, feel good books you have read lately?
- February 13th: Romance recommendations
- February 20th: How do you find time to read?
- February 27th: When is your favorite time to read?
hehe! Don't back Baby (Karen) in a corner! lol
ReplyDeleteI think most people are more like you though. At least all of my friends are - and love organizing and lists. I always feel weird that they don't work for me. I'm so much more productive without them. But as I've said many times YOU DO YOU!
I think it's more important to find what works for each individual, rather than trying to fit some blogging mold. If whatever it is your doing keeps you blogging then it's the right thing.
It sounds like you've struck the right balance this year of what works for you, what's attainable but also having something to strive for.
<3 and glad you're still here with meeeeee!
For What It's Worth
LOL. We old ladies need to keep close and keep going! 😂
DeleteRoberta, Just keep on trucking. Life is hard and it comes down on us like a ton of bricks. I know because in 2016, everything was going along great and then I got the call that my 67 year old mother who had been healthy and metastatic cancer, two months later she was gone. I have grown and learned so much since then, and I keep on going. Don’t be too hard on yourself, do what you can. Set some small goals and tick them off. You will get there. My best blogging advice is when you have time write some posts in advance, it makes it so much less stressful. Thanks for being a part of TMST. If you ever have any ideas for future posts, please let me know, I am always looking for suggestions. Huggles!
ReplyDeleteI read about you losing your mom last year, but I didn't know she was so young and it was so sudden (I wasn't familiar with your blog back then). I'm really sorry. But I'm sure that blogging helped you stay sane through your loss, because I can see you're passionate about it. I hope this year will give you some happiness back - you sure deserve it!
DeleteThank you for the advice - since I'm scheduling my posts now, I do think it will be easier to actually draft them before the (self-imposed) deadline LOL. And if I have any idea for future TMST posts, I'll definitely let you know!
I'm not a New Year's resolutions person either, but I'm already failing at my blog goals, lol. I wanted to post more original content besides reviews, preferably weekly, but... well, things don't always work out the way I want.
ReplyDeleteI'm super excited to see more of your backlist AND your Halloween post if you do one this year! (My Halloween list really tripped me up this year. Three months later, and I still have a pile of unread series books that I started. I did not think that list through.) I'd love to see some of your spookier books showcased!
Original contents are the trickiest thing. I, for one, haven't come up with a discussion post in a while 🙁. Everything has been done AT LEAST once LOL. But that shouldn't prevent us from trying! Especially people like you, who have a wonderful knack for articulating their thoughts. (I know, I know, time is the real problem, isn't it?).
DeleteLOL, Halloween. Why am I not surprised? You're doomed! 😁 I don't have so many scary/creepy books to showcase (if you don't count our friend Pike 😉, but I indeed have to go back and review some of his backlist too!), but there are a handful of anthologies that I wanted to review ages ago and never got round to.
Here's to making it through 2018 with a BIGGER, BETTER, STRONGER blog! 👍
I'm glad that a schedule works well for you---sometimes the hardest thing is just figuring out what types of things work for us (and which decidedly don't!).
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Ah, yes. It took me 5 years to realise a schedule might work for me LOL.
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