Sunday Fireside Chat #1

Sunday’s are great days for reflecting on the week past and looking forward to the week ahead. A rainy Sunday is better. The fire is going, the tea is warm, the belly is full and in the moment of contentment, you can think without any of your current needs getting in the way.

These Sunday posts will follow a little bit like that – but maybe more focused on this attempt to blog every day. After all, the other days should be saved for my general ramblings… And what better way to illustrate these fireside chats, than with a picture of Kerry Freaking King shredding guitar in front of a stage on fire. Even my musings are metal AF.

This week, I kicked off my blog every day for a month endeavor, and was pretty good about it. Until Saturday. Saturday was a day that escaped me, what with house maintenance (that Simone totally rocked at) and social engagements. I didn’t get the time I wanted, or felt I needed, to sit down and write a new short story. Never fear though, I have the idea, and the basic premise, so it will just wait until next weekend.

Ok, so I need to manage my time better when I feel like I have all the time in the world. I also blame the fact that I was not prepared for a Saturday of doing stuff, having just gotten home the Sunday before after 3 weeks in South East Asia. In my mind, it was going to be a chilled out, completely unproductive (apart from the blogging) day. This caused me to literately waste time staring into nothing, scrolling through Twitter and just being a lazy bum. Next Saturday, the story will be a priority.

Apart from that, I found having the WordPress app on my phone helps me a lot. I can write up a few ideas, save it as a draft and come back to it later. It makes it easier to use those moments when I would normally have checked Twitter for the 100th time to scribble down notes and prepare myself for the next post, or the next day. Also, seeing the stats helps keep me motivated. (Also please get your friends and family to read and comment on my stuff – I need the validation. Thats a joke! But it really happened!)

Forcing myself to blog every day has also forced me to change my blogging style. It feels more simple. Easier to follow. I dunno if maybe thats just me and my high standards going out the window, or if its true. But its perceived from my point of view… Let me know what you think. I live for feedback!

Apart from that, having an impending tech post coming up has given me a lot to think about, and I hope my post strikes the right balance between easy to understand and being relevant. As well as giving the world my unsolicited opinion.

This coming week, my podcast starts up again, so my Tuesday nights get busy really quickly. This is going to take some balancing of when to blog, and when to publish. Also, this week our Discussion Group – Sweet Debate – is on too. So another night full of social engagements that will take more prep and planning on when to blog and when to publish. I will need to ensure I have the self-discipline to make sure these days get done, and not just write them off with a “But I have been creative in other ways!” excuse.

In real life, this week is going to be full of forms as I go through the process of changing jobs, try to get back into gym and attempt to make peace with the fact that the holiday is over and it really is winter here. But all of these are positives really. Winter gives the hills a beautiful coating of white, gym makes me happy afterwards and a new job is exciting! So really! Nothing to complain about.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow night for Metal Monday!
Have a blessed week.