For the next 31 days, I’ve set out on a personal challenge to write and publish “one post a day for the month of May”. I have been inspired by @Dunlop_Sue who set and met her goal to publish one post a day during the month of April. Sue is a Superintendent for the Hamilton Wentworth School Board. I continue to be impressed with her dedication to making her learning visible via her blog and her Twitter feed. I figure if a busy Superintendent can make a commitment to a daily post, then certainly I can do the same.
As I reflect on my current posting pattern, it is one where I try and publish at least 1 post per month and at times I’ve managed up to three posts, so this new goal will be a significant change for me. I wonder if knowing that each day I will need to find something to write about, I will become more aware of those “notable” moments. I find that topics come easily as I surround myself with people who challenge my thinking. I wonder how my daily interactions will change? I also wonder how and IF my writing will improve, change,evolve? Writing is a skill and just like any other skill, the more you practice, the more you improve. And my final wondering is by increasing my output of posts, will I inspire others to make their thinking visible and take up the challenge of blogging?
Cliff…. You’re on! I write, you leave a comment! You are right in that the inspiration for the posts are all around us. As a very beginning photographer, I find myself looking at the world through a “ohhh, that would be interesting to capture” lens. Now, with this challenge, I’m doing something similar. After a meeting, or a school visit or reading something, I’m jotting down my reflections in the hopes that it might make for an interesting post. As a photographer sees the world around him as something beautiful to capture in pictures, a blogger sees the world as something inspirational to capture in words! Hey…. I should have saved that “aha” for one of my 31 posts… Smile!
Carla… Thanks so much for taking the time to read my posts. I’ll watch for your daily tweets!
Sue…. You are right in that it is both exciting and scary. Once you make it public, you need to stick with it! Thanks for the link!
Oh I don’t think you’ll have a problem at all. One post a day is really nothing for you (in a sense) You follow Seth and he writes one a day and his patterns are easy to see and follow. He often writes in themes and for 3-4 days will stick to one theme showing his reader many sides of the same issue. Some of his best blogs are the very short ones which I would imagine only took about 30 seconds to dictate (if he’s using Dragon) but they are often the most memorable and powerful. If you do a theme you only have to come up with 4 themes – one for each week. Or …write for all your varied audiences! You have 34 Coaches who work in your portfolio – and you know them as if they were students in your own classroom. Write to each one of them and let them guess who you are writing to that day! LOL …what fun that would be! I found it interesting that you are modeling and taking this challenge from a Superintendent – one (as you stated) who is probably very busy and yet she met her goal in April. I remember a time when our own SO’s and key leaders would write a blog every so often! Is that still happening on some level? I hope some of your writings challenge that to happen again. As we often tell teachers at Networking sessions – what you model to (and with) your students you tend to see happening in their lives. And of course, having read many of your blogs in the past I know your gather ideas and topics from your own family and the challenges and inspiration you find at church and / or on your many walks or bike rides down trails in your neighbourhood. I’m sure we’ll see that in your writings. And lastly, of course you have a great resource in your Twitter world. Maybe put the numbers 1-20 in a jar and in the morning draw out a number. And then follow twitter all day long but write your blog on the tweet that matches that number! It would be like a QuickWrite! Ah what fun you will have! And if you challenge yourself to write each day, can I take up the challenge and read your blog each day and make a comment? 31 days? 31 comments? Hmmmm maybe a few of us should try! See ya tomorrow!
I look forward to reading your posts! You inspire me to set a similar goal…someday! I am thinking maybe I can start with one tweet a day.
And it begins! It’s exciting and scary, right? I’m curious to see what you find out about yourself and your writing.
Have you signed up for #edblogaday? See that hashtag for more info and @the_explicator for inspiration if not.