Dec 31, 2015 / Beginner

Three Thoughts on Sustainable Blogging Resolutions

How to set goals you’ll be more likely to keep.

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, writing-related or otherwise. Something about the ritual feels contrived and ineffective — possibly because I’m an undisciplined, chronic procrastinator who loves finding loopholes in self-imposed rules. As esteemed behavioral economist Dan Ariely said a few years ago, “If you don’t have resolutions, you can’t break them.”

And yet here we are, mere hours before ringing in 2016. You want your blog to shine next year, you want to feel productive and energized, and you might think to yourself that maybe a little champagne-fueled commitment can’t hurt. And unless you’re one of the writing 1 percent — that group of three self-satisfied people who think that “writer’s block” is an actual block on which you write, prolifically — you’re right. Ceremonial rituals can’t hurt (why would anyone ever get married otherwise?).

So here are three ideas to ponder as you make — or consider making — your blogging resolutions for next year. They’re tailored to the skeptics among you, though true believers are certainly welcome to adopt and adapt them as well.

Make it about process

Every year, there are people who set out to publish a new post every week or even every single day (if that’s you, you deserve a badge!). Some follow our Daily Prompts while others come up with their own ideas. I genuinely admire anyone with that level of commitment to anything, but I also recognize that we can’t all aspire to a goal as lofty as that.

By setting up circumstances so that the good decision is the default, it takes more work to slip back into old habits.
— Scott Huettel, Duke University Psychology Department

Which is why a great resolution to make is not “I will publish every X days,” but rather “I will build an editorial calendar and stick with it.”

How detailed a calendar ends up being depends on your own temperament — for some, a loose statement like “I’ll post a couple of new recipes every month” is already more than enough. Others might need more specifics, and opt for a list or a chart to shape the serial posts they’d like to write (and their frequency), strategize how to balance their blog’s multiple niches, or make plans for contributions from guest bloggers.

The idea, in other words, is to create a framework that helps you succeed, rather than obsess over a number which you might come to see as arbitrary or even counterproductive.

Take pleasure in connections

Most of us live in cultures that valorize things you can quantify. That’s probably why writing events (and writing resolutions) often establish some numerical goal to achieve: write X words in Y days, publish Z posts over the next month, and so on.

It would be nice to change the culture, but it might take us a while. So, why not stick with numbers — but attach them to different, less output-focused goals?

If don’t already have a network of bloggers you care about and aren’t sure where to start, join one of our free Blogging U. courses in 2016 — they’re the perfect setting for finding other bloggers to interact with (while also working on your blogging or writing skills).

Sure, you can commit to three posts a week or 5,000 words a month or any other metric you feel comfortable with. But consider adding other types of goals to your list: find three new blogs to follow every week. Once a day, leave a substantive comment on someone else’s post. Try out a different blogging event every month.

You get the idea — make resolutions that push you to connect with people. These connections and stronger sense of community will only make it more likely that you meet your other, publishing-oriented goals.

Find a penalty you love

Self-flagellation shouldn’t be part of the blogging or writing process — all of us have work, family, and other obligations to attend to. Our lives are complicated, which is why they’re interesting and worth blogging about in the first place. (It’s also why you should never start a post with “Sorry I haven’t posted in so long!” — see #2 here).

Instead of feeling bad for falling behind on your publishing, find a productive way to penalize yourself. I mentioned earlier my knack for finding loopholes within my own rules. These often take the shape of bizarre, convoluted negotiations with myself: “if I don’t finish this post now, I have to spend 30 minutes looking through my photo library for featured images for future posts.” And so on.

Tip: You can start a list of to-do items for your blog, from design elements to general maintenance. That way, whenever the muses are gone for the day, you have a solid plan B.

The idea is to establish penalties that aren’t too severe (but also not too much fun, or you’ll just intentionally skip your initial plans!) and that still serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things. Come up with a couple of “if… then…” scenarios. “If I don’t publish today, then I’ll audit my tags for consistency.” “If I don’t finish creating those custom Image Widgets I’d been working on, then I’ll come up with three post ideas to explore down the line.” Your “penalty” doesn’t even have to be blog-related. A 15-minute stroll through your neighborhood is a perfect way to not write — and might just inspire your next post. Or it might not. And that’s fine, too.

Whatever your blogging resolutions for next year may be, we can’t wait to see you here in 2016! Happy new year!

 

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  1. A goal of mine for this year is to take blogging seriously. I love doing it, but now I’m really going to invest all my energy into it.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hi lexydavis, I have a similar goal. I must confess I am terrified of writing. I joined WordPress over a year ago. I am just finally fiquiring out what this whole blogging world is all about. I am hoping to get my creative juices flowing.I have know idea why I am feeling so compelled to express my self in such a way. I truly believe I have some sort of talent somewhere. This is so strange I feel like there is Great force pushing me to do step out and face my fears. It is really hard to explain. Something big is going to come out of all this why I have know idea.Im actually feeling anxious about this force if you will,that is pushing me in all sorts of creative avenues.
      My Son sent me a prayer today , I tell you it was right on time. I was feeling really down and he sent this prayer written by Bishop TD Jakes that says” When you are down to nothing..GOD is Up to something” Father in the name of Jesus bless me even while I’m reading this prayer and bless
      The one that sent this to me in a special way. Open supernatural doors in our lives today. Save and set free! Give us a double portion of your spirit as we take back everything that the devil has stolen : emotional health, physical health, finances, relationships, children, jobs, homes, marriages, I cancel every plot, plan and scheme the enemy has devised against us in the matchless name of Jesus. And I declare no weapon formed against us will prosper her. I speak life into every dead situation. And, I thank you that nothing is over until you say. For some strange reason I Felt the need to share this prayer. Good luck with all your ventures for the coming year.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. i do find it hard to keep going and am already behind having been too busy in December to blog meaningfully! Thanks for your encouraging post, Happy New Year

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Very good information. Your post came in at the right time for me 🙂 Blogging is a new thing for me. It is now January 1 in Singapore. I started my blog yesterday 🙂 Blessings for 2016

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I have been with WordPress for many years, from the time when we were not yet .com and there were few templates to choose from. I have stayed and discovered the daily prompt which I loved. Please note past tense. I was surprised you included this link in your blog. Since at least a year, perhaps a little longer, we have been getting the same old daily prompts . I am still writing, always finding perhaps a different aspect on the subject. Are you eventually going to cancel this service as no-one really seems to be interested in giving us something new to write about? It seem to me (am no IT expert) that daily a button is pressed and we get the old themes in a different order. I am a golden oldie and blog for the fun of it, to enjoy my time. Not only is the daily prompt a push to write, but I have noticed we have formed a group of people that get to know each other, not intensively, but we meet in the daily prompt, a feeling of online friendship perhaps. Please rethink the policy on the daily prompt and bring us something new every day.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Thanks for your feedback! I know that you and several other veteran Daily Post readers/bloggers haven’t been satisfied with our decision to re-publish our older prompts instead of creating new ones. We don’t have concrete plans to resume original prompts, though I think it’s something we can think about and approach in a variety of ways (for example, back in September all prompts were brand new ones, submitted by bloggers from our community, and it was great to have new topics and new voices thrown into the mix).

      With a repertoire of ~800 prompts to cycle through — more than two years’ worth of daily prompts — our sense is that the vast majority of bloggers aren’t bothered or turned off by this decision. And I’m heartened (though not at all surprised) to hear that even when you encounter a prompt you’d tackled before, you and other experienced writers can inject new life into it or find a new angle from which to approach it. Since prompts ultimately fall into a finite number of categories, customizing them to match your own interests is something we’ve always encouraged bloggers to do.

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      1. Thanks for your reply. I do understand that most daily prompters give up after a while, move on or perhaps circumstances force them to leave and there are not many of us veterans remaining. I noticed the new prompts from our suggestions last year and I was pleased to see something completely new. As long as I can find something to write I will, even if the prompts are repeated, but even I have to be careful not to repeat what I had already written. I have met some good friends here, one I will be meeting in person some time next year if everything works out and it is not often that someone from the States arrives in Switzerland. I also found the Bloggin U courses OK, but I have done that twice already, so probably will not longer do them.
        Here’s wishing you and the team a good 2016

        Liked by 3 people

  25. I’m anti-resolutionist in life (the only things worth to make a resolution for I’d fail to keep!) but I just made a resolution for my blog: to keep blogging. 🙂 I recognise in view of the above that it’s not ambitious enough so now I amended it with: and drown less books in the tub. 🙂 So here’s continued posts about less wet books! 🍾
    Happy New Year all!

    Liked by 2 people

  26. I already set some resolutions during a Blogging U course. It’s great when you maintain them, but it can be tricky and life does sometimes get in the way. It can be a little disheartening when no one really reads what you’ve written. But I won’t give up! Good luck to everyone and I hope this year brings you all kinds of blogging success.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Thanks for this, Ben. I haven’t had a lovely afternoon refreshing my blog and getting ready for a new approach to it all for 2016.
    I kind of wish I’d read your post before I started rather than now that I’ve ‘done’ today’s work.

    Liked by 2 people

  29. This is an excellent blog piece. The difficult thing for me has been to stick to a plan that I have outlined. True, without some metrics for measurement, it is difficult for many, like myself, to achieve the planned goal. Thanks for the pointers.

    Liked by 2 people

  30. “undisiplined chronic procrastinator who likes to find loop holes in self imposed rules” so well said, and brings me comfort to know this must be a category of personhood … and not just me !! But I’ve heard it said that creative genius does not live in a tidy place, contrary to all the pefection that is around us. Does all this make sense ? Thanks for a prompt in the right direction.

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    1. But I’ve heard it said that creative genius does not live in a tidy place

      I suspect some messy procrastinator came up with that hypothesis, but I’ll take it anyway… 🙂

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