My 2018 New Year’s Resolution:

Publish a Blog Article Every Week in 2018

Happy New Year! 2018 is packed with potential, and it’s going to be a fabulous year! I can feel it in my bones. I wish you success, happiness, and the satisfaction of reaching your goals. If you have a New Year’s Resolution, I’d love to hear about it. My New Year’s Resolution is to publish a blog article every week in 2018.

My blog, ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com, is brand new. I want to load it up with quality content. So my very first challenge to myself will be 365 days long. Every Monday in 2018, I’ll publish an original 1000-words-or-more blog post. That’s 53 posts, since 2018 begins and ends with Mondays. I like the thought of establishing this habit of writing for an audience. Also, I know I’ll love seeing all my finished work when it’s done.

Writing about The Good Life is a Welcome Challenge

My goal of writing 53 blog posts sounds incredibly daunting to me right now. That’s because I’m really busy mothering my adorable 1-year-old son, being a good wife, working full time, nurturing my relationships, keeping my house clean, preparing healthy meals, and budgeting our money, as well as everything else life requires. I’ll bet you can relate, as most people seem to find time scarce amidst the busyness of life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ll accomplish my goal of 53 blog posts this year. I’m truly excited about writing this new hobby blog of mine. Writing about the good life thrills me down to my very soul. So that helps in a big way. Also, blog or no blog, I’m constantly thinking about personal development and living a good life. I have many ideas and thoughts on the subject, all day long, so I know I’ll be able to write plenty of content. I have a strong drive to write. But to further increase my motivation and the quality of my articles, I’ll frequently explore the existing personal growth material out there in the world, including books, news articles, research, documentaries, other blogs, and ideas from conversations with people. I’ll follow my lucky hunches and intuition when choosing my blog topics. This will keep things feeling fun, fresh, and relevant.

I may have abundant ideas and motivation, but as I mentioned, my real hurdle is lack of time. My strategy is to squeeze in blog-writing time whenever possible. It’s working pretty well so far: I’ve found time early in the morning, during lunchtime at work, while waiting in line wherever, while my son is napping on the weekends, and sometimes late at night. I’ve been watching less TV and surfing the internet less. I’ve spent less time worrying about nonsense and more time thinking about living well. Even with all this strategy, it’s still a real challenge to find the time to write quality blog articles. But where there’s a will there’s a way.

How I’m Keeping Myself Accountable

Additional keys to my blog-writing productivity have been deadlines and an accountability partner. Without my self-imposed deadlines, I wasn’t getting much finished. But now that I’ve created deadlines for myself, it’s been a game-changer. I’m finishing blog articles weekly.

I write my upcoming blog-related deadlines on two index cards, including dated goals. I keep one index card. I give the other to an awesome friend who agreed to be my accountability partner, at least during this initial blog-launch phase. Her job is pretty simple, but her involvement has taken my productivity to satisfactory new levels. Having an accountability buddy keeps me persistent and action-oriented. She often gives me a friendly reminder when a deadline is approaching. Then by the deadline, I email her my finished blog article. She usually helps me celebrate each accomplishment with some kind words. This goes a long way with me. I generally meet my deadlines, but not always. When I’ve gotten behind, I’ve managed to catch back up. By hook or by crook.

This system of deadlines and accountability has allowed me to get ahead by several weeks. So I now have a few blog posts in queue. But I know I’ll always give them a final edit last minute.

I like finishing my blog posts ahead of time, so I always feel caught up and a little ahead of the game. This strategy reduces stress. It also gives me time to contemplate and fine tune each article. Then when I’m ready, I upload it to ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com to post on the appropriate Monday morning, by 8am Pacific Standard Time.

Also, publicly posting my goal in this blog will certainly help me stay accountable.

Weekly Schedule for ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com

My ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com blog article categories will follow this schedule:

• 1st Monday: Personal Challenge Begins
• 2nd Monday: Book Recommendation
• 3rd Monday: My Thoughts on the Good Life
• 4th Monday: Topic Varies
• Last Monday: Personal Challenge Wrap-Up

During five of the months in 2018, there are five Mondays, rather than four. On these five-Monday months, I’ll have a wild card topic on the 4th Monday of the month. The subjects will vary.

Examples of Blog Articles Planned Within Each Category

I have a number of ideas for potential blog articles. I hope to write on most of the following topics and many others.

30-Day Personal Challenges:

Some of my personal challenges will be shorter or longer in duration, like this 365-day challenge. Most will be 30 days. These challenges involve goals that are interesting to me. You can do these challenges along with me, create your own, or just observe.

• Sleep: 8+ Hours Per Night
• Clutter-Free Home
• Budget: Updated Daily
• Display Photos: Print & Hang One Per Day
• Create a Vision Board
• Dishes & Laundry Caught Up Daily
• Cultivate Luxury & Contentment
• Mommy/Son Time: Prioritize His Smiles
• Photograph an Orchid Every Day
• Give a Genuine Compliment to a Different Person Every Day: Friend/Family
• Grocery & Meal Plan with My Husband
• Give 30 LinkedIn Recommendations

Personal Development Book Recommendations:

• “The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind” by Richard Wiseman
• “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big” by Scott Adams
• “The 5 Second Rule” by Mel Robbins
• “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey
• “The Survivor Personality” by Al Siebert
• “You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero
• “Eat to Live” by Joel Fuhrman
• “Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done” by Jon Acuff

My Thoughts on the Good Life:

• Motivation & Gratitude Journal: A Daily Practice to Increase Happiness
• Budgeting: Take Control of Your Money
• Talent Stacking: Multiply Your Odds of Success
• Success at Work: It’s at Least 51% Getting Along with People
• The Magic of Daily Routines: At Work & at Home
• Wabi-Sabi: Embracing Imperfection & Transience
• Focus Blocks: Getting a Lot Done Quickly
• Parenthood: Beautiful Babies & the Way They Transform Us
• Color Therapy Sunglasses: Alter Your View of Reality
• Create a Good Life for Your Future Self
• The Big Picture: Life, Love, Ambition, Paradox, and the Search for Meaning
• My Life Purpose: To Make the World a Brighter Place

I’m Really Excited About These Potential Topics and Many More

If you’re particularly interested in any of these topics, please let me know. I plan to write long-form blog articles, about 1000-4000 words each. I want to explore each topic in-depth. Plus from my research, I’ve come to understand longer blog articles are better for search engine optimization. So with longer blog posts, I might gain more visibility online, connect with more people, and hopefully enhance their lives in some way.

I have no idea what the readership of this blog will be. Maybe someday I’ll have millions of readers. Maybe no one will read it except for me. But either way, I think writing these 53 blog articles will be 100% worth it.  I’m absolutely convinced good things will come out of this, although I’m not sure what. Hopefully It’ll lead me to accomplish some big and wonderful things. I’m open to the wide world of possibilities. But at the very least, I’ll have a record of my own best thoughts. And I’ll have put them out into the universe.

I invite you and encourage you to read my blog regularly, because no matter who you are, I truly wish you all the best: happiness, success, luck, and contentment. My hope is this blog will benefit you in some real ways.

New Articles Will Post Every Monday Morning

New blog articles will be posted right here at ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com, every Monday, by 8am Pacific Standard Time.

I’ll Give You a Progress Report at the End of 2018

At the end of January, I’ll update you on my progress toward this 365 day goal. Then at the end of the year, I’ll explain how my 2018 New Year’s Resolution played out. At that time, I’ll let you know what I really think of personal development blogging, when I have a year of experience under my belt.

As for you, best of luck with your 2018 New Year’s Resolutions. Go make the magic happen, and enjoy the challenge.

Next week: Personal Development Book Recommendation “The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind” by Richard Wiseman