Blogging Challenge: 29 Days Complete. 336 Days to Go.

In a nutshell, my blogging experience so far has been fabulous, time-consuming, and self-actualizing. It’s been totally worth it. Thank you so much for visiting ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com. I hope my personal development blog posts are adding some sunshine to your life. I’m now 29 days into my 365-day blogging challenge. 336 days left. I’m excited for what’s to come! I encourage you to continue this journey of growth and enlightenment with me.

If you are a blogger, writer, or enthusiastic hobbyist of any type, please feel free to share your wisdom with me. I’d love to hear what makes you successful, motivated, and producing great results. I’d love to learn from you. On the flip side, If you’re thinking about starting a blog, you might find this article helpful. For everyone else, I’d like to give you a behind-the-scenes tour of my creative process.

Website Visitor Stats So Far

Launching this blog has been a beautiful learning experience for me. One month in, ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com has now had about 594 page views. Most readers are in the United States, but I’m delighted to see a handful of international page views:

• 17 from Morocco
• 8 from Hong Kong
• 7 from Mexico
• 6 from Canada
• 5 from Belgium
• 1 from Belarus

The blog website itself has received one reader comment, two likes, and two emails so far. I’ve also been promoting on Facebook and LinkedIn, where the feedback has been much more plentiful with dozens of comments, several people re-sharing my posts, and hundreds of likes from friends, family, colleagues, and fellow bloggers. Everyone has been really supportive.

My Dad read my blog and told me he thinks this type of writing is what I’m meant to do with my life. My husband was initially hesitant about the blog, because he’s a very private person. But he has ultimately been incredibly supportive and even proofreads most articles and helps me with ideas for blog posts. I’m appreciative. It has been a dream come true to put myself out there authentically and connect with people in this way. I’m enjoying the resulting synergy that comes from thinking about and discussing the good life online and off. This first month has met and surpassed my expectations, and this is just the beginning. It’s exactly what I was hoping for.

So Far, I’ve Posted to This Website Six Times

The first thing I posted was the About page on Saturday, December 30th, 2017. I carefully wrote the About page, and kept it concise, because it’s likely to get read frequently, and it describes my intentions for the entire website. Other than the homepage and one other specific article, the About page has received the most views so far: 78. The homepage has had 315 views.

Then on Monday, January 1st, 2018, I posted my first real blog article, “365-Day Challenge – Blog Every Week,” in which I laid out my plans for this blog for the year. Today’s blog article is an update on that 365-day challenge. I’ll do a another update on this 365-day challenge at the end of 2018, once I’ve completed it by blogging for an entire year, once a week, every Monday. I’m curious to see how I’ll truly feel about blogging once I have a year of experience.

On the second Monday of 2018, I posted “The Luck Factor – Personal Development Book Recommendation.” I worked hard on this article, by carefully reading the book again, living it’s luck principles, and obtaining permission from the author to post my article. This was my favorite blog post so far, because the ideas in The Luck Factor have been incredibly life-enhancing for me for 15 years. I experience lucky opportunities in my life constantly. I love this book, because it seems to have made me luckier. I’ll continue to use it’s optimistic, research-based wisdom and see where it takes me. I urge you to check it out. Of the four full-length blog articles I’ve previously published, The Luck Factor has received the most page views, 81 so far.

On the third Monday of 2018, I posted “Motivation and Gratitude Journal – A Daily Practice to Increase Happiness.” On the fourth Monday, I posted “Taming the Beast – Take Control of Your Life with Daily Routines.” In both of these blog articles, I shared my own thoughts on the good life, explaining what works well for me in real life. I urged my readers to consider adopting similar practices. Journaling and routines are foundational to my decision-making and ability to get things done. They are my simple yet effective tools.

Today is the fifth Monday of 2018, and as I explained, this blog article is an update on my yearlong blogging challenge. My only other update on this challenge will come when it concludes at the end of the year.

Blog Content Planned for 2018

With 336 days left in 2018, that means I’ll post 48 more blog articles on upcoming Mondays. During the first month of this blog, I’ve largely been laying the groundwork for what’s to come. In the coming 11 months, I plan to dig into some meatier topics, within these categories:

• 22 articles will be about “30-Day Personal Challenges.”
  • 11 of these 22 articles will be at the beginning of Challenges.
  • 11 of these 22 articles will be at the conclusion of Challenges.
• 11 articles will be “Personal Development Book Recommendations.”
• The remaining 15 articles will be about “My Thoughts on the Good Life.”

I’m happy to have a plan. Looking forward to a year of blogging and living well.

How I Chose the Web Address www.ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com

Creating this blog has been a huge experience of personal growth for me. The learning curve has been steep. I first had to choose a website address. I first considered StumblingTowardSuccess.com and DeconstructingTheGoodLife.com, but ultimately I wanted a more optimistic name. TheGoodLife.com would’ve been my first pick, but it wasn’t available, and neither was the .net variation. I ended up buying TheGoodLife.space and TheGoodLife.website. But I ultimately decided to go with a .com address, to keep it simple and memorable. I considered many options, including LiveAReallyGoodLife.com and GoodLifeGoodTimes.com, among others.

I finally decided on ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com for several reasons. This name lingered in my mind for several months. It seemed like a good fit, since I’m constantly thinking about the good life and how to live well. When I polled people on Facebook and asked for opinions in real life, ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com was the overall favorite. Plus, as my Mom pointed out, this name isn’t prescriptive, it’s more contemplative, which is important to me, because I don’t know it all. My journey of living well is fluid, and I’m figuring it out as I go, along with everyone else. I ended up liking ThoughtsOnTheGoodLife.com so much, I got concerned someone else would buy it first. So once I made the decision, I bought the web address quickly, and luckily, it was still available.

The Process of Building this Website

I bought the web address and three years of hosting service from Bluehost with a WordPress.org platform for about $108. I followed the website setup advice from an article on MrMoneyMustache.com, which is a financial independence early retirement blog my husband and I read. The best advice from the MMM article was to purchase WHOIS Privacy for an extra $10 per year, so my contact info isn’t posted publicly to vendors. Also the article suggested using WordPress.org instead of WordPress.com, because .org lets the website creator own their website, use any web address, and self-host. This allows me to have greater creative control of the blog, and monetize and customize however I want, now and in the future.

The technical part of building the website was quite confusing at first, but I ultimately figured it out on my own, using my cheap little Chromebook laptop and my iPhone. I enjoyed the process. I watched some YouTube tutorials. I used trial and error. I called BlueHost’s super-helpful IT support three times, when I had specific questions. I chose a website theme called Kale, which is meant for foodie blogs, but I adapted it to work well for my purposes. The theme design is clean and modern, I like the font, and it looks good on mobile as well as desktop devices. It was awesome to see the website come together with the various pages, articles, and photos.

Photography on this Website

At first I wasn’t going to include photography on the website, or at least, I didn’t plan to include many photos. But then, I decided images are really important for site identity. I have quite a bit of photography experience, so it has been fun to add themed, colorful images to each of my blog posts. It’s a little challenging to produce new quality photos each week. But it’s worth it, because humans are visual creatures, and photos bring things to life. I’m lucky to have some talented photographers in my life: my cousin and my co-worker shot my wallpaper and profile photos for me. The rest of the photos I took myself, using nature, simple backgrounds, and a tripod. I wasn’t going to use many photos of myself, but then through trial and error, I realized people are more likely to pause and look at my posts, when they see a friendly face, especially one they recognize.

Sharing the Blog on Social Media

I’ve enjoyed sharing my blog articles on social media and in real life. So far, I’ve only promoted the blog online through Facebook and LinkedIn. I’d like to also try Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Other bloggers tell me Pinterest is the best place to get the word out. I haven’t yet found the time to get familiar with these social media platforms, since I’m a mother and full-time worker, but I do plan to eventually.

Writing the Blog is the Most Time-Consuming Part

Writing the actual blog articles has by far been the most time-consuming part of this adventure. Each article is 1000-4500 words long so far. That’s a hefty number of words to craft and fine tune. I want to convey my message accurately. As you know, clarity of message is a concern even when writing a four-sentence text message. So that becomes much more challenging with a 4000-word blog article that anyone in the world could potentially read. I’ll also note that I’ve been really careful to back up my work frequently, by emailing it to myself. It’s a labor of love. I’ve always enjoyed writing, especially about topics that could potentially improve the lives of others and my own life. It’s a dream realized. I feel I’m better at writing than speaking, so I really enjoy the opportunity to communicate this way.

Overall, the blog has been more work than I expected. My life is already full with work and motherhood. So the website takes up a lot of my free time and lunch breaks at work. But it’s a good use of my time. I’m a natural worrier, so blogging about personal development is an excellent replacement behavior for me. It keeps my mind focused on practicalities and positive things. Plus it gives me some extra excitement in my life. It’s a healthy challenge.

I was hoping to work ahead on blog articles by at least a few weeks. I launched the blog with four pre-written articles in the can, but now I’m only one article ahead. Life has been busy. Even if I write an article in advance, I usually feel compelled to make last-minute edits. Several times, I’ve faced a time crunch due to a Monday deadline and squeezed in extra time by staying awake a few hours past my son and husband, which has gotten me behind on sleep. That left me sleep-deprived and more prone to getting sick. I need to find ways to simplify and systemize my creation process, so I can finish articles early, and get lots of sleep. It’s also important to not be too much of a perfectionist and accept when something is “good enough.”

Overall though, I love this challenge. Blogging gives me an outlet for my creativity. These are exactly the skills I like to use: writing, grammar, photography, promoting, and website-development. So I feel blogging is a great fit for me. It’s awesome to use these skills and further develop them. I get to use my training from my Electronic Media Journalism degree, my one-man-band TV reporter skills, and my writing abilities I’ve developed in my subsequent jobs. It feels right.

I’m So Happy I Took The Risk to Create This Blog

I was really intimidated by the idea of starting this blog. There were so many variables and unknowns, and there still are. I mulled over my blog idea for about four months, before launching this website. I’m so glad I took the leap. As a result, I feel more confident about my ability to take healthy risks, use my skills, trust my intuition, and put myself out there in the world.

I truly feel more self-actualized. What I’m about to say is a little heavy. I hope to a healthy 100. But if I were to exit life early, I’d die happier because I was able to express myself in this way. It means that much to me.

It has been great to receive support from family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. It was 100% the right decision for me to keep the focus of this blog positive and not discuss the lives of others without their permission. I’ll keep that commitment moving forward. Maintaining good relationships is one of my highest priorities.

High Hopes for my Future as a Writer

Moving forward, I have high hopes for the future in terms of my writing about personal development. I don’t know exactly where I’m headed, but I’d like my future to include writing professionally. It’s kind of undefined at this point. Maybe this blog will become profitable. Maybe I’ll do some freelance writing. Maybe I’ll write books. Maybe this blog will lead to other types of opportunities. My biggest hope is that blogging will simply lead to personal growth and a chance to support you and other people to live your best lives. I intend to make the most of this fabulous blogging opportunity in 2018 and beyond.

NEXT WEEK: 30-DAY PERSONAL CHALLENGE – “THE SLEEP CURE – SLEEP 8 HOURS EVERY WEEKDAY NIGHT & SLEEP 9 HOURS EVERY WEEKEND NIGHT”