Blogging Ruminations
February 28th is sometimes called “Discouragement Day” because so many people have abandoned their New Year’s resolutions by then. But Gretchen Rubin suggests reframing February 28th as “Determination Day,” a day to figure out what’s working so far and what’s not, and if something isn’t working, decide how to fix it. This year, February 28th fell on a Wednesday, which is my day off of work. I decided some self-reflection was in order, so I took myself to Barnes and Noble, where I sat in the cafe with a notebook and a cup of tea, evaluating 2024 so far. In some ways the year has been a train wreck (I’m looking at you, sprained ankle!) but some of my goals are still right on track. Sleeping has been better! And I’ve been keeping up a decent reading schedule. The only thing I didn’t do at all, which I wanted to, was participate in Gretchen Rubin’s challenge, “Write 24 for 24.” To make it less daunting, she gave the option of either writing for 24 minutes a day, OR 2-4 minutes a day. Other than blog posts, I did neither. But it’s never too late- Determination Day seemed like the perfect time to start. It just so happened that earlier in the day I was listening to this episode of The Mom Hour podcast, “Living a Writerly Life” where the hosts talk about their writing careers and how they’ve evolved over the years. One thing they said stood out to me: don’t confuse your writing identity with the platform you’re using. For example, instead of thinking of yourself as a “blogger,” you should think of yourself as a writer using blogging as your platform. The thought of saying “I’m a writer” kind of makes me cringe. But then, I think about people who say “I’m not really a runner” because they don’t run races, or they think they run slowly. No! If you run, you’re a runner. I’ve never had trouble calling myself a “runner,” even though I’ll never be on the same level as Shalane Flanagan. So why can’t I be a writer? I’m not saying I’m J.K. Rowling. But I write, so I’m a writer. Why make the distinction between “blogger” and “writer?” If you identify as a “blogger” it can be tempting to get caught up in what blogs are “supposed” to be like. You might compare yourself to other blogs, or think “this is too long for a blog post” or “a blog post should have photos.” But we all know there are endless variations on blogs. If you identify as a writer who blogs, it frees you up to do it the way YOU want to do it. My trip to Barnes and Noble turned into a little blogging retreat; I thought about where I started and where I want to go next. Before I started my own blog, I read a lot of fitness blogs and finally decided to join in. At first I followed more of a fitness blog format and posted on certain days so I could join various linkups. Now, over three years later, some of those are working better than others. Every Sunday I join the Weekly Rundown, hosted by Kim and Deborah. I LOVE this linkup! The community is so supportive- I get a lot of great advice and workout ideas. It also keeps me accountable on days where I just don’t feel like going to the gym. If I know I’ll be posting my week of workouts, I’m much less likely to skip any. Some of the other linkups aren’t working as well for me. I’ll have something I want to write about, but will struggle to fit it in the form of a “Runfession,” for example. So I’ll probably stop participating in that one (although now watch- this month I’ll probably think of a dozen “runfessions” and end up linking anyway. I’ll keep it flexible.) I also have some other ideas for regular weekly posts which will be unveiled shortly! In case anyone is interested, here’s my very first post from October 2020. Eh. It’s not quite as cringe-y as I thought it would be, but it’s just kind of boring. As Gretchen Rubin would say… “Onward and Upward!” If you have a blog, do you think of yourself as a writer? Is anyone else doing Gretchen Rubin’s “Write 24 for 24 challenge?” Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash