100 Days of Blogging: 7 Lessons Learned

The Tuesday after Labor Day, my boyfriend left for Barcelona for a week with his mom on their annual vacation. After getting over the initial funk of being left behind, I decided to take advantage of this new found free time.

It had been over a year since I wrote with real substance. I was on my way to finishing two books when it all came crashing down. A personal story I shared with a family member was passed along to other family members and blew up in my face. In retrospect, I was sharing my diary and that wasn't meant for anyone else's consumption. I always loved to write - even term papers in school. I would love to feel the slight resistance of the keys under my finger tips and got giddy watching the screen fill with words. I missed my old friend.

With a relatively open calendar, I decided to embark on a long-term challenge - write every day. What started as a 30-Day Blog Challenge quickly evolved into 100 days. People thought I was crazy or that I would quit. Like most people I lost interest pretty quickly in challenges, but this was different. This was an opportunity to spark my creativity, increase my accountability and share my thoughts and opinions.

I wrote about relationships, business, life hacks, time management and my dog. Whatever I was passionate about at the moment, I wrote it down. My workouts and walks soon became opportunities to brainstorm new topics. My friends and clients inspired advice-based posts. I saw the world and myself in a new way. I became a writer.

I can now say that my writer's block is resolved and I've created two e-books as a result of the blog with more on the way. I am comfortable in front of a keyboard and love writing again!

Here are the Blog Stats By the Numbers:

Total Word Count Over 100 days: 37,999 words (damn it, I just needed one more word for 38,000!)

Average Word Count Per Post: 379 words

Longest Blog: 977 words (http://laurenlemunyan.com/30dayblog/=/10-things-you-should-and-shouldnt-do-when-starting-a-business?rq=should%20and%20shouldn%27t)

Shortest Blog: 169 words (http://laurenlemunyan.com/30dayblog/=/6wzyipmv9tpwbp1ms05hqsq5mt71m3)

My Favorite Blog: http://laurenlemunyan.com/30dayblog/=/6wzyipmv9tpwbp1ms05hqsq5mt71m3

Most Read Blog: http://laurenlemunyan.com/30dayblog/=/10-things-you-should-and-shouldnt-do-when-starting-a-business?rq=should%20and%20shouldn%27t

This wasn't all fun and self-realization. I learned some hard lessons along the way. 

Lessons Learned

1)      Proofread Before Posting. My mind works faster than my fingers and at times I skip over words and “ings” or “ed.” I'm pretty sure each post had at least two errors in it, which my mom was happy to point out. I've since tried to go back through and fix the glaring errors. When posting every day, time is of the essence and in my opinion it doesn't need to be perfect to be done.

2)      I’m human. I make mistakes and if you judge me based on my spelling or grammatical errors, I challenge you to a 100-Day Blog Duel! Do you accept?? In all seriousness, human error is a real thing. I've learned to be more patient and less judgmental when I see errors in other people's work.

3)      Doing Something Every Day Can Be A Challenge, But Anything is Possible. Even with workouts and diet, I was never on every day. I actually thought I may have to skip a day or two, but fortunately I could plan out my week to schedule a post or two if I knew I was going to be busy. I love a good contingency plan! This was no exception.

4)      Not Everyone Cares That You’re Writing a Blog. Blogs are like opinions and podcasts (I have one of those too!), everyone has them and some are more in your face than others. It’s up to you what you decide to spend your time on. I hope I provided value, if not, then entertainment. On the same note, don't get wrapped up into the visits or reads of your post. I got more excited hearing from the one person who read a post and learned from it than the 200 people who read and said nothing.

5)      I Say I Won’t Do This Again, But We All Know It’s a Lie. This was a huge undertaking and I’m pretty tapped out from writing. I’ll take a break and reassess where I want to use my time and energy in the future. (2 Months Later.... I'm back at writing, but not as a daily practice or challenge.)

6)      Not Every Post is My Favorite, But They’re Mine. I guess blogging is like having a lot of kids. Some are cuter than others. Some help you. Some are jerks. Some you wish never happened, but they all come from you and for that you love them! (Can you tell I’m not a parent?) 

7)      I’m Capable of More Than I Think. Yes, I pushed myself and maxed out my energy. This was a challenge to break out of my judgment and restraint around writing. That has certainly been busted into a million pieces. I am a writer. I am a blogger. I am a coach. I am awesome.

I can’t believe this challenge is over. It’s bittersweet, which sounds so cliché. It’s been my weekend writing ritual and my morning posting routine. It’s been my outlet of expression and door to connect with others. It allowed me to take risks and say what was on my mind. It also left me wide open to judgment and criticism. It was a constant reminder to stay on my path, but also served as a distraction to other important aspects like self-care and focusing on core business practices.

It’s been a journey and I’m happy I took the first step. So here’s a giant high-five to me!

The Final Countdown of the 100-Day Blog Challenge

I officially have nine more blog posts for the 100-Day Blog Challenge. I’ve heard a mixture of responses from you’re inspirational to you’re insane. I’m sure I’m one or both of those things at any given time. Some days are easy where content flows out. Other days I wonder if I’ll make the deadline for the next day.

When I initially set out on this challenge, it was following a lull in my business. I wanted to create content to create engagement. I didn’t really have a plan, but I knew I wanted to challenge my beliefs around writer’s block and creativity. I didn’t put any rules around the type of content, word count or even the time I needed to post by to count.

What has resulted is a daily post at or before 9am that’s around 500 words. I write about topics in business tips, stress relief, relationships, time management, and of course adventures with the one and only Rico Suave.

I’m proud of myself for sticking to my commitment and pushing myself through the block. Once the 100th post goes live, I will be taking an extended break from blog posting, which basically means a couple of days.

My goal is to go back through the posts and sort them by category to create sections for people to dive deeper into content and potentially create an e-book or two.

I’m open to suggestions and seeing where things go.

This is one of the few times I haven’t had expectations related to a project. There’s no money attached to it. No celebratory parade when I cross the finish line. I don’t know how I feel about it yet. Part of me thinks I’ll be happy to have it over, but I think I’ll miss it.

Let’s see how the last 9 days go.

How to Create Content

If you’re reading this, you may have stumbled upon my 100-Day Blog Challenge. I’m over a third of the way through and have been loving the process of pumping out content. I’m sure there are other aspects of my life that I could be spending time in, but I’ll just write about it instead.

I’ve heard from a number of people who were stunned that I was able to do The 30-Day Blog Challenge. They were perplexed where I found the time and came up with the ideas, so I thought I’d dedicate this post to my process of creating content and hopefully one or some of you will be inspired to create your own content!

1.       Release the Judgment – Before you get started, I want you to do one very important thing. Do this for you. Your writing is a product of you and if you decide to keep it to yourself or post it for the world to see, it is 100% your decision. So write like no one is reading it. This is your gift to yourself. Fuck what anyone else thinks.

2.       Make a List of Topics the Get You Excited – My list included small business lessons learned, relationships, time management, communication styles, creativity, my dog, etc. Pretty general to start.

3.       Have Conversations with Interesting People and Capture the Themes – When I’m not writing, I’m gabbing away with anyone who will tolerate it. From the concierge in my building to the Uber driver, I am fascinated by people’s stories and what I learn in the process. When the conversation is over, I write down the main points in the notes section of my phone to recall the important parts when I’m ready to write.

4.       Go for a Long Walk – My best ideas come during my long walks in DC – usually when I’m coming or going from a client session. When you move, the creativity starts to flow and you can link together patterns and themes.

5.       Listen to Podcasts – Get inspired by other people’s inspirations. I love expanding on topics I hear. Whether you agree or disagree with what’s being said, there is a gold mine of content right in between your ears that gets sparked with other content you’re listening to.

6.       Be Still – Close your eyes and be silent. Let your brain do all the work. When your body is still, your brain goes into hyper drive until you can fully quiet it, so use it. Get your mental butterfly net out and capture your ideas.

7.       Make Time and Write -  Once you have your ideas and inspiration, schedule your time to write – preferably on a daily basis to create a solid habit. I find that first thing in the morning after I’ve walked the dog is the best time. My apartment is filled with natural light and everything is still around me. At my max, I’ve cranked out four posts in one morning, but pace yourself as needed.

I hope this inspires you to create your content. This was very writing-centric, but can be applied to making videos or any other creative composition. If you want to learn more about unleashing your creativity, I highly suggest “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert. It changed my life!