I’ve been in a writing slump lately, and I think it is my perfectionism creeping in again. I’ve been working on consistency in posting every Friday, but as I research more about blogging and writing I learn that Mondays are better days to post and then I start worrying about timing as well as consistency. And then I’m in the vicious cycle of worrying about the perfect thing to write at the perfect time, and nothing gets written. Also, lately I've been helping my husband edit his book that he is writing (which is so good), and I think part of me is intimidated by how good of a writer he is. But tonight we sat down together at the same desk and committed to writing for an hour, and his encouragement and accountability is helping me combat my perfectionism.
I wanted to be transparent about my writing goals and plans as a way to add another layer of public accountability to the private accountability that I have at home with my spouse. My first goal is to keep consistently posting once a week, but I want to start posting on Mondays instead of Fridays. Some research has shown that more people read blogs on Monday mornings, so that is my new goal (clearly not meeting that goal today seeing as I am posting at 11 pm instead of am). Plus, this will give me more time to write and edit over the weekend instead of trying to teach and write during the week once school starts again. Consistency is still my priority, but now i’m trying to add timing to that consistency.
Another way to hold myself accountable, in addition to sharing when I want to share my writing, is to share what I want to write about for the next month. I know myself, and I know that if I go ahead and make my plans public then I’ll be too embarrassed to not follow through. (For those of you who know anything about Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies, I’m an “obliger,” meaning I am much more likely to meet outer, public expectations than inner, private ones. More on that in another blog post later…) So here is my plan for the rest of July and all of August!
20 July 2020 - Letters to My Graduating Seniors
27 July 2020 - Boys Book Club/DP Birthday Appreciation
3 August 2020 - Lessons from our Summer Garden
7 August 2020 - Feature Friday: Royal Fifty-Two by Arrington Chadwick
10 August 2020 - Back to School/Curriculum Ideas for This Year
17 August 2020 - Why I Love Teaching Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s Journey
24 August 2020 - One of My Favorite Creative Lessons, Blackout Poetry
31 August 2020 - Lessons from the First Month of “Hybrid” School
Let me know if there is anything you guys would like to see added to the writing schedule! And if you are looking for any external accountability in your own goals and plans, let me know because I would love to be that encouragement in accountability for you :)