300 Days of Blogging

If I may;

I too blog.

I've found that producing a really great piece of content and then promoting it until it's successful is the way to go.

I've found that, producing more content, was not as successful as producing less, but promoting more.

Just my findings.

Status So Far
Day 37

My Warrior Path went live just days ago, but I have been on the 300 day challenge since the start of 2018.

For this first update I will share my stats so far:

I have published 5 posts for a total of 4516 words.

I have 10 drafts with 13260 words total.

Furthermore, I have also published an article elsewhere for another 1103 words.

This averages out to be ~ 510 words per day. Some days I may have written just a bit below 500 words, but no day so far has been way below the mark. I do not really care about the average words per day. I just care about creating content consistently.

As you may agree, I need to get a better handle on the editing and publishing part of my content process. I know that and will be working on it over the next few days. This should decrease my draft queue over time.

I have also started seeing some of the things I did wrong with my first posts. Not adding enough pictures/visuals and sub-headlines to split the content up. My first posts were just walls of text. Not at all exciting to read.

That's it for now.

Stay Awesome,

Mathias

I want to commend you on your challenge and progress. I understand that a good writer can write a 500 word article in 15-20 minutes, so the time you spend on this isn't the issue.

Your challenge is being consistent and improving your skills. I need to do the same thing. Inconsistent is my middle name. I can only guess where I would be if I had just written one article a day, 5 days a week when I first got started. I would have quite a PLR library set aside.

Thanks for keeping us updated. I'll be watching and encouraged by your success.

Try writing more. A few years ago I was in The Keyword Academy. I think I averaged 8,000 words a day. They had a thing for logging our daily totals, which was really motivating. I even broke my keyboard.

Sure, half of what I wrote was junk but I launched a whole load of niche sites that kept generating money year after year.

Preliminary Blog Setup
Day 44 | 43 Days Completed

Time for another update. I have skipped one day of writing since the last update so I am on 43 days of writing. The missed day was this Sunday where I wasn't near my computer.

For this update, I will also share my current blog setup. I'm of course on WordPress and have done a few of the standard tweaks so far:

Theme
I'm currently using the default Twenty Seventeen theme by the WordPress team.
The simple theme works fine for now and is tested mobile friendly (https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly).

Search Console
I have submitted my website sitemap to the Google Search Console. So far, only a couple of pages have been indexed, but there are no errors so the rest will come.

WordPress Plugins
You can find WordPress plugins for almost everything. This is one of the reasons why WordPress is such a powerful tool for bloggers and website owners. Here are the plugins I have installed:

Social Warfare
A plugin to show social sharing buttons on blog posts. There are plenty of options out there, just make sure you have some social sharing buttons on your page.

UpdraftPlus - Backup/Restore
Plugin for taking automated backups. You can store your backups on extern storage so you do not lose your data should your server go down. I personally store my backups on Amazon S3, but you can also use Dropbox, Google drive or even email. Backup is boring but a must.

WP Super Cache
Caching plugin. Website caching is a bit technical, but it can make your website much faster.

Yoast SEO
You should have some kind of SEO plugin installed. I installed this one after already having posted a couple of posts and now I can easily see what I have missed out on. This plugin is quite amazing with simple recommendations to improvements on your posts and much more.

Easy Google Fonts
I wanted to increase my font size. The standard font size is way too small.

Hello Dolly
WordPress standard.

Insert Headers and Footers
For analytics and Facebook pixel.

... and that's what I have done for now.

Do you have any recommendations that can improve a new blog setup? If so, shoot!

Quick Update
Day 50 | 49 Days Completed

Hello Warriors,

Just a quick update on my progress. I have not skipped any days since the last update so I'm now on 49 days. One more day and I have completed 1/6 of the challenge.

This is quite exciting. I don't think I've very managed to stay this consistent at anything voluntarily before. But not some days are also rather hard.

Just yesterday I came home late in the evening and almost couldn't bear to start writing. However, I made a cup of tea and managed to push myself. When I first got started, it wasn't all that bad and I wrote my words in almost no time. Completing those 500 words made my Sunday about 200% better.

Sometimes, all it takes is a small push. If you are struggling with motivation, just get started on something. Doesn't matter whether your work is great or not. Just do something. You'll feel much more powerful after just a few minutes of work.

I'll be back with a longer update and responding to comments soon.
(Thanks to everyone reading and responding so far. It has been a pleasure.)

I hope this doesn't sound presumptuous - but as a full-time freelance writer, I tend to write around 500 words per 30 minutes, including researching the keywords needed. In order to pay the bills, I need to write (churn out) at least 7 or 8 articles per day for various Warrior clients.

That's 3,500 - 4,000 words per DAY on other people's keywords and topics just to pay the bills - either that, or I increase my rates to the point where no Warriors will bother to hire me any longer. Sad, isn't it? Everyone here wants super-cheap rates and lots of quantity, but not many are concerned about quality these days. Sigh. The trials of being a freelance writer when everyone's hunting for bargain pricing can be tiring. Then there's the issue of trying to keep up with writing for my own blog when I barely have the mental energy to keep going.

So... a minimum of 500 words per day on your own blog. That's hard work when it's for your own blog. Not only does your content need to stay relevant, but you need to keep finding new topics to blog about for a consistent 300 days. Then you need to find time to promote those posts.

Then there are those days where you have a cold, or your kids are at home at being just painful little wretches for six hours straight or your brain is so fried ... whatever other distractions you have going on in your life.

I sincerely hope you achieve your goals. The biggest lesson I've learned writing full-time is consistency can be hard. Yes, there are days where you just don't feel like it. There are also days when you can't think of anything to write.

You already said it best - even when you really can't find the motivation to keep going, the smallest push is usually enough to get the words flowing. Remember your own words on those difficult days. Just get started writing anything at all, Before you know it, your post is complete and you're done for the day!

I wish you the best of luck.

awesome...i too blog but i don't writer regularly, i had tried regularly to write on tech news niches but i am too lazy

Suiteup.

There's the notion that content is king going around. By which, most people mean, among other things, that content has to be long and produced often and regularly.

And someone's done 'studies' to show that articles with over X amount of words perform better in search engine results than articles with fewer than X words. X was around 1100 in one, around 2000 in another.

If you have long articles, you have the opportunity to stick in many long-tail keywords, and, therefore, increase the chances that your article will show up high in results for many long-tailed keywords. Which, usually, means you get more visitors.

However, it is possible to rank articles titles only at the top of the search.

In addition, a bunch of people think that Google wants fresh content, no matter what. Which makes sense if you're dealing with news but does not make sense if you're selling, say, anything related to die-casting.

And, some confuse Google showing their articles higher up the first few days after they get published with ranking higher and with 'a good strategy' for being in front of whoever they want to be in front of.

For many, it is possible to be more profitable by sending visitors to the site via Facebook ads or some other type of advertising.

If you really want to know what's the best approach for you, make a list of your skills and resources and activities you like/hate and study a few successful bloggers. Compare what they do against your list. If you like, incorporate. If you hate, toss (assuming you find enough activities/strategies/tactics you like to produce the kind of income you're after).

Thanks for your sharing, It's a good start for newbie.

The Streak Continues
Day 64 | 63 Days Completed

63 days and counting.

At this point I'm quite amazed that things are going as well as they are. I'm starting to feel like things will crash any moment now. However, I have learned not to trust this feeling. It's from that part of me that always expects failure.

Thanks to everybody following along this challenge so far, especially the friendly comments and helpful feedback. The thread was recently featured on the Top Discussion feed and it's still on the monthly top feed so we have had quite a few visitors - thank you!

Now I just hope I can follow up with more useful information.

And I'll attempt it right now.

By writing about how I write.

My Writing System
I'm a big fan of systems. I've become an even bigger fan after reading Ray Dalio's Principles: Life and Work, although he likes to refer to them as machines.

Anyway, my writing system is attributed to Jeff Goins. If you want to learn from the source itself, you can so here. I suggest you do. He's a much better writer than I'll ever be.

Okay, with that out of the way: the system. The machine that has helped me get through 63 days of writing without running out of ideas or getting stuck for long periods of time.

It's quite simple: writing is easiest when you have something to write about (an idea) and when you are not constantly punishing yourself for making mistakes or writing uninspired sentences (editing).

This leads to a three step system:

1) Getting ideas
Coming up with ideas on the spot is hard. You can't just sit down and expect to crank out 500 words on something interesting every day.

You need a system for getting ideas. Mine usually come to me thoughout the day at various times. In bed in the evening, in the morning shower, while reading a book, you name it. Once it arrives, I simply note it down in my Evernote notebook named Writing Ideas. You can use any notebook/note taking tool - as long as you can take it with you.

And that's it.

As of writing this I have 26 ideas in that notebook. Some good, maybe or or two great and some less so. Some of the ideas are primed and ready for a 2000 word blog post. Others may need some work, or they will change form once I start writing.

But as long as I have something here, I won't struggle with ideas to write about.

2) Writing
For writing I simply pick an idea from the Writing Ideas notebook and write.

There's really just one rule when it comes to writing: just do it.

When I'm in writing mode, the quality doesn't matter. That comes later. This little rule is extremely important. If I start editing too much or rewriting sentences, I'll get stuck and spend too much time without getting anywhere.

Just let the writing flow and forget about making it great. Words come much quicker when there's no pressure. And you can always get rid of the truly terrible parts later.

There's nothing that can zap your creative energies as an overly harsh quality control. Forget about grammar, spelling, wording and formatting.

You save that for...

3) Editing
Of course you can't just publish your monkey writing. So after writing your draft, you save it and let it simmer for a bit.

I suggest you do not immediately edit your recent writing. It's better to let it mature for a day or so. Instead, you can take some of your other writing and edit it if that's what you want.

Editing is all about making your writing good. For now, I don't have any pointers here. Just make it good

*

... and that's my system
It not fancy or polished. It's not even mine. But it works.

With this system, I always have ideas to write about and content to edit and publish.

Feel free to give it a run for yourself. I would love to hear how you do - or what you think can be improved to make this machine better.

Until next time,

Mathias

Another Short Update
Day 70 | 69 Days Completed

Hello forum,

It's time for another short update this lovely Sunday.

I have completed my 500 words for today and just published a 2835 word blog post. This brings me to 69 days of the challenge.

I'm still struggling a bit with the editing and publishing part as I have 10 published posts but have 13 drafts in various stages of the editing process. However, it's not that bad. I've never had this much content to work with so I'm just busy editing and adding graphics.

A Note on Headlines
I have started to pay more attention to my headlines.

After all, this is the most important part of a blog post. So it's stupid to spend hours creating a great article and then only a couple of minutes on the headline. Especially when the headline can make or break the post's success.

I recently had a post where I was was debating two different headlines. I published the post with one of them and then created an A/B split test for my email newsletter, testing the two headline variations as the email subject line.

The headline I had chosen for my blog post performed ~65% worse than the other. Immediately after the test had finished I naturally changed the headline.

Lesson learned: spend time on your headlines and test them if possible.

For my headlines, I've also started using CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer and a headline capitalization tool to get proper capitalization as I somehow can't do this properly on my own. The headline analyzer can score your headline and give you tips on how to improve. It's a great tool for comparing headlines and trying to come up with better ones.

Until next time,

Mathias

Hi Mathias, this is a little similar to my challenge although I think you are way ahead of me. Is there any news on traffic yet ?

The Easiest (And Most Popular) Blog Posts You Can Write
Day 80 | 78 Days Completed

Hello forum,

It's time for another update. I'm at 78 days of writing now as I didn't write anything this Sunday either.

I have struggled a bit on some of the days since the last update as I couldn't seem to turn my writing ideas into actual content. But I'm back on track now I believe.

One thing that helped a great deal was to go back to list posts. "X things about Y" posts are so much easier to write than a post with no clear structure. And that these posts are often more popular is a nice bonus.

Just pick some topic and make a list of things related to it. That's your post structure right there. Now just fill it out with some writing and you are good to go.

It doesn't come much simpler than that,

Mathias

Generating Topic Ideas
Day 94 | 92 Days Completed

Writing consistently for 300 days isn't just about hitting the keyboard every day.

It's also about generating enough ideas such that I always have something interesting to write about.

As I've said in an earlier update, I keep a notebook with new writing ideas and try to always have at least a couple of good ideas ready.

This way I always have something to write about. An important element as writing becomes so much more daunting if you are empty of ideas. And you can't expect to always come up with interesting ideas out of the blue when sitting in front of your monitor.

Here are some of the methods that have helped me come up with topics to write about:

Read books
I always get a lot of new ideas when reading books. There's just something about it that turns on my creativity.

It helps to read books closely related to your own writing, but other books can also give you plenty of ideas.

Always keep a notebook close
You never know when the idea hits you. I literally woke up around 2 am last night with an idea. I couldn't be bothered to write it down, but luckily I managed to remember it today.

The same happens a lot when I'm out walking or in the shower. Ideas often come to you when you are away from the monitor.

I use Evernote to record my ideas, but any note-taking tool for your smartphone will do. And if you are still living in the 20th century, a real physical notepad works too. I imagine they still exist.

Read other blogs and websites
One of the easiest places to find ideas are on other websites related to your own.

Whatever works for them will most likely also work for you.

TED talks
Need some inspirational ideas in general? Ted talks is the place to go.

It's an amazing community and I've had at least a few ideas pop up while watching.

Forums
If you are writing about internet marketing, you are looking directly at a gold mine right now.

The Warrior Forum is filled with ideas for you to write about. Just open up a forum section and people will throw questions at you. Questions that are in need of answers.

Now just provide these answers.

If you are in any other niche, there are forums and sites like this one. And you'd be stupid not to use them.

Use headline and blog idea tools
If you search for blog ideas on Google you'll find plenty of resources to help you.

Another tip I stumbled upon recently is using headline tools like IMPACT's Blog About title generator or Inbound Now's blog title generator to get ideas. Just let the headline suggestions lead you to writing ideas. As a bonus, you'll already have a perfectly fitting headline before you write your first word.

Do you have any other tips on how to come up with good content ideas?

These were some of the ideas I use. But what about you. Do you have any tips or tricks that help you come up with good ideas?

I would love to hear them.

Until next time,

Mathias

Sounds Good

Quick Update After the Weekend
Day 99 | 94 Days Completed

Just a quick status update after the weekend.

I had a lot going on this weekend so didn't get to write much.

In fact, I didn't get my 500 words done Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I did write about 200 words on my phone while sitting in the back of a car, but that's too little to count the day. All of this is fine as I'm soon at 1/3 of the challenge and I have a good chunk of "free" days saved up as I have only skipped 5 days of writing so far.

However, I do need to start working on getting the site in better shape. So far the layout is very basic and I do not have landing pages or opt-in forms. I plan on adding this soon so I can start promoting the site better.

- Mathias

100 Days Done!
Day 106 | 100 Days Completed

100 days done!

I have now officially completed 1/3 of the challenge.

Over the last 106 days I have written a total of 37 articles. 16 of them are published and the rest are still in various draft stages.

The total word count of these articles is 52,878. If I continue at this pace I'll pass the word count of the first Harry Potter book in 46 days

Here are some tips that have helped me write more than 52,878 words over 100 days:

Note down ideas when away from your writing
I've written about getting ideas before, so if you want more on this just go back a few posts.

However, having ideas to write about has been a crucial part so I feel like this is worth mentioning again.

Your best ideas rarely come in front of the screen.

Go away from your usual writing spot
I have started writing more and more away from my usual spot if I'm struggling.

It helps a lot to go somewhere else if you can't seem to write anything. A couple of days are also completed entirely on my phone.

Use simple article structures
Structured articles are easier to write and easier to read.

Use them.

Write often instead of a lot
This is part of why I feel this challenge works well for me.

I'm rarely able to sit down and write several thousand words at a time.

500 in one sitting works really well for me. And doing it every day means I still build up a nice pile of content to publish.

Read other people's writing
Inspiration matters A LOT.

You can't write without it. At least not anything worthwhile.

Many of the topics I write about come from other articles I have read on Medium, other blogs, or in books. I try to read every day. Not just news stories but positive, inspirational reading.

Here's to another 100 days!
I hope some of you are still following this challenge.

I'm happy to have completed my first 100 days. Now I just need to make the next 100 even better.

Let's do this,

Mathias

Congrats on your first 100 days Mathias! I've just completed 65 days since launch myself. I've been trying to follow the method of 20/80 whereby you focus on promotion for 80% of your time, which is actually starting to work pretty well for me - I even get top bloggers sometimes commenting on my posts now. I've just written a post on my favorite methods of driving traffic if interested:
https://wordsbyjustin.com/ways-to-bo...ic-like-crazy/

(Pardon the spammy looking title but I'm also experimenting with 'Listicles' )

Justin

Quick Update
Day 112 | 107 Days Completed

Two quick updates:

1) I updated the site yesterday to make it more usable. I plan on adding a bit more soon. (About page, etc)

2) I have struggled a bit with ideas but came up with a bunch today so that should not be a problem for a while.

The challenge is still going strong and I hope I'll have some results to share soon.

Inititate Phase Two
Day 120 | 114 Days Completed

It has been more than 100 days since I started my challenge. 120 to be exact.

In this time, I have done a lot of writing for the new blog.

But as several of you have pointed out (thanks), I haven't done so well when it comes to promoting this content.

This was a deliberate decision, and I'm still happy with it.

I'm satisfied with my decision to focus only on writing for the first part of this challenge.

Its hard enough to start a blog and figure out how to go about creating content for it. Adding promotion to the mix only makes it more difficult and increases the risk of being overwhelmed.

Which has happened to me before.

Content is at the core of any blog. Without it, nothing else can work. Therefore it's important to get the content creation process in place before doing anything else.

I believe I have done this during these first 120 days. Which means it's time to initiate phase two: promotion.

As I'm writing a lot of content (and will continue to do so), I plan on using some of this content for guest posts.

I'll throw in some other promotion strategies too, but I plan on making guest posts the core strategy for phase two.

This way I get to continue writing while also promoting the blog.

I'll have some more info in another update shortly.

- Mat

this is very important for all of us.

A Quick Sunday Update
Day 126 | 119 Days Completed

This week I have started working more on promotion. I have secured two guest posts, so starting tomorrow I'll be writing for other people. This is exciting and I plan on putting in at least as much effort as in posts on my own site.

I know two guest posts aren't going to make any huge difference for my blog. But once I have the process in place, I'll ramp up the efforts.

On the writing side, things are going slow and steady. I'm writing although some days I'd rather not. Most of the time I just have to get started. (A good example of this was today. I came home in the afternoon after a long weekend and really didn't feel like writing. But I managed to push myself to open up my site and write a bit. A bit turned to 500+ words in no time. Job done: check!)

- Mat

Sunday Update
Day 133 | 125 Days Completed

This week I managed to write 3 guest posts.

I'm satisfied with this, but I don't think I'll be able to keep up this pace every week. Writing, editing and publishing 3 guest posts meant that I barely had time to work on anything else.

Moving forward I'll try to aim at 1-2 guests posts a week. This should leave me with time to work on improving the blog and working on other parts of the machine.

Steady Progress
Day 138 | 130 Days Completed

So far this week has been great.

I have written all days (Mon-Friday) and just reached out to a couple of blogs about guest posting.

I also published a massive 3500+ word post earlier today. I believe this is the longest post I've released so far, and it took quite a bit of time over the last three days to edit.

I guess status is steady progress for now.

- Mat

this is a really difficult challenge - how do you come up with new topics all the time?

Monday Update
Day 148 | 138 Days Completed

Not much to talk about at the moment. I'm working on writing for the blog and for guest posts.

So far the guest posting is going well. Most of the people I've contacted have been very welcoming and they have accepted my content with open arms.

It's either that or no reply most of the time.

I'm starting to learn that guest posting a rather time-consuming process. Finding candidates, getting ideas, reaching out, writing, editing and then following up on the post. However, I'm still working on making my process as efficient as I can with templates, etc.

- Mat

Thanks for inspiring me with idea of 500 words blog post for 300 days. I am joining you today for doing the same.

Hi Mat,


I just found this thread and am curious:

1. What is the marketplace (niche) of your writing?
2. What is the purpose or mission of your blog?
3. When do you plan to monetize your writing (or have you already)?
4. Are you cross-linking and promoting individual posts (articles)?
5. Is you blog like a diary (personal feelings, happenings, activities) or more like a "how to" or educational resource?

The very best to you in this challenge.


Steve

Awesome challenge. Happy to see you are rocking it out.

I was doing 20,000 words daily a few years ago when writing and self-publishing an eBook daily, in addition to client work and blog work. Now I am down to publishing 3 posts a day but do a bunch of writing via blog commenting. Best way to become a skilled blogger; write your booty off.

Challenging yourself is so important. Keep us posted and let us know how it goes! We're all rooting for ya.

Sunday Update (on a Wednesday)
Day 164 | 150 Days Completed

I wrote the following this Sunday but forgot to post it. So here it goes, a Sunday update on a Wednesday. BTW, halfway done!

Time for another Sunday update.

I've had some issues with motivation in the last week. I believe this is partially due to a stressing deadline that is unrelated to this challenge (but takes a lot of my focus and energy), and partially due to writing about something that either didn't interest me or something I didn't have a lot to say about.

Lessons learned (hopefully).

Anyway, I'm struggling on and I hope (and believe) this week will be better again.

Till next time,

Mat

P.S. Thanks for the replies this week. For anyone sitting on the sidelines, I can only recommend that you join the writing/blogging struggle. It's great fun and you'll undoubtedly learn a lot.

Sunday Update
Day 168 | 153 Days Completed

Another week, another 3000 or so words.

Not the best of weeks as I skipped writing Wednesday and Friday due to an extremely busy (and draining) schedule.

I took Friday off as I needed a break, and Wednesday I had spent so many hours in front of my monitor that my eyes were - literally - hurting.

I also spent way too little time on 'getting proper input'. Reading, thinking, sleeping, etc. It just felt like I had nothing to give.

Anyway, I did write something. So that's great. And I have had some time to recover over the weekend, ready for another round.

Here's some reflection on my writing:

Writing takes time

One thing that I noted this last week was how I lacked patience some days. I just wanted to get it over with.

But writing doesn't work like that (at least not for me).

I can't hurry the process.

Instead, I have to be patient. Especially when starting out. It's like my brain has to zero in on the writing task.

At first, I may seem like I have nothing to write. I look at some blog headline or subheading and my brain goes _______ (blank).

But then, after struggling for a bit, my brain starts waking up and I suddenly find myself having written 500 words about something that I didn't even know I had anything to say about.

So, that's my reflection about writing for today: don't hurry to process, writing takes time - and you need to be prepared to give it that time.

I'll try doing that more this week.

Till next time,

Mat

P.S. Some days are more of a struggle than others. Today, I was well-rested and full of ideas. I'm writing this update after cranking out 800 words in no time.

Hey,
First I like to mention that your an inspiration!
Way to go.
I like your honesty that even when you have your
days when you don't follow through you share it,
that takes courage.

I really appreciate you, man.

About taking more ideas I have a couple of suggestion for you.
1) you can find some good Podcats like the school of greatness,
gray v and many more.
(if you want you can pm me and I will send you a big list
of people that I follow)

2)You can use blinkist which is an app a unique app for an audiobook.
they give you the summary of the book with the keynotes of the book
in just ten to 15 minutes.

3) You can listen to Tony Robbins courses it will give some more inspiration on what to write.

I started a Youtube channel not long ago and it really helps me to always find some more inspiration.

(because I prefer to make a video, as you can see my English is not perfect but still working on it )

And don't you get discouraged when there days that you don't do a thing.
Because it happened to all of us even the greatest people, mentors etc...

Just keep on going, and when it does happen to you try to learn from it. Observe what made you not do it. most of the time is the pain, pain that we associate with the action we do. but remember this and maybe it would help you, what is more, painful: do it or not do it? what will make you feel worse?
I'm doing it with my business and that's what I did with my weight (I was around 240 pounds).
It helps me get up every time. (Won't lie I got those days as well, but this tool help me to see progress
and to follow through)

Hope that helps.
To your success,
Eden.

I wish you all the luck !
Remember: Self-discipline = Success !

Update Long Overdue
Day 183 | 165 Days Completed

My last update was more than two weeks ago. Sorry. I have responded to replies in the meantime though.

It's been a busy time as the overall result for June also shows: I wrote 22 of the 30 days which makes it the lowest month so far.

As I also wrote in the last update, this was due to a busy schedule. Most damaging was the fact that many of my daily routines (like writing first thing in the morning) were put on hold.

Luckily, most of it is over now and it's back to a more normal, stable schedule with time for writing. But only for a week, then I'll go on vacation.

Vacation time was part of the plan from the start, and now I just hope I'll have enough room in my challenge to make up for this. (It's looking fine as we are halfway through the year and I'm well past the 150 halfway point in my challenge.)

On the good news side of things, one of my recent guest posts just went live, and another one has received more than 36 comments in the 21 days it has been live.

- Mat

Update
Day 187 | 168 Days Completed

Not much to report on except that things have been running smoothly this past week (5 day streak and plan on making it 7 in a row for the first time in a while).

I have also managed to catch up on some editing and have scheduled a post to go live next week. I'll schedule another one later today.

I may not have much to update on in the upcoming two weeks so this thread may see some radio silence. But as soon as I'm back I'll keep the updates coming. I also plan on writing some more thoughtful updates soon (instead of just purely status updates).

See ya,

Mathias

Back
Day 203 | 172 Days Completed

Hello internet friends,

I'm back after 12 days of next to no internet. Some time off was great, but now I'm ready to start working again.

Not much to report on otherwise as I haven't done much lately. Looks like July will be my least productive month this year (which was expected).

Keep going and get successful by making the shit done.

I'm on my 100 day motivation challenge to start writing 500 words a day for 1 year.



To be serious, I highly appreciate you sharing your story here. That's what I'm planning to do for many years.

There's immense value in blogging given that, for years now, SEO practice has revolved around the saying, "Content is King." This means that what really gives a site authority, and what attracts viewership and generates leads, is frequently publishing content that viewers want to read. Blogs still serve as one of the most effective ways to communicate valuable content to viewers, but only if they're interesting, informative, and engaging. Consider: 140 million people read blogs in the United States alone.

Setting a challenge and then declaring it in public is a great motivator - well done!


Curious, how have you found it and are you still keeping up with the posts?

How to Stay Consistent
Day 217 | 186 Days Completed

Update on the past week: I have written a bit every day which means I'm now at 15 consecutive days of writing. There hasn't been much interfering with my daily routines which is why I've been this productive lately.

I recently promised that I would share a bit more than just quick status updates. So, here comes a reflection:

Use a Habit Trigger to Write Every Day

The biggest help in staying consistent with my writing has been the idea of a habit trigger.

A good way to establish a new habit is by having a trigger for it. Something that helps you remember the new routine early on and also enforces it later when your brain recognizes the trigger event.

Like how brushing your teeth is part of a morning routine, and if you skip the routine you may also forget brushing (or is that just me?).

Brushing your teeth every morning is a habit because it has a trigger. It has something that reminds your brain to perform the habit. The same idea can be used for all kinds of habits, writing included.

My trigger has been to write every morning after breakfast. I get up, eat, and then write. Before I hit the shower, crank out ~ 500 words.

The result? Well, I have always considered myself very inconsistent in new endeavors and this challenge is the first time I've truly stayed this consistent for this long. And I believe this idea of a habit trigger has been a major reason why. Without it, I would have neglected my writing way more than I have.

That sounds like the Jerry Seinfeld method of being consistent. He has a calendar on the wall and marks an X on each day when he has done some writing.


Funnily enough he has said that he never invented this method, but it's still know as the Seinfeld method.


Whoever invented it, it's very effective.

How much you have made out of blogs. I am really interested to listen more this.

thank you all for the valuable information

Update Before 2/3 Milestone
Day 229 | 196 Days Completed

Closing in on 200 days!

I'll be busy this weekend, so I'll at least miss one day. Nonetheless, we'll most likely hit 200 days sometime next week 2/3!

I'm again struggling behind on editing and proofreading, but that's just something I've learned to live with during this challenge. If it wasn't for the writing challenge, I would probably relax the content production a bit and spend more time on shipping it. However, it's still quite nice to always have rough content ready for new blog posts. The editing part just takes a lot of time.

Until next time,

Mat

So... (Long Time No See)
Day 252 | 208 Days Completed

I've made it past the 200 days (yay!), but I've also been extremely busy. Sadly it hasn't been with writing content.

In terms of the challenge, things aren't looking too good. I can't skip this much in the future. However, I still feel alright about my own effort. There were several days where I thought I wouldn't have the energy to write but managed to anyway.

Time to get back to consistent writing,

Mat

Thanks for your sharing.

Great work and keep it up!

Thank you for your sharing.

That is an inspiration to me and others.

So inspirational journey. I am learning the patience from you.

Update
Day 268 | 222 Days Completed

I've been more consistent lately, although I haven't written the full 500 words some of the days. I still count the days as my goal is just to write every day, no matter how much or little.

x10
Day 275 | 229 Days Completed

Currently on a 10-day streak even though I've been ill and had plenty of stuff to do. Satisfied with the progress although I still write less than the 500 words a day.

Make Today Count!
Day 282 | 234 Days Completed

I don't have many 'cheat days' left if I want to hit the 300 days. Which is why I'm a bit down I missed yesterday. On the other hand, I can't believe I have written 234 days this year. Seems like a huge feat but really it's just about taking it one day at a time and making sure it counts.

To anyone still reading and following my challenge: make today count! A few minutes prior to writing this very post I was feeling quite down and tired. But I sat down with an easy task, completed it and moved on. I've now crossed 3 things off my todo list and the tiredness has turned into joy.

- Mat

Great Journey! I really want to know what this challenge has done for you traffic? Do you see a huge increase?

How much have you spent so far?

Let's do this!
Day 307 | 252 Days Completed

48 days to go with 58 days left in this year. (Btw, only 58 days left in 2018? Time flies when you are having fun.)

This week I was traveling so I missed quite a few days (5 to be exact). But I still managed to scribble down some words when I had time (and energy) to do so.

I don't have anything major scheduled for the next two months so, for now, I don't see any big periods of inactivity. Which is good as every day counts now.

Let's do this! 300 here we come.

Update
Day 318 | 261 Days Completed

Time for another small update.

It's been steady progress over the past 10 days. I did miss on Sunday, but otherwise, all is good.

Writing on weekdays is very much a habit by now. I have a set time of day to write (first thing in the morning) and it works. By writing early in the day I make sure to get it done before anything can drain my energy or time.

Weekends are a bit trickier as they don't always have the same routine structure. But that's just how it is I guess.

Quick Update
Day 323 | 266 Days Completed

November looking good so far. With only two days skipped it looks to be better than September and October that both had 23 days of writing. I think the reason for this is twofold: I have good motivation as I'm nearing the end of the challenge and a good, stable routine that works for me.

T-30
Day 327 | 270 Days Completed

30 days to go! I see a few people still following this challenge and I want to thank you for doing that.

I'm quite sure this public accountability is a big part of why I have been able to stick with my challenge for 327 days now. And why I'll do my best to keep going for another 38 days.

consistency is the key man even though you are not great at it in the beginning! Great job by the way

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!
Day 341 | 283 Days Completed

It's been 14 days since my last update and in that time I have only missed 1 day (due to a hangover).

With the goal nearing, my motivation has definitely spiked again. September and October were tough months, but November flew by with only 2 missed days. November 5 to 30 were all green days. 25 in a row.

I'm starting to believe I may actually hit my goal

I DID IT!
Day 364 | 302 Days Completed

I don't know how, but I managed to write 300 days this year. I officially completed my 2018 challenge.

There have been a few ups and downs, but I'm surprised at how smooth most of the year has been. My goal was to become consistent, and as soon as writing became a daily habit, that consistency kicked in.

Most of the time, I didn't have to watch myself. I just followed my daily routine where writing was now another habit. Like so many other things, shopping for groceries, going to work, cleaning, etc., writing was just another thing to do.

I will, however, thank you guys here at the forum for keeping me honest. Without the public challenge I don't know if I would have made it. Thank you.

Some lessons learned

I leaned a lot this year. Much more than I can write in a single post here. But I'll mention just a few lessons off the top of my head.

1) Challenge yourself!

I never thought I would be able to write for a whole year. But I did. Thanks to this challenge. If you want to change something in your life, challenge yourself. It doesn't have to be 300 days. It can be 30. Or 10.

But make the challenge. Then do your best to follow it.

2) Sometimes you must force yourself

I know that there would have been a lot of days where I would have given up if it wasn't for my writing habit. I often had to sit down and force myself to write. The first few paragraphs would be hard, then a little easier, and soon the words would come naturally.

But none of that would happen if I didn't first force myself to start writing.

I've found the same to be true with other things too.

3) I wrote a lot of bad stuff

Writing every day means writing even when you have nothing to write about. And that led to some poor posts.

Generally, I'm not quite satisfied with the quality of my blog posts. But some of that is due to the nature of my challenge. In the future, I'll focus more on quality, even if that means writing less and researching, editing, promoting more.

4) Writing makes you think

Writing out your thoughts requires you to express them in a way that other people can understand. Much of my writing was as much for me as it was for my readers.

Spelling out your thoughts is a great way to learn about yourself.

5) Writing every day doesn't automatically make your blog popular

I know some following this challenge have asked for traffic numbers. The conclusion after 300 days is that they are still low.

I have only published half of my posts (49 of 89 posts published), but most of them have not received any significant traffic. And why would they? I have spent very little time promoting the content.

You can argue that this challenge was a waste of time. Maybe it was. But I'd argue differently. This was a personal growth challenge. And I grew A LOT.

The numbers aren't there yet. The visitors, the money, the followers, etc. But that's okay. I now have the foundation to build on.

Challenge completed!

These were some of my thoughts and lessons about my 300-day challenge. It feels a bit weird not having to post updates in this thread anymore. But I guess every good thing must come to an end. 2018 is soon over, and so is my challenge.

However, I'm not sure I have posted all my final thoughts yet. So maybe I'll check in again with an epilogue.

In any case, feel free to leave your comments in the thread. I'll still check it out and do my best to respond.

And finally, please consider doing a personal challenge this year. This challenge has been a blast and it has given me so much. You can make your challenge public here on the forum, or you can keep it to yourself. Whatever you do, consider what you want to achive in 2019 and challenge yourself to do it!

Happy New Year!

That's a rough mountain to climb so I'm going to climb it with you.

I'm blogging everyday in 2019, NO MATTER WHAT!

Even if I'm sick with the flu and in jail. I'll still going to, somehow get to the infirmary, then finesse the nurse, to get me into the library so I can post to my blog.

No BS Mindset In 2019!