Lessons from my first month of full-time blogging

In February I decided to challenge myself to blog every weekday in March.

No excuses. I had to post every weekday.

I did this to get myself unstuck and over my fear of blogging. Today I’ve accomplished my goal!

The first week was torture. I second guessed myself at every turn. Hated my editorial calendar. Wanted to quit.

But I didn’t quit. Here are a few reasons why:

1>  I found accountability partners.

I announced my goal to two people who would help keep me accountable, my husband, Jamie and my good friend, Jenn Morgan. We didn’t have any formal agreement for them to check up on me. But I did not want to come back to them today and say that I hadn’t finished my goal. I did not want to let them, or myself, down.

2> I gave blogging “important” status.

I started treating my blogging project with the same emphasis and attention that I give to my client work. My client work gets done. Period. No excuses. On time. I gave blogging equal weight in my list of priorities. At the end of February, I blocked out time on my schedule everyday for writing blog posts.

3> I made it fun.

I spent time crafting posts, selecting fonts, editing photos, thinking up funny titles. All the stuff that I like to do. I made it a creative endeavor instead of a chore to check off.

4> I made an editorial calendar.

I like to write whatever is on my mind each day. But on those days when the muse doesn’t show up, the editorial calendar was key to getting something posted.

5> I gave myself permission to be a writer.

I started to accept how much I love to write and to embrace that part of me. Writing this month gave me the push I needed to sign up for a writing conference.

Here’s a roundup of my posts for March. I hope you find something here to inspire you to think about design and writing as a tool to tell your business’s story

March Blog Post Roundup

Talking About Design

• Why I Love What I Do
• What Can a Graphic Designer Do for your Business
• Confidence and Your Website
• Do online businesses need a logo?
• Does Your Website Header Need a Facelift?
• Design Jargon Translated – Color
• Design Jargon Translated – Vectors

I Love Fonts And So Can You

• 4 Flowy, Flirty, Feminine & Free Fonts
• Good Fonts Gone Bad
• The Skinny on Thin Fonts
• Fun and Sensible Fonts
• We’re Here for the Party Fonts

Look Ma, I’m a Writer

• Blog Post Fairies
• Try, Do and See

Taking Care of Business

• Little Bits of Focus
• List Makers Anonymous
• Shush Up!

Life in Photos

• The First Taste of Summer
• It Was All Yellow
• Obligatory Flowers In Snow

Life in Words

• Sarahmae
• While I Wasn’t Looking

Thanks for reading!