What I’ve learnt blogging for 100 days

A friendly challenge back in May led me to post every day for 100 days.

The goal was big and scary for me at the time…

1. Did I have enough to write about?
2. Did I know what I was talking about?
3. Could I actually bring myself to commit that much time, that consistently, to hit the goal?

Well, I’m super pleased that I can say YES! (to at least question 3)

This is consecutive post 100! 🥳

I’ve made it through holidays, hard days at work, illness, energy-sapping hot weather, a rodent in the house, and many other commitments. Every day I’ve managed to show up, in at least a small way.

And reflecting on this over the last week or so, here’s what I’ve learned in the process:

100 posts isn’t very many

I never thought I’d say this. It seems like a big number! But getting here, I feel like I’ve only just started.

Time has flown by and I haven’t scraped the surface of what I’d like to cover.

It’s given me a better sense of time

100 days goes past in a flash. You barely get chance to catch your breath, and the time is over. Especially when you have so many competing priorities.

I haven’t really stopped to check on time in recent years. I track it by default, watching my children grow up, but I don’t watch it day-to-day. The last 100 days has made me do that more intentionally.

It’s only now that I fully grasp the Bill Gates quote ‘most people overestimate what they can do in one year, and underestimate what they can do in ten years’.

This gives me something to consider as I plan where to go from here.


I love writing and the creative process

When I started, I was afraid I might sit down at a blank screen and wonder what to write about. But I’ve been able to find something to write about each day, even when it’s totally bizarre (like my horse post, or catching the tooth fairy).

The act of making connections, finding fun ways to write about them and crafting them into easy to read, compelling posts, is literally its own reward.

That Mark Twain quote ‘Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never work a day in your life’ has never been truer.

It’s great to hear from people who read what I write

Bhavisha, Nehal, Anjali – not the people I imagined would be my first regular readers, but I’ve loved your encouragement and positivity. Thank you.

And Sebastian for your regular engagement, even so I know someone is reading this!

I have to be wary about other people, their reactions, telling their stories

I was advised early on to be careful about telling other people’s stories, even if it was my experience of them. Show some sensitivity, even in my enthusiasm to write.

That was great advice, thank you Jane.

As I continued I realised that some people are naturally wary of those stories coming out. 2 people, including my dad, asked for something they told me, not to find its way onto my blog. I hope I’ve lived up to my promise not to, and helped calm their fears.

I’m also conscious about my own limitations here. I’m sure there are stories I could tell, if only I had the skill to do so in a compassionate way.

This is true of stories in my personal life, as well as those at work. I’ve pulled 3 or 4 posts that talk about work or other people, because they, maybe, go a step too far.

Every day might be a little too much

At least one day a week I don’t want to post. I have a full time job, a marriage with an amazing wife, two young children whose lives I want to be a part of, food to cook, a house to clean and maintain and a social life to fit in somewhere in the margins.

All of that before I take any time for myself, to exercise, to have some quiet time and of course, to write.

I can’t dedicate the time to this that I’d like to. Can’t write about everything I’d like to. So the question has to be: what’s my long-term schedule?

I could also do with a bit more planning in my publishing. It’s a bit hap-hazard at the moment. Every day a new subject…whatever comes to mind. I’d like to be more intentional in what I write about.

But I’ll focus on that in time. For now, I’m still finding my voice, my rhythm and my style.

So, where do I go from here?

The reason I started writing for 100 days was to be ready for the Akimbo Creatives Workshop in September. A couple of weeks ago the dates were announced and I realised that, by posting every day, I’d achieved most of what I wanted to get out of it.

So I’m going to hone my craft instead and join Akimbo’s story telling workshop. That might help me better tell those stories I’ve been building up over the course of my life,

– like the time a drunk stranger I was staying with pointed a gun in my face

– or the time quit my job and went to train in the mountains of China with the Shaolin Monks

– or how I found the right song to play the day I brought my daughter home, and cried as I danced with her and my wife.

I’ll also keep posting. But for the sake of a mental break, I might just post quotes and interesting photos for the next week.

I’m proud of myself for getting to 100 days and I thank you so much for being on the journey with me.

Much love – Jonathan