This is a guest post by Sid Savara.
My name is Sid Savara. I have been inspired by some of Michael’s recent writings, and felt I would take a moment to give back by sharing my story.
Why I Started My Blog
When I first started my personal productivity blog a few months ago, I wanted to have a personal site to share my thoughts. For the first couple weeks, I wrote and posted an article whenever it was done. I had no posting schedule and no specific posting frequency in mind – I just wanted the posts to be properly written, proofread, and something that I would enjoy reading. The posts that I was especially pleased with were ones I wrote and edited as I thought of better ways to get my point across, and published when I was happy with them. I was happy in my abilities, and satisfied in why I was blogging.
False Deadlines For The Sake Of "Dedication"
Recently, I felt I was taking too long in between posts, and that my silence between posts (as well as sporadic posting schedule) was an indication that I wasn’t as dedicated to my blog as I should be. Not wanting to let myself down, I gave myself some deadlines: I would write multiple posts a week. Like weight training, playing guitar, or any other area of my life I want to succeed in, I believe having a regular habit helps improve the likelihood of sticking with it. I intended to start them all on the weekend, and just polish them up as the week went on, publishing the most polished each day, up to three times a week. This seemed like a reasonable schedule, but I have found it to be difficult to do. To maintain this pace, I wrote posts quickly, as if following a formula, and fell into a fell into a blogging rut.
Disappointment In My Writing
I was unable to keep up the pace I set for myself, and the quality started to deteriorate. Not only that, but though I posted more frequently, my readership dropped since I wasn’t doing the type of long-term blog planning I used to: interacting with other bloggers with comments, social media, etc.
Though I have since gone back and edited the posts (or unpublished them until I have time to) so they are up to par, I was disappointed in some of the things I published. They were watered down versions of what would have otherwise been good articles. As Michael has challenged us, I had to take a good hard look and ask myself, Sid: what do you believe in?I decided that the truth was, I blogged because I believed I had something important to say. To that end, I put together a creed: a list of guiding principles to ensure my blogging was always up to my own highest standard.
Sid Savara’s Blogging Creed
- I will write unique content, so each post is honest and unique, something that nobody else could have written but Sid Savara.
- I will write for those few people who come across my site, are truly moved by something I wrote and improve their lives.
- I will write however many of the best posts I can every week. I have no shortage of half completed things I could post – but I will never again post them until they are properly finished.
In conclusion:
- I will write every post to the best of my ability.
- I will not post anything until it is done.
- In comments, replies and conversations here, I will always give my readers the best I have to offer.
My name is Sid Savara. I am a blogger.
You can learn more about Sid at his personal productivity blog. In particular, I think you’ll find his recent post Fact or Fiction? The Truth About The Harvard Written Goal Study interesting. Sid is a great example of how asking for what you want gets you ahead. He asked me if he could write a guest post and I agreed to it. Had he never asked, it never would have happened. I agreed to it for two reasons: I liked his idea of having a creed, inspired by my Remarkablogger Manifesto series of posts, and I believe in and stand for providing opportunity to others.