Intentional Blogging

So, let’s discuss intentional blogging. A few weeks ago you guys humored me about the slow blog movement. I loved the conversation that it stirred between us all. Funny thing about writing a post like that. Simply by declaring how the online world seems to come at me too fast these days, how I didn’t know what my blog was doing in the midst of all of that, blah blah blah, it actually helped me successfully evaluate what I wanted from blogging again. Because of all that evaluating, it now seems I have PLENTY to blog about. Weird, right?

 
I’ve been thinking very specifically in terms of the way I have been blogging and deciding what all could work better. Here’s a list of what I have been putting into action in case it could help anyone else out there.

1. Blog creatively. I am creative in all areas of my life. Well…okay, I don’t know if I do laundry creatively, but read this wonderful post by Sarah and I think you will know what I am trying to say. To say that I need to do something something creative everyday is an understatement. Blair is happiest when creating. Even for just a few moments, I just need for my hands to work at sketching, crocheting, I need to hear the sewing machine hum, I just feel lost if I’m not actually trying to do all these things I have stirring around in my brain. I declared in that post last month that I want my blog to be about my creative life, and I enjoy sharing that with you, and I began to realize, just as Sarah did, ALL the different areas in my daily life that are creative. I walk Ian to school, “what a cool rock, I can crochet or doodle on that“, I stop at the thrift store “I could buy this and do this to it...” etc, etc, etc.. See what I mean? Funny as it may seem, this was a big revelation to me. (I’m entirely too close to the process and apparently need to be whacked over the head.)
2. Blog simply. By this I am saying that not every post has to be so full of substance and creativity that it is just the best post ever created. The pressure! Towards the end of the year last year, I decided to treat blogging with more intention… give myself personal themes, or challenges, keep notes and ideas in a notebook, etc. Funny thing is that I teach this in my Blogging 101 class and USED to do it, but then I just got lazy. Keeping notes and knowing that, for example, every Wednesday will be only a photo from the studio, feels incredibly good and organized. I declared every Friday is “Friday Favorites” where I write about any and every “favorite” thing I am currently inspired by. Mondays? We make stuff together, you and me! See where I’m going with this? I no longer find myself wondering what to post about. I’ve created a flow that helps me get started when I sit down to write a blog post.
3. Blog intentionally. Maximize the time spent preparing blog posts. As an example, for me, this means setting aside one full day every few weeks to do several project tutorials for future blog posts. I’ve been doing this in 2013 and I love it! I put on some music, make a cup of tea, and disappear into the studio with my jumble of notes and ideas, and have some fun! I have begun to look forward to this time so much, and because of it I am way less stressed about blog posts, it’s become very fun again.
 
So, it seems that I have been doing the exact opposite of slow blogging. I’ve posted more since I wrote that post than I have in a while. Maybe all along I just needed to define/redefine what blogging was to me. What is that old saying? To say your goals and intentions out loud, write them down, make them real, something like that. I would add in defining them to that as well.
xo,
Blair