Was the Ultimate Blog Challenge Worth It?

Overall yes, I think it was.

The most fantastic thing for me was plucking up the courage to go for it and then actually doing it!  This is my 31st blog post during January 2012 and let me tell you, then feeling of achievement is wonderful.  If I can do this, then what can’t I do?

It may not be a big deal to some but for me it really is.  I’ve gone from writing a post a few times a month and only when I thought that the news was big enough/worthy enough to be written, to writing a blog post nearly everyday 31 days.  I say nearly because there were a couple of days when I had to write two posts on one day to catch up, but catch up I did!

Here are some of my observations:

I’m no longer deathly afraid of blogging regularly

I just never thought I could keep up a routine with it but this challenge has really shown me that when I consider a task important, I can get it done.  Writing a blog post every day just became a part of my routine and I made space for it in my schedule.  I now know that I’d be more comfortable with blogging at least once a week and that I can actually do it.

More Productivity

It was partly because I needed things to blog about but I developed a more productive attitude whilst doing this challenge.  I would have a plan for paintings that I would make progress on or a new technique I would try, all the while knowing that I can pick and choose from these what to blog about next.

My work-in-progress posts were some of my most successful posts because I found other artists would comment on my work and offer lots of encouragement.

Increase in blog followers

I did expect that posting a blog a day would result in increased traffic to my blog because I use social media quite a bit and I also post to the EveryDayMatters Drawing Group Forum on Yahoo.

What I didn’t quite expect was the amount of people who subscribed to my blog.  I’ve gone from about 2 or 3 to 19 blog followers as of today and that tells me something positive about my blogging.  It’s one thing to talk a lot but it’s quite another for people to want to hear you talk some more!

Making A Difference

What I mean by this is that some of the blog posts I’ve written have shared information that has been useful to others and vice versa. For instance, the post that I wrote  about my Top 3 Art Supplies received many comments and some artist readers shared what their favourite art supplies were too.   So I felt a wonderful sense of community.

I also did a couple of posts that spotlighted other artists and their work and the feedback I got from those artists was extremely positive.  They both contacted me and were very grateful for the exposure, which made me feel great since I didn’t really expect that my posts would have an impact in that way.

This of course encourages me to do more Artist Spotlights!

One other possibly negative thing I noticed whilst taking part in this challenge was:

Less Interaction with Facebook Fans

It seems that my fans on Facebook don’t like it much when I blog and my page is updated with the post.  These type of page updates get the least amount of interaction whilst posting images and inspirational quotes seem to get the most.  I found this quite interesting and I guess my Facebook fans will be glad when I get back to posting pictures of my WIPs and finished paintings instead of daily blog posts!

So those are the main things I noticed whilst participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Taking part has achieved what I wanted it to and I’m glad I did it.

So how was your experience?  Post links to your blog in the comments below if you’d like me to pop over and read!

Change Your Scenery to Get Things Done

I don’t know if this works for everyone but here’s a productivity method that I’ve read about but never employed.  The idea had crossed my mind before that I could bring work and my laptop into the kitchen with me when the kids are eating but I’m not eating myself, but I’ve always been afraid of crumbs and the ever present possibility of liquid spillages.  Like most people nowadays, I can’t bear the thought of my laptop being out of commission.  Nooooooo!

However, I’ve tried it a few times recently, keeping all potential disasters well away from my laptop and it’s been surprisingly good!  I’m used to working at my table in the living room, which is a big, long table with my workstation at one end and my art/craft spread out around the rest of the table.  I’d never seriously considered that this set up would hinder my productivity in any way but I can’t deny that when I have blog posts to write or accounts to do, moving my work into the kitchen helps me to get them done.

Image © Bill Lim 2007

I’m wondering if it could be that my kitchen has a whole different aura to it or maybe the round kitchen table feels more spacious, but whatever it is, it’s working and I like it

So if you find yourself stuck in an unproductive rut then you could try moving locations.  And it doesn’t have to be in the house either.  I’ve read about others who usually work from home suggesting that taking your work to local coffee shops, libraries or the park can get you out of a rut too.

Have any of you had success with this productivity method?  Please share in the comments below.  Thank you!