I’m going to call this complete coincidence – the fact that I have these two non-resolutions to put into place for 2012. It’s all about timing, really.
Over the past two months I’ve been giving lots of thought to my blogging, (thanks to NaBloPoMo) what I want to get out of it, and give to readers from it. I blogged every day for 61 days (phew!) and am ready to cut back on the blogging – but only a little. At the end of November I worried about losing my writing momentum so I jumped into NaBloPoMo for December. Now I’m comfortable putting out some blogging goals to help keep me on track, and to keep my blog moving forward. I came up with a blogging manifesto – see below – for the indefinite future, giving myself permission to change it as necessary to keep my goals reasonable.
My blogging manifesto:
- I pledge that I will make every effort to write daily – because I love it, because it’s good for me, and because I have a blog to keep up with (and perhaps a book to write…?)
- Not all of my writing may be blog worthy (or appropriate), but I will post either writing or photography on the blog no less than 3x/week.
- I will not berate myself for missing any of my goals, nor will I use that as an excuse to not keep writing. If I miss a day (or a stretch of days), I will simply pick up where I left off and continue on.
- I give myself permission to change any of these statements if needed to make my writing fit in with my family’s (and my own) needs. I will post any changes to the manifesto if they occur.
I want to share one other non-resolution for the new year. I’ve decided to join the Compact. I first heard about this through the Non-Consumer Advocate blog last November, and it’s been on my mind ever since. The Compact simply states that you will buy nothing new for a whole year. Everyone needs to make their own exceptions to the Compact; mine will be our perishables – food, toilet paper, etc., undergarments, and emergency building/repair materials for our house. Any planned-ahead home projects will encompass used or re-claimed products. This will be a challenge having two young children but with the help of Craigslist, local tag sales and flea markets and lots of planning, I don’t doubt that it’s possible. My husband is on board, but I don’t know how strictly he will adhere to the Compact. He already bought the last two Harry Potter DVDs.
That’s quite a non-resolution to not buy anything new for a whole year. I don’t think we could do it. I look forward to reading about your experience.
I like your blogging manifesto. If I were to write one, it would be very similar!
I’m very interested to see how this goes. 🙂 I gave my husband permission to not participate, but he’s on board, noting that we’ll make a bigger impact if we’re all taking part. I’ll keep you updated!
Sounds like my problem…I put myself on a program (writing, no coffee, whatever) and the minute I flub it’s all over. I need to remind myself to just pick up and keep going.
Absolutely – I think it’s the hardest part of trying to stick to a new plan!