Today is Monday, the first day of the working week. It is also the first day of June and, here in Australia, the official first day of winter.
It is almost like a new year. While most people restrict their attempts at resolutions to a new calendar year on the first of January, there are plenty of other opportunities to turn over a new leaf if you choose to look for them. However, the midst of an ongoing global pandemic may not be the best time to consider starting afresh. Or, perhaps it is.
I am thinking of ruling a line under the past few months and moving forward.
For almost 3 weeks I have added a blog post every day. I have never made daily posts for an extended period previously and I have been writing this blog for over 9 years now. It has been an experiment on several levels. Could I maintain this level of engagement consistently now that I am retired? Does self-isolation (mostly) make it easier to write blog posts every day? Do I want to lock myself into writing every day? Will I always have appropriate new content every day? Are readers looking for new content every day? Could I intersperse blog posts every 2-3 days with Instagram posts on a specific Organised Castle Instagram account?
Dear readers, I am really keen to hear your thoughts on the frequency, length, content and photos of my blog posts. Also, do you go back and look at older material or click on the related links I sometimes provide? I look forward to your honest thoughts and opinions.
Meanwhile, I am about to prepare the vegetables for dinner. We are having one of our favourite cool weather meals – roast vegetables and gravy which I will serve with some green beans from the garden.
While the oven is on, I will also make a Lemon Delicious and some more Cheese Scones to store in the freezer. These are great for serving with a bowl of piping hot soup.
organised castle 
I honestly can’t see daily posts as being sustainable or remotely enjoyable for you in the long term. Gosh even three weeks of daily posts is pretty intensive! Whilst I always enjoy reading, and I do delve into your archived posts, please just share what feels right for you. And thank you for sharing as you do.
Thanks for your thoughts. I really don’t think daily posts are sustainable but I am just trying to work out the way forward.
As a browser of blogs myself, I feel that I only read the new things that pop up on my Reader. That includes people I follow. Of course, that’s just a sample size of one, and other people might not use WordPress the way I do, but yeah, I don’t think I’d go back too far through other bloggers’ archives.
Hope this helps, and those meals look delicious!
Thanks, Stuart. I really appreciate everyone’s opinion because it helps me to tailor the content. Sometimes I don’t post something because it is very similar to a post from a few years back. It may be time to rethink my strategy…………
Your blogs are very inspiring but one every few days with the instagram posts sounds less intensive for you.
I also havent read all the old ones so links to those are great as well
Thanks, Katrina. That is what I am leaning towards.
I see your blog posts either on Facebook or in my inbox. I have enjoyed your posts over the last few months. However, maintaining an ongoing daily schedule could be very tiring and I would hate to see you “burnout” and not enjoy blogging.
I have been impressed by your efforts to eat and cook what you grow. Most inspiring.
Thank you for your comments. I am trying to find a balance between burnout and a reasonable amount of fresh content to keep things interesting.
I always read your posts – I see them via Facebook. I don’t subscribe to any blogs any more, as I found my inbox got overwhelming whereas when I see it on Facebook, I go and read immediately.
I really enjoy all of your posts, but the idea of blogging is to enjoy it yourself and not just do it for your readers only. I think with passion in a blog, the readers will also love what is written, and I would much prefer to keep reading your blog with the passion that you write it with than to have you bored and blogging because you think you “have to”.
I delve back into the archives occasionally, but nowhere near enough to notice if you post a similar blog to one you’ve done in the past.
I love that you are often the first person to read my new posts. I agree with you thought re passion versus ‘have to’.
Your posts are always interesting to read and I like your style of writing. The pics are great also. I love how your blogs are mainly about every day things, something we so easily take for granted and probably until COVID 19 didn’t take time to sit back and enjoy. As long as you have a burning desire to share your thoughts and wisdom keep blogging!
I am glad you are enjoying the blog posts and I feel that the photos are an important part. They are generally everyday stuff as I try to keep it ‘real’.
I love reading everything you post and I do go back and look at older posts too. Over the next couple of days I will come back and have a better look at the Lemon Delicious recipe seeing as it is that time of the year..I really need to start up my blog again…
Thanks, Barb. Don’t forget the recipe index at the top of the page – it is a great aid in locating recipes that are in older posts.
I read your posts as they come up on my WordPress App. I don’t go back. I only read old posts when I discover a new blog. Don’t worry if you write a post similar to something previous – it’s still good to read about things others are doing. And life goes in cycles.
Thanks for your feedback. It is all helping to build a picture and help me decide about how I want to manage the blog in the future.
I read your blog when I get notification on my email account, it’s the only one I follow this way and have done so for a long time. While I’m loving reading your blog every day, it’s unrealistic of us to expect you to continue to do so for so long – I only do Facebook, so no Instagram for me. I rarely go back on your links as I’ve read them all before but I do enjoy most of the content of your blogs, because you are doing everyday things in your life that are important to you.
Thanks, Pam. It is lovely to hear from a long-term reader. 🙂 Just a tip if you are on Facebook. If you haven’t already, you can ‘Like’ my Facebook page called ‘Organised Castle’. That way you will see previews of new blog posts as well as any Instagram posts as I always link them to the Facebook page. Hope this helps.
I think a daily post would be hard to sustain but that’s your decision. If you post daily I will read. My preference would be a blog post every couple of days interspersed with Insta or Facebook posts.
Repeat I do on the blog wouldn’t worry be too much as long as there was a big enough time gap and anyway some info is worth repeating.
Even once a week, if that’s all you can manage. I read most posts, and I go back now and again, if I see something of interest which I’ve missed. Do what sits right with you.
Thanks, Jo. I need to find a balance between keeping it sustainable and interesting.
Thanks, Judith. Your thoughts pretty much mirror my own. Now I just need to formulate a plan. 🙂