The new structures that I will use are going to transform the level of activity on this blog and what I will achieve from it. It will also mean that the content will be far more personal.
The basic structures that I will be rolling out are:
1. Daily rubbish post
2. Daily reflection
3. Monthly detailed review
This is a post of intent. The first structure will be implemented from today. The second will be implemented over the next couple of weeks (once I have decided on a standard format for it), and the last one will start from the end of December 2009 - i.e. the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Not that the timing is particularly significant - the important thing is that I start as soon as possible.
When I first setup this blog, I had big plans for loads of useful articles that I was going to write and share here. Those plans do still hold, but the way they're going to get here is going to be quite different.
I have decided to implement some of the principles that I use all the time at work (and that are the reason for my massive success at work), to drive real progress here.
The principles
Over the coming weeks and months I will publish posts explaining these techniques, but for now I'm going to focus on immediate action.
I am going to put in place a simple routine to make sure I post things, even if the posts don't have as much content as I would like, and use this to build momentum while I write the more in-depth articles that I always had in mind for this blog.
Taking this action is the important first step, and I use similar structures on every project that I work on to establish the "project heartbeat". It is used to create sustained momentum, continuous alignment with goals and regular communication across the team. I will explain more about these structures later. For now, this post will just provide an overview of the structure I am putting in place on this Blog.
1. Daily rubbish post
This is just a post for posting's sake. If I can't think of anything useful to post, I will just dig out a link to a good site I've used and write some words around it. The purpose is just to make me look back at this blog and do something about it.
Sometimes, just forcing a routine like this makes us take just enough time out to think, leading to the occasional gem of an idea or new innovation. Some of the posts may be rubbish, but who am I to say what's rubbish and not? Let's see what I come up with...
2. Daily reflection
We learn through reflection.
It's through looking back and asking ourselves questions that we ensure we repeat successes and avoid repeating mistakes. What went well that I would repeat? What could I have done better that I would change if I did it again?
This is also the point where we can bring in our goals. Have we achieved something against each of the areas of our lives that we want to achieve something against today?
I'm going to decide on a structure for capturing this over the next few days, and when I do, I will start posting a post a day where I will document my reflections.
This is going to make the blog far more personal than I originally intended, but will be a good way for me to (1) make sure I do reflect on a daily basis, and (2) create something that I can look back on.
I'm doing this for myself rather than for any audience, but I hope that readers of this blog could at least find the principle useful for themselves.
** UPDATE: On 16th January 2010 I stopped posting daily reflections to this blog. I still continue with this routine and all of the old posts are still available to access, but I am not publishing them here, as described in the following post: http://business-life-success.blogspot.com/2010/01/end-of-daily-reflections.html
3. Monthly detailed review
This will be an extended version of the daily reflection, looking at the achievements and areas for improvement from the previous month. Whilst the daily reflection will be short and sweet (to remove any excuses for me to not do it!) - this will be my chance to really think a bit more about what I set out to achieve at the beginning of the month and how far down that path I made it.
4. Everything else
And of course, this is only the basic routine that I will be following. I will continue to write and publish articles on wider topics. The routine should help ensure I keep bringing my focus back to this blog and delivering on the commitments I've made here.
An important final note
One thing I have made a conscious decision on that I would also like to make clear is: I am not a pro-blogger, and do not plan on becoming one.
i.e. I don't seek to create an income that is equal to or exceeds my main income through blogging.
This is something that I'm doing for two reasons:
(1) To give myself the structures to drive my own personal development (not the original intention of this blog, but it's what I'm going to be using it for from now on), and
(2) To create and share content that genuinely helps people. If I can share things that have helped me, then I hope it will be useful to others too.
I'm very keen to hear people's thoughts on this approach to using the blog and if they find any of my posts useful. Please do get in contact if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
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