Looking Back on My 28 Day Blogging Streak
Qualitative & Quantitative Reflections on Writing Every Morning
Dear michael saminsky,
28 days ago I wrote to you to say that I was making a commitment to write and publish something every morning. I said that my number one goal was consistency. Today, I write to you at the end of this experiment to report my results.
The Qualitative
I choose to write daily because I really enjoy writing, and I predicted that making it a habit would make me happier. This prediction has proved accurate, as I’ve really come to appreciate the process: brainstorming topics, finding an angle, and sitting down in front of the keyboard. Most amazingly though has been the qualitative feedback from readers. Family, friends, and even the occasional internet stranger have all said nice things to me in person, written comments, and recommended my pieces. Knowing that my writing made someone else smile or think is the best feedback, even if it is hard to quantify. Ultimately, it’s this type of qualitative feedback that means the most to me: the happiness I get from sharing my ideas or explanations and the positive support from the P³ readers.
The Quantitative
As an MIT trained Enginerd, I of course am also very curious about the quantitative metrics for my writing too. However, I noticed early on that it’s very easy to become obsessed with how many views a story gets and mistake the views as the end goal. Still, having numbers to show what resonates with readers is valuable. For example, I was surprised to see that my post on Edward Tufte’s work on data visualization was my most viewed, and this was because someone posted it on a reddit forum. It was also interesting to see how much the number of views or reads varies and get a sense of what topics my readers like. I’m not completely sure how to best use the quantitative metrics, but I can’t pretend it isn’t exciting to see a story reach 100 views.
The Future
So what happens now? I’m not completely sure. I definitely will keep writing, but I might not publish every day so that I can work on pieces that take more time and require more polish. At the same time, it’s empowering knowing that I’ve proved to myself that I can make and sustain a daily writing and publishing habit. Next time I have something I can’t not say, I know I can just make 30 minutes in the morning and create a post. I also know that I believe more in the power of writing to make a difference, and it’s something that I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.
Most of all, I need to thank you. This work would not exist in the world without your Positive Peer Pressure, and I’m grateful for that influence. Cheers to making it contagious, and getting more letter writers!
Love,
Sam
