Let me start at the beginning of where and how this experience started for me. It started with a challenge.
- Before the Challenge: It was fun, but I knew I could and should be better.
- The Challenge was just what I needed: The Challenge took me out of my comfort zone.
- After the Challenge: I was surprised with 25 great reasons to celebrate my new routine.
Before The Challenge
Just before the challenge (it was about in the middle of July this year if I remember correctly) I decided to create and publish content more regularly.
I arrived here on the blockchain during the last half of April 2020. So for the first year, I posted a new article on average about once per week. The rest of the time I left comments and gave some upvotes to articles which I liked.
During this time, I heard some of the big names here on the platform saying how we should create content and engage every day.
To me, that sounded good. It made sense. But at the same time, I found it intimidating too.
It's all well for someone who is established and good at what he does, to create content every day. When he speaks, people listen.
But for me? Who am I? Why would people be interested in reading my content daily?
Secondly, how on earth would I be able to come with something new to write about every day?
Yet, in July of this year, I decided it's all or nothing. I've had some "nice" results up until then. Nothing spectacular though, but I had a Hive wallet and a Hive Engine wallet with a couple of Dollars in it which I didn't have before. And if I was happy with this "nice" little sideline activity, giving me a few Dollars in a year, I could keep on doing what I was doing.
But if I wanted this to turn into something worthwhile, something to build on for the future, I had to get serious about it.
That's when I decided that if this man is saying create content and engage daily, then that is what I'm going to do.
I started creating content every day of the week, and to my surprise, people responded positively. I started getting positive feedback and some nice upvotes.
The Challenge
And then, only a few weeks into this, @blainjones announced a CTP 30-Day Content Challenge in the #CTP community.
The challenge would start on 15 August and run until the end of November. This would give you enough time to prepare, or even if you missed a day, to start over again. Just as long as you could complete a 30-day cycle of publishing new content every day for 30 days in a row.
This was pushing me even further out of my comfort zone...
This was not publishing posts 5 days per week over the next 4 weeks. No! This was publishing fresh content every single day for the next 30 days!
So this was when I finally decided to go for it. If this man...yes, you might have guessed it by now, it was @jongolson... If he says "every day" is what it takes, well, I guess then every day is what it takes.
There were prizes mentioned and I thought to myself, "Wow, it would be nice to get a slice of that", but that wasn't the main motivating factor for me.
I wanted to create a new routine. One that I could stick to. A new routine that involved creating and publishing new content every day. I wanted to see if I could make it, not only for those 30 days but to carry on doing so and enjoy long-term results.
My thoughts were "if I could do this for 30 days, why would I stop?"
So, I almost want to say "great was the relief" when I completed my 30-day challenge successfully, but it was more of an encouragement. I have proven to myself that I can do it. Now, it is just a matter of building on it.
After The Challenge.
The first thing I would like to mention here though is that I feel we should know the difference between a habit and a routine.
We often hear that "it takes 21 days to form a new habit".
I beg to differ. For me, even after the 30-day challenge, writing was still far from being just a habit. It became part of a routine, yes, but not a habit.
I cannot see myself forming a new habit in 21 days. Especially if I have to dump an old (maybe even bad) habit, and replace it with a new, good habit.
To me, a habit is something you do instinctively, without even thinking.
It's something like rubbing your nose when you get irritated. Or stroking your hair when you are thinking deeply. Or maybe you have the bad habit of finishing other people's sentences for them before they are even done talking...
In my opinion, those are habits. Some can be good habits, others are not so good.
To me, for example, writing a post every day, won't become a habit. It will become part of a routine, yes. But not a habit.
A writing habit for me is when someone carries a notepad with him, and an idea pops up, or he sees or hears something interesting, he pulls out the notepad and writes down his idea. That I will consider being a habit...and a good one too!
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
But writing complete posts? I can't see writing content as a habit. As I said, for me, it becomes part of a routine. If it was to become a habit, why do even professional writers complain about writer's block?
They have methods of overcoming it. For example, just sit down and start writing. But even then, you have to consciously make that decision to sit down, start writing and see what you will come up with.
It doesn't just happen automatically. You didn't sit down without realizing it and an hour later realized "oh wow, what a great post is this that I wrote today?"
Before I made this statement, I have read 6 different articles online about this topic and they all confirmed my way of thinking. If you would like to read them too, drop me a comment below and I'll share the links if you want to read more about that topic.
But please, that's a nitty-gritty thing. I think it's largely just about the way we speak and refer to things.
But for me, this was about creating a new routine. And so far, it's working. I'm just looking for ways to improve and get more productive.
So far, since I have started the challenge, I have only missed an odd day here or there over a weekend. Last weekend was the first time when I didn't publish new content, but I was busy preparing for new content. So I wasn't completely passive...
But with this being my main focus, completing the challenge and now keeping it up, how great was my surprise this morning when reading a post that I was tagged in, stating that I have won $25.00 worth of CTPM tokens for my participation in the #CTP 30 Day Content challenge.
So, seeing that I wasn't even expecting this, the thought that came up in my mind was "$25.00 worth of CTPM tokens! That is 25 reasons for celebrating my new routine of the past four months!"
I would also like to thank @blainjones, and @jongolson, for their support and for providing us an opportunity to grow through this challenge. And thank you to the whole of the #CTP community for their ongoing support and some great people I got to know and learn from in the community.
Conclusion.
Following and combining various habits can form a new routine. For me, the routine is ultimately what I'm after.
Creating routines works!
How many reasons do you need to create a new routine that can make you more productive...more successful?
Thank you for reading my post. I do appreciate it.
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