30 day challenge: writing every day

For October 2014, my 30 day challenge was to write a compliment a day for my wife. I liked that challenge because it was a good chance to be thankful for my wife after 15 years of marriage. It’s all too easy to settle into a routine and take things (or people) for granted.

For November 2014, my 30 day challenge is going to be to write something every day. It’s been really cool to see Gina Trapani and Andy Baio and others blogging more often.

My goals are:
– it needs to be longer than a tweet.

– but putting out something short or rough is fine–even encouraged. Trying to polish essays until they’re shining gems is often what causes problems. I’d like to push a few thoughts out of the nest, even if some of them clumsily hop around on the ground because they’re not ready to fly yet.

– it doesn’t have to be on my blog or for public consumption. This isn’t a “do a blog post each day” challenge. Maybe I’ll do some journalling. Maybe I’ll play around with writing posts in Google Docs (it can be a hassle for me to upload pictures to my WordPress install in the way that I want).

– I’m not planning on writing about SEO, by the way. Plenty of other people do that. πŸ™‚

I think that’s it. Oh, just so I can reconstruct things later: I didn’t do a 30 day challenge in September 2014. Sometimes it’s good just to take some time off.

29 Responses to 30 day challenge: writing every day (Leave a comment)

  1. This one would be interesting to watch. Following your 30 days challenge, earlier this year I managed to keep myself away from whatsapp and social media (fb, t) for 30 days on cellphone.

  2. Go with ZEN Writer πŸ˜‰ Really good to focus on writing creative non-SEO stuff πŸ™‚

  3. Hi Matt-
    Love your idea. Hmmm…why?

    To me, it’s all about the little things we do. They add up. I make it a priority to compliment my kids everyday about something they’re doing well.

    Your daily dose of writing something speaks volumes in the practicing department. Years ago I was an emergency department volunteer at Maine Med. No, I didn’t pursue a career in medicine. Couldn’t quite make it through organic chemistry.

    I ran into a doc one day while I was folding bed sheets. We chatted about the field of medicine and whether it was right for me. He laughed and said, “That’s why we call it practicing medicine. You keep getting better at it the more you do it.”

    Writing has the same approach. At least it has for my career but also in helping my kids develop their reflective skills.

    Thanks Matt.

    Peter

  4. Hey Matt,

    Very interesting challenge! (I’m sure most of your readers will learn a new thing every day for the next 30 days).

    It doesn’t necessarily have to be a well-written, polished post. Sometimes the shortest things you share mean a lot to all of us, whether be it SEO related or from your everyday life.

    I wish you good luck and make sure to keep up the good work

    Regards

    Andrew

  5. Compliment a day – You’re putting us all to shame. πŸ™‚

    How about giving Ghost a try as a platform for 30days? They have a WordPress plugin that will allow you to export all of your content, plus the whole setup is focused on the writing.

  6. Great idea as well as goal. It’s so important to try new things in life and of course to keep an open mind. I think we really stop developing and evolving once we shut down our mind to new & different things. Routine is great and all, and as humans we embrace it, but it can become dry.

    Have fun with your journey!
    Christian

  7. I love you idea, Hope to implement one day for my wife who is with me from last 24 years.

  8. Longer than a tweet but not a blog post. Ummm, sounds interesting specially if its not about SEO stuff. Sounds like you’ll be up with a lot creativity.

  9. Happy Hello Matt, I am surprised that you can go without SEO talks for one month. It may be a challenge for you πŸ™‚ . I am going to follow, that will be very interesting to see.

  10. It will be really interesting to follow for 30 days – non SEO? so let’s see..

  11. Hello Matt, I want to know about why are you not posting any SEO update articles. This is just an question b’coz i am an SEO.

  12. It’s good to do this. Perhaps write an appreciation for your own life each day.

    Best wishes
    George

  13. I know how hard it is for us to write 1 post a week. I’ve been trying for a year to do a 250-500 word post every day and still get work done… Good luck with that challenge!

  14. Great idea and very cool! It’s always great to try new things to break our usual routine as it truly is a great way to learn as well as to keep life fresh. Keeping an open mind in life is so vital otherwise, we can become very complacent and stuck in our routine. Then our minds start to shut off and life becomes stale. It’s all about having the right attitude in life.

    Enjoy your new journey! It’s inspiring.
    -Christian

  15. Noooo that’s unfair that you’re on leave when you promised to be looking at my Sponsored Circle website to see if you could penalize it. πŸ˜› Unfair unfair, Matt.

    But it’s good to see your new blog entries. Now you look more like my blog buddies. πŸ˜‰

    Here’s a little tip for you, Matt (coming from a paper diary girl): get a paper diary and use it every day. It can truly reconnect you with writing on a personal level, and the scent of paper helps (yeah, if you’re wondering, I’m all for paper used in aromatherapy).

    Well, let me know if it works for you. ^^

    Take care.

    ~ Luana

  16. Hi Matt,

    I must say the “30 day challenges” you take are just awesome. I am glad to see more creative side of yours apart from the spam head.

  17. Great! I have been writing reflections since last year as a spiritual exercise before starting work, and I have friends who follow daily. It is a balm to the spirit. You inspire, Matt. God bless

  18. This one is brilliant! And it’s going to inspire….

  19. This one is brilliant! And it is going to inspire…..

  20. Enjoy
    Take care.

  21. Hey Matt,

    I found your site about a year ago and have been participating in a different 30-day challenge each month for the past year! It’s been great. I’ve gone gluten-free; practiced yoga; gave up the internet, TV, and cell phone; and most recently attempted to (but failed) trying to give up complaining for 30 days.

    This one seems like an awesome idea too since I try to write each day for my blog.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

  22. Great idea, unique though! Best wishes for your challenge. I hope your wife too loves your gesture as much as I do.

    Better post in the name of a girl

  23. Matt,

    I really enjoy your concept and writings on 30-day challenges – thank you.

    What i’m curious about is how often, if at all, your 30-day challenges become a ‘habit’, or something that you’ve continued. Do you find the challenges as a starting point for something that you want to continue longer-term? Or are they intended as self-contained challenges with a fixed lifespan of just 30 days?

    Apologies if this is something you’ve already covered somewhere…

  24. Hey Matt,

    30 day writing challenge is tough. Providing you have the desire and commitment I’m sure you’ll sale through. I’m currently half way through the fitness program Insanity. Lets just say I’ve surprised myself.

    All the best mate!

  25. This would be a great idea to step into orgmode for emacs and work with orgmode-journal to write your daily files easily without thinking about.

  26. Too hard earning money, In Vietnam can not to pay for writing every day.

  27. Ahaan!! never thought of this earlier. I think your wife would have really appreciated getting compliments each day. It is true, getting on a routine or anything makes one improve every day with the challenge and one always finds self in a better position at the end of the challenge.

    Take care!

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