This is the first Halloween since I became a mother that I have shirked my holiday parental duties and I am elated to be doing so; Halloween is not my favourite event, so having John manage all the candy and costumes and nighttime walking is fine by me!
I’m finding it hard to believe it is actually October 31st. Really and truly it feels like this year has zoomed by. Granted, when I sit back and look at everything that has happened, it has been…a lot. Definitely a year’s worth. But, even so, HOW IS IT NOVEMBER TOMORROW?
It also feels like it was just yesterday since we wrapped up 2023’s NaBloPoMo. But the calendar says it has been 11 full months, so here we are again!
Coincidentally, today marks the end of the Cool Bloggers Walking Club (October 2024 edition), so I’m finishing one “challenge” and starting another!
*Credit to Engie for the wonderful header image!
If you’re a new reader of my blog (or maybe you’re just dipping your toes into the blogging world for the first time) you may be wondering what in tarnation I’m talking about. NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month and it’s a 30-day daily blogging challenge that has been running since the mid-2000s. San is our fearless leader and she recently shared a great overview of the history of this annual event. She also has a signup form in the same link if you’re interested in participating. Engie has crowd-sourced some great ideas for a month of daily blogging if you’re looking for fodder.
I’m going to participate in NaBloPoMo again, but will tweak the format to better suit my current priorities.
- I’m not going to post on Sunday. This means I won’t be completing the challenge as-written but not only am I fine with that, it only feels right to put my own stamp on this experience since taking Sunday off is a great representation of what I’ve been working toward in my Year of Shmita.
- I’m not going to comment on Sunday. Ditto above.
- I’m going to comment less. For me at least, commenting seems to take far more time than writing (or reading). I found myself commenting on almost every single NaBloPoMo post last year and it was…exhausting by the end. I’m committed to reading (almost?) every post, but I simply can’t comment on everything. I’m also not looking for others to feel obligated to comment on every one of my posts! It is a lot of reading and while it is wonderful to chime in when we have things to say, it’s also okay to follow along and stay silent.
- I’m going to build structure with some regular weekly features. Every Monday will feature a guest post (perhaps this borders on cheating since technically someone else is writing the majority of the post, but these posts take a lot of work to organize and format, so I’m counting it). Every Friday will still feature a Happy Things Friday post. And every Saturday (except this Saturday, when I’ll do my final Cool Bloggers Walking Club roundup) will feature a giveaway! That leaves twelve extra posts; you know how verbose I am – this will not be difficult for me to fill.
I’m looking forward to connecting with everyone who is participating in this year’s NaBloPoMo, and thanks to everyone who reads blogs and comments – whether you have your own blog or not. This community means so much to so many of us and it really is because of everyone’s engagement and genuine love and care for one another. We’re better together.
Happy writing!
Your turn. Will you be participating in NaBloPoMo this year? If so, do you have any “method to your madness”?
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coco
I’m excited about NaBloPoM and plan to follow a semi structure of daily journal entry type. Back to the beginning of my blog journey and within the month of change/hope/expectations. I fully respect your decision to not post on sunday and minimal commenting. it’s a community of busy woman, we all understand what we go through in life 🙂
Elisabeth
Thanks for understanding re. commenting. We ARE busy and that can be fun, but when it stops feeling like fun, I need to know it’s time to pull back! I think my boundaries will be the perfect framework for keeping it fun from start to end.
Maria
I’m looking forward to your daily-but-for-Sunday posting! A blog post from you is always a treat, so November will be fantastic! I love that you’re putting some boundaries around it though. Defining participation and boundaries can be hard (at least for a people pleaser like myself) but it’s such an important thing!
Elisabeth
Maria, it really does give me such a thrill to know you enjoy reading my blog posts. NaBloPoMo isn’t a huge transition for me since I already blog 5x/week, but the commenting since everyone else is suddenly blogging as frequently as me can be…a lot. I’m excited, but also proud that I’ve set up boundaries without feeling any shame or discouragement about tweaking the “rules” to better suit my current stage of life and energy levels.
Birchie
I highly approve of NaBloPo your way – yes take Sundays off and yes ration your comments. Basically participate at the level where it’s fun. I’m struggling under the weight of too many things that I have to do to make room for extra blogging, so I’ll be sitting out this round.
The one time that I did NaBloPo it was very much a last minute decision. I enjoyed it, but I would have been better served if I had done some advance planning.
Elisabeth
I don’t have many things prepped in advance, but I’m used to blogging almost this frequently AND I have some structure which automatically makes it easier. Knowing what I’m doing on Monday, Friday, and Saturday makes me feel like the other 12 posts will fall in to place relatively quickly. I hope…?
Jenny
I can’t wait!!! I’m ready (or, as ready as I ever am for NaBloPoMo- I have some things planned but will be winging it a lot of the time.) Glad you’re participating again!
Elisabeth
Jenny, I am delighted to hear you’re participating. Seeing a blog post from you in my feed is always such a happy moment, so to have 30 of them will be delightful <3
ccr in MA
I’m with Birchie on both “participate at the level where it’s fun” and “struggling under the weight of too many things that I have to do to make room for extra blogging” so I won’t be posting daily, and will only be commenting on some. Even in other months, I sometimes push myself to circle back to a post to comment on “later” and I am trying to cut back on that. No one is going to be crushed if I don’t comment on their post, right? I really want to keep blogging fun.
Elisabeth
Exactly. I so appreciate comments and love giving and receiving them, but sometimes can feel this pull to comment on EVERYTHING. I’ve scaled back on that in the last year or so. I want to leave meaningful comments and I do want to deepen my connection with various URL folks, but I need to balance that with keeping blogging fun! It’s a hobby and it shouldn’t add stress into my life! Which unfortunately it does when my website crashes or gets deleted. Ha. I’m no so good with keeping drama or emotion out of my blog I guess…
Colleen Martin
I think the commenting is why I shy away from it, you are right that would be exhausting! Reading blogs is fun, but when it feels like I HAVE to comment in order to receive comments or play the game, well I don’t need another job 🙂 Just know that I’ll be reading every post as usual!!
Elisabeth
Aww. Thanks, Colleen.
I don’t think we necessarily talk openly about the whole “you comment on mine, I’ll comment on yours” part of blogging. To be fair, if someone rarely comments on my blog, I will probably rarely comment on theirs. And I DO think that almost all my “deeper” blogging friendships are because we chose to leave meaningful comments on each others posts. San, Jenny, and Lisa may have literally commented on every single blog post I’ve written and I try to comment on all of their posts, not out of obligation but because I think I have a deeper connection with them BECAUSE of their frequent commenting. But, also, it would literally be another job if I commented on everyone’s posts all the time. Especially during NaBloPoMo!
Lisa's Yarns
I’ve never done NaBloPoMo in all my years of blogging and can’t imagine ever doing it, especially these days when I post at most twice/week. To be honest, it is not my favorite month because THERE ARE SO MANY POSTS and I feel pressure to comment on many of them, which is kind of silly because no one is grading me for my % of commenting and I doubt anyone expects me to comment on every post.
Enjoy your responsibility-free Halloween! It is cold and rainy here and the rain may turn to snow so it’s going to be a crummy night. The boys are still excited for it but it’s going to be very cold and blustery. 🙁 It was 75 and sunny on Tuesday! What a week we’ve had.
Elisabeth
It IS a bit overwhelming. I just have to go into this year saying I simply can’t comment on all the posts. And I think that’s a good thing? I love reading, but commenting takes a lot of time because I like to leave thoughtful comments (as do you!). But I totally can see why it feels not super fun, especially if you feel internal pressure to comment on everything. Consider this my response that you do NOT need to comment on all my posts. Though, of course, I adore when you chime in. Seeing a comment from you is a bright spot in any day <3
Your Halloween weather stinks. Argh. Thankfully, John had amazing weather for his solo-parenting Halloween.
Ernie
I’m participating in NaBloPoMo again this year. I enjoyed it last year but I agree- trying to comment on all the blogs is tough. I appreciate Colleen’s mention of the commenting situation. It can feel like another job. As Coco says, We are all busy women. I try to keep up with the many blogs that I enjoy, but if it starts to infringe on family time – I scale back. So, I appreciate that you are doing NaBloPoMo your way. Looking forward to it.
Elisabeth
Thanks for the encouragement and support of scaling things back. It feels more manageable with everything I’ve got going on. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to do NaBloPoMo, but after I set my own boundaries, I’m getting excited!
Michelle G.
I like how you’ve set boundaries for your participation, Elisabeth. That’s what I do for art challenges if I decide to participate. I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s posts, and it’s nice to know that people seem to have a relaxed attitude about commenting on everything. I’m not participating because I know myself very well, and I realize it would be too much for me.
Elisabeth
It IS a lot, so I think it’s wonderful you know it’s not a good fit.
But, yes, commenting can start to feel overwhelming so I simply won’t be able to comment on every post. Releasing myself from that expectation feels liberating!
NGS
Okay, I think my rule will be that I can only write my own posts on weekends and that any time I have to spend on blogging during the week will go to commenting. I won’t be able to comment on everything, but I will try to comment at least once a week at everyone’s spot. *sigh* I want it to be FUN, but I’m feeling more like fun. Maybe I’ll buck up in the next couple of days.
Elisabeth
I like your rule. I don’t think I’ll be able to get all my posts written on the weekends…but we shall see. Plus, Sunday is out for me to write or to post or to comment.
But yes, I will be commenting some on everyone’s blogs I’m sure, but I’m not putting pressure on myself to comment on every blog every day!
Also, if it doesn’t feel fun, Engie. Don’t do it. You’ve had a whopper of a year, are just getting over COVID and, quite frankly do not need to buck up. Blogging is supposed to be fun, so if it feels like work – this is me giving you full permission to skip it. Or, if you want to write and read but not comment. This is me giving you full permission to not leave a single comment. Not that you need my permission, but sometimes it helps to hear that it’s okay to do what works even if that looks different from your natural personality bent or goals.
Hugs <3
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I love that you are tweaking it to meet your annual goal.
Also such a good idea to give you some grace in commenting. I am commenting almost every blog post I read but I may have to give myself some grace if NaBloPoMo is going to be fun… it is just a lot with our growing community.
Elisabeth
You’re so right. The group of wonderful bloggers keeps growing and it simply isn’t sustainable to comment on all the blogs. I will definitely prioritize the blogs I’ve been reading longer-term. I love meeting new people, but I also want to cultivate my existing blog friendships because they precious to me!
Ally Bean
I agree, in my experiences with NaBloPoMo the commenting takes more time than the writing. I ended up so overwhelmed I did almost nothing in December. Wishing you good vibes as you write your heart out [isn’t that what they used to say about it?].
Elisabeth
You are clearly opting to let your current priorities lead you in decisions regarding your blog and I think that is just wonderful. Thanks for supporting me as I do the same!
I felt pretty burned out by the end of November last year…