Today marks 100 straight days of posts on this blog. To be honest, extending the streak this long didn't really become a goal until I was past halfway. I started with the intention of establishing a consistent writing practice, and nothing more than that. If running has taught me anything, it's that having a practice is essential for improvement in whatever skill you try to hone.
Publishing on this blog was how I held myself accountable. Whether anyone actually read a post didn't matter as much as the thought that they could, which was enough motivation to put forth an honest, presentable effort each day. That said, I am grateful to those of you who reached out and commented or expanded on an idea offered in a post. The blog is my vehicle to better understand the coaching profession, and your feedback only helps further that learning.
I also can't say it enough: by no means do I have coaching remotely figured out. I just think too many coaches wait until they're close to retirement to share what they've learned. That might make for a polished speech at the convention, but I feel like there's value in having those same kinds of conversations as we go, especially as the environment in which we coach and recruit continues to evolve. In many cases, what worked 20 years ago simply doesn't fly today.
All that being said, the streak will end today at 100. That doesn't mean the blog is over. I'll still post fairly regularly, but as of late, writing has taken too much priority over reading, something I enjoy just as much. However, before taking a little break, I'd be remiss if I didn't share a few takeaways from blogging 100 days in a row:
Write a little less and edit a lot more. I don't know if writing more makes you better as much as editing more makes you better. Editing requires you to restructure, take a different perspective, and offer different routes to conveying an idea. Most of my blog posts were first drafts, nothing more. If you only accumulate rough drafts, the writing stays rough. It's like a baseball player going to the batting cage. Instead of just taking swings, I need to refine my swing a little bit. You could also compare it to watching some film, doing some drills, and working on mechanics as a runner.
You aren't in love with something you love all the time. Most days were easy. I love to write, and I love coaching, so in theory, this was a perfect match. But on days when it felt like there were endless to-do's? Having a blog post to write was yet another thing on the list. What I realized was that it had nothing to do with the act itself that made me dread writing on those nights. It was not having the adequate time and space to enjoy the process.
When you become engrossed in the process, you really do forget about the outcomes. I'll admit it. When I started blogging, I looked at the viewership data. I wanted to know if anyone actually read what I had written. In the past two months, however, I've maybe looked at it once. I just got in this habit of writing every night, scheduling a post for 2 AM, and then sharing it on social media when I woke up the next morning. Before I could sit back and spend time seeing who read it, the time had come to repeat the cycle.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Until next time.