Can you believe we’re one month into 2015 already? Already!??? This means that I’ve also been blogging for a month now too!  Where on earth has that time gone?

Well, they do say that time flies when you’re having fun and I have to confess, it’s been a fun ride so far.  And whilst I’m still finding my feet and trying to work out what to write about and how, there is no question that it’s already been quite a cathartic and rewarding experience. Over the past 31 days, I’ve put over 25,000 words down on paper (ok screen, whatevs) and that’s more than I’ve achieved in the past 3 years!  What’s more, I’ve come to realise that the decision to use this blog to loosen the muscle was definitely the right move for me!  Fabulous motivation to continue!

And luckily for me, it’s a bonus that I have been able to discover other like minded people who are putting it out there and chasing down their goals this year as well.  So many fabulous writers, thinkers and storytellers out there, I’m not sure how I’m going to keep up with them all!

I suspect the key will be to really focus on getting my routine sorted which kicks off TOMORROW! Eeek, I’m not sure if I’m ready to be getting up and stupid o’clock just yet! But it must be done!  The fact that I’m going to have to be accountable to myself this month in getting myself organised is going to be hard (you know, procrastination and all that) but I’m actually looking forward to giving it a good crack! But it has got me thinking about how to streamline my blog writing. Unfortunately for me, I’m an edit as I write kind of gal.  This means even the most simplest of posts can take me hours to write (and don’t even get me started on those epic essays!).  This approach is definitely not sustainable, especially once I get back to work.  Plus, it doesn’t leave me with time to focus on a couple of other projects I want to work on.  So my plan is simple.

Simplify!

I have come across some fabulous blogs lately and am planning to steal a few ideas from them (which I will gratefully acknowledge!).  This will allow me to keep on track and committed to posting something every day, but also hopefully ensure I maintain some level of quality in my content rather than rubbish which has been hastily pulled together.  So I’m throwing some ideas around to add a little more structure to my week but not too much because I don’t want to be tied to themes and topics if I don’t want to be.  My plan is that it will give me the scope to write large posts when the need arises, but an opportunity to catch up during the week with shorter ones (or just pics!).  Here’s where I’m at so far.

Silent Sundays (thanks to Sarah at Steps with Sarah for this one). Given Monday is the start of the working week, having to only post pictures is such a great idea… Hopefully this will stop me from becoming engrossed in writing a huge, epic post when I should be in bed!

I thought I’d use Mondays to mix it up a bit and rotate a roster of topics monthly.  This will include Memory Lane Monday which might actually turn into Memory Lane Monthly.  I’ve really been enjoying writing Memory Lane Mondays in the past.  My posts about my mum and my dad were confronting to write but important for me to get down on paper so I will continue this but if it’s weekly or monthly, we’ll just have to wait and see.  I haven’t figured out the other topics yet but give me time…

And because it’s just how I roll, I’d like to make sure I have one big epic D&M post and I’m thinking Thursday might be a good day for it. Thursday is last day of my working week so not only will I have the luxury of going to bed WHENEVER I LIKE, unlike the other days in my working week! I’ll also be in the mood to debrief from the week that was… I am sure that will bring with it its own range of topics, thoughts and challenges!!!

Other than that, I think I’ll throw in some kind of favourites round-up where I share my favourite blog posts, things, articles or news stories of the week.  The rest I’ll leave up to fate!

So February is here with a vengeance and I’m going to tackle it wholeheartedly.  Let’s see how I feel tomorrow night after a 5am start though shall we!

Do you have any tips for making sure your blog doesn’t consume you? Or tips for keeping up your energy throughout the day after a 5am start?