On Habits

The cake is a lie. And so is this post’s date.

I wanted to get more serious about consistent writing towards the end of 2023. It would increase skill, build a good habit, give material to point people to on topics I frequently cover, and who knows maybe even turn into a real thing one day. So, I did what all impulsive people do. I set an arbitrary, half good, half bad goal.

“I will write 1 blog post on average each week, stating now”.

This goal had some good aspects. It was specific, measurable, actionable, and time bounded. Sort of. But it also reeked of bad new year’s resolutions with the arbitrary “I will start doing X good habit per Y unit of time”. Cutting against that take though, it was tied to the calendar year and I did start immediately.

It actually went pretty well at first. In early 2024 I hit this requirement, even finishing early sometimes to build a buffer. If I was particularly able and willing, I’d knock 2 out knowing some other week I wouldn’t do one.

Then, everything went sideways. I was helping my partner get a first job in a new career, had to coordinate a move, was going to doctors to address some health issues, I was working on a side project, and my job had a spat of miserable experiences. I was busy, and tired.

So the habit slipped. When things got easier again, that time was used for a break and balance. I went on weekend trips, skied on Wednesdays instead of working. Then a long trip came up. When I was back, the habit was long since crushed.

But I’m here again, with a fresh mind. I’ll capitalize on that energy and I have a slew of new and old topics that are easier. I’ll knock out more of those smaller, easier posts in a row than I ordinarily would (usually I rotate as this achieves the steady average while allowing for higher effort topics to be explored) and that will get me caught up.

I won’t date them properly, because it’s just not relevant and I want to get back into the weekly mindset. It’s not about hiding it, you can see the full history on github. Psychologically though, it sets the right state. I’m back to weekly writing, but will do 2 or 3 posts rather than 1 each iteration until I’m caught back up and with a small buffer once again.

At the end of the day, for non critical habit based goals I think that’s really the most you can do. Life just will get in the way sometimes. The key is just to not give in immediately, and to come back swinging. I’ve found value in this practice, but it’s just no where near the top priority in any aspect of my life.

And that’s ok.