Showing posts with label Routine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Routine. Show all posts

Sunday, August 17, 2025

242 Sundays Later: What Weekly Blogging Has Taught Me

The Commitment

AI Image Generated by CoPilot from Blog Post
I have been blogging regularly since Sunday, January 3, 2021. I’ve posted at least one entry each week since that date. Some weeks are easy, while others make it difficult to think of what to write. Trips provide easy topics, and tech-related events often lead to straightforward posts. But weeks like today—when I’ve waited until Sunday afternoon and nothing comes to mind—are more challenging.

I initially started blogging to drive traffic to my website. Over the years, I’ve made a few changes. Now, everything going to https://www.haverty.net redirects to https://blogger.haverty.net. Although I secured the main site about a year ago, it still redirects to the blog.

I’ve had my website and blog since before Carrie and I were married. I used it to host our wedding site, a discussion forum, and various sub-sites focused on family, site design, and more. Over time, the site evolved into a testing ground, but its primary purpose is now blogging.

My first blog post was in 2006 on Blogger. After years of inconsistent posting—sometimes going months without an update—I learned that building a consistent audience requires weekly posts. As I mentioned earlier, this can be a challenge, but somehow I’ve managed to keep it up since 2021.

Each week, I spend time thinking about what I’ll post. I usually start early in the week, though I often forget to write down my ideas, which means I revisit them later. If I have something in mind, I start writing on Saturday. Otherwise, I begin Sunday morning.

This process is part of my routine, whether I’m busy, on vacation, or out of the country. If I know a week will be hectic, I write ahead and schedule the post to maintain my Sunday cadence. Occasionally, I’ll post additional entries for holidays or special family occasions.

I genuinely enjoy posting regularly and being able to look back over the years. I try to use consistent keywords so I can easily revisit related topics.

Today, I reflect on my process—and the reasons behind it.


Discipline Over Perfection

AI Generated Image from CoPilot Based on Blog
Some weeks my writing is brief; other weeks, the posts are longer. It depends on how much time I have and what’s happened. It can be challenging to show up each week and write something engaging enough for someone to click on when it appears in their social media feed. I find it interesting to watch the metrics—some posts get lots of clicks, while others I expect to perform well barely get any.

Posting consistently has helped build a following. I get regular visits and interactions on social media. Before I started posting weekly, I read that consistency is key—if visitors don’t know when to expect new content, they’re less likely to return. Posting every Sunday helps keep people coming back.

I also believe that consistent posting has helped me grow as a writer. Each week, I brainstorm the topic, title, keywords, and how to promote the post. I’ve automated social media sharing for platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. Occasionally, I manually post to other platforms if I think a post will attract high traffic.

When I struggle to find a topic, I aim to write something short—around 250–300 words. It may not be perfect, but it keeps the habit going. I work hard to avoid spelling, grammar, or usage errors, and I appreciate it when someone points out a mistake.


Capturing Life in Real Time

AI Image Generated by CoPilot from Blog Post
Blogging has become a digital journal of my weekly life or focus. Whether I’m writing about a trip or looking forward to a camping weekend, it’s a way to review my year—or even revisit earlier years to see what was on my mind. It’s fun, and I enjoy the process.

I’ve used the site to post about sporting events—from the Royals and Chiefs to Washburn sports. It’s a journal that helps me remember where we were or what we did on a particular date. It’s come in handy more than a few times.

Beyond sports, blogging helps me capture personal events—changes at work, losing a parent, or saying goodbye to a pet. It’s a way to reflect on life’s moments, both joyful and difficult.


Finding Your Voice

AI Generated Image from CoPilot Based on Blog
Over the years, my writing has evolved—or at least I think it has. Early on, I posted sporadically and kept things light. Back then, posts were often just text—playlists, random thoughts, or sports updates. These days, I try to include images, even if they’re shared visuals that match the week’s content. Lately, I’ve used AI to generate images based on the post’s theme. Images help keep readers engaged and break up the text.

If I’m going to ramble, I try to call it out in the title or early in the post. Some weeks, that’s the easiest way to get my thoughts down when I don’t have a specific topic. I just have to be careful not to ramble too long.


Connecting Through Stories

AI Generated Image from CoPilot Based on Blog
It’s fun when people tell me they read my blog or connected with a post—like a camping trip they saw on social media. I’ve met people through work who mention they enjoy my site. Sometimes the conversation is about exercise (or the struggle with it), and other times it’s about the places we visit and the summaries I share. It’s rewarding to know others are reading and connecting with my posts.

I try to write as if I’m speaking directly to the reader. Sometimes I tell a story, recounting each day—what we ate, what we did, and the sights we saw. I’ve received positive feedback on those posts. I wish there were more interaction on the site. While I do get comments, many are spam. Occasionally, I get meaningful comments and have a fun discussion with someone, which I really enjoy.

Posting helps me stay connected—with family, friends, and even strangers who find my site through a Google search. They might land on a post that matches something they were looking for and then explore more.


Lessons Learned

AI Generated Image from CoPilot Based on Blog
Each week offers a new opportunity to reflect on what happened—what to highlight, think through, or share in a way that might interest someone. Writing doesn’t come easily, and this year especially, I’ve found myself frequently struggling to come up with something to write.

Writing consistently on the same day each week helps build a steady stream of visitors. Having something to post not only attracts regular readers, but occasionally a post will resonate widely and spike in traffic—which is fun to watch as it gets shared and revisited. I’m not a great judge of which posts will be popular. Some weeks a post gets hundreds of clicks, while others barely get any. That unpredictability is part of the fun, and I enjoy collecting my thoughts in this electronic journal.

I’m not afraid to try new things or explore new topics. Over the years, I’ve reviewed new products and shared how they worked for me. I’ve also written about new blogging tools and continue to look for fresh ways to enhance my posting process.


Looking Ahead

AI Generated Image from CoPilot Based on Blog
I plan to maintain my regular cadence of Sunday postings. Watch for new entries each week, and feel free to leave a comment—I do read and reply to them. I enjoy interacting with readers and hope to see more engagement in the future.

One of my goals this year is to post more frequently. In addition to my regular Sunday posts, I’d like to add one or two extra entries during the week—focused on topics that interest me, such as technology, politics, or sports. While I’ve occasionally posted more than once in a week over the past few years, those extra posts have usually been tied to holidays or celebrations. I’d like to expand beyond that and share more spontaneous content.

If you’ve made it this far, I’d love to hear from you:

  • What have you enjoyed about the site?
  • How long have you been following?
  • What would you like to see more of?
  • Is there anything you’d prefer to see less of?

This is a fun process, and that’s what matters most—I genuinely enjoy doing this each week. I hope you have a great Sunday and a fantastic week ahead!

Sunday, October 31, 2021

The Workout Starts Now and I Plan to Stick to a Regular Schedule for Exercise

I previously stated that I would start up exercise again after our latest camping trip (see No Exercise), so the time has come to start my journey to become motivated and start a workout process once again. The last time I worked out was November to the end of June. I completely stopped riding our bike, walking, or basically doing anything, so now the motivation needs to kick in so I can start working out on a regular basis. 

My plan is simple, start out slow. Bike riding 10 - 15 minutes the first few weeks as I build up what I lost in stamina from riding November 2020 - June 2021. I know that when I rode for only a week back in August, I struggled to ride for the two or three days I had planned which ultimately had me giving up and not riding since that date. My plan this time is to only do 10 - 15 minutes in beginning classes once again 2 to 3 times per week. 

I would also like to add in walking/jogging at least once a week although that might be difficult as the winter months are approaching, but we will see. The walking/jogging is to give me motivation to take our dog, Oliver, on walks. He loves it when I used to jog regularly (see Jogging Posts) as he would get excited when I would simply put on my tennis shoes. If I can just start the regular bike riding, I will be happy and keep it going throughout the year even when busy with other items.

To be able to keep the bike riding motivation continuing, I plan to ride during the week before work. My plan is to get up at 6 am on Tuesday and Thursday to ride the bike. As I become more used to riding, I might need to extend this out to earlier, but right now, I plan on 6 am twice a week to get up and ride. The third day of riding will be on either Saturday or Sunday depending on what is happening. I prefer Sunday and hope to take part in "Sundays with Love" on Peloton.

Peloton Stats from Havertyj
Looking at my current stats from Peloton, I did 275 activities with most of them being riding the bike, but I hope in a year I can double that amount. I did really good for a few months and then it is so easy to just stop and very difficult to get back into the swing of exercise.

I plan to update here at least once a month on my status and looking for my family and friends to call me out if I miss a monthly update or you know I am not doing the rides. I do enjoy riding, and running, so I look forward to the process and getting back into the swing of the mindset for exercise.

What do you do for exercise and how do you keep yourself motivated to keep working out each week? Post a comment and I would like to discuss further.


Sunday, August 15, 2021

Back to Bike Riding After a Month and Half From Not Riding… Felt Good to be On the Bike!

After a fun filled past few weeks of vacation, weddings, and basically not exercising, I climbed back on the bike today. The last time I was on the bike was July 1, 2021. A vacation, out of town, and other events led me to neglect being on the bike the past month and half. 

It felt good to be back on the bike. I did a 20 minutes Country Ride and it felt great! I noticed that my heart rate was running higher than it did when I was riding on a regular basis, so that is not surprising. I had a good workout and look I look forward to riding again on my regular days of Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. 

I do plan to include at least one day of jogging into my schedule as I enjoy jogging. With the cooler weather, I think one day a week of jogging will be good. Mix up my exercise routine and it will also be a good excuse to take our dog, Oliver, for a walk which he loves.

Oliver is never really sure what to think when I am riding the bike. He loves walks so much, walking on a Saturday will be a fun way to get him involved in the process and mix up my routine. I think he will love it and his motivation for wanting to walk will help to motivate me to do my run and walk with him afterwards.

The ride this morning was with a new instructor I do not believe I had seen before. Olivia Amato in the 20 min Country Ride was a lot of fun and I look forward to future classes with Olivia. I did manage to keep my “streak” going the past month and half of consecutive weeks of using Peloton, but those were primarily meditation days at least once a week the past few weeks. I did have a few days of walking in there, so that was good, but I think I only walked and counted it with the app once or twice.

Short update for today, but I plan to do more Peloton posts in the future. What is your routine to get back into riding after taking a break?