Today marks my 200th blog post since launching AnchoredScraps.com

– “Balancing new technology communication with old-style corresponding” – encouraging letter writing in our busy lives.

Here are some observations I have learned in the process of writing 200 consecutive daily blog posts since launching:

• You do not have to wait for everything to be perfect with your new (or if yours is existing) web site before beginning to blog – I am glad that I started when I did on February 26th – “There’s Been Talk!”.    
• Any tendency for procrastination must be contained to with-in the 24 hours each day because the time stamp is going to occur regardless.   I have reached a compromise that while the time each day I post may vary what is important is that I post daily.   What we do during each 24 hour period does make a difference in reaching our goals – and it is important to not just think about it but to actually take action.
• Writing this blog continues to be a lot of fun and very rewarding.  I enjoy the research, the looking for the perfect companion quote (if any that day), and finding the right images to include.
• I’ve learned when it is time to be ‘done’ with my blog post, and to accept being happy with a 92% level of how I would like the article to be – to not ‘gold plate it’ (a figure of speech from Project Management where one keeps adding features and/or benefits not absolutely necessary), i.e. there can always be more formatting, and/or more development of the idea.
• Just as in training to run a marathon one may alternate a long run with a shorter run among the days for their fitness schedule – so I strive to balance the blog posts with varying lengths during each week.
• It continues to be a delight to meet the people that I have through writing this blog.   The support of My Three Muses (Ellen, Tally, and Deb), along with my stamp club friend at the Wilmington Philatelic Society and the club in general, along with my friends who are also email subscribers to my blog – each of their emails and notes are of huge support and cherished.  It is fun and appreciated @USPSStamps has retweeted some of my tweets about blog posts I’ve written when I reference them in the blog that day, like today as the image shown below is of the new Neon Celebrate! Forever stamp which I love how pretty it is!    If you are going to write a blog have trusted friends to help participate along the journey with you – they have shared ideas and are here cheering me along.  Thank You!

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  Having our family dog, Cuddy, write and post one blog topic each month is too much fun!   He actively participates with the blog topic selected and while he is all paws at the keyboard he’s doing great!

• My Project Management experience continues to come into place for being organized with blog topics I keep in development.   Behind the scenes I have a master excel file with a minimum of 50 blog articles always in the works at different level of development with anticipated scheduled dates along with placeholder topics through December for particular dates.    With some of the blog posts it can take over a week to have emailed and gotten confirmation from someone I’m interesting in including so I make sure to allow time for that in my schedule.   And some days based on how busy it is with ‘real life’ I may move the schedule around to accommodate.
• The items that were considered for blog post topics but did NOT make a blog post would make for at least one interesting blog post especially with the selection criteria I have developed.
• It is very rewarding to have some of my email subscribers to this blog send an email to me (or snail mail!) and share they have actually written a letter now, or at least they are thinking about it – it makes me smile.  When I set out to write this blog my goal has been and continues to be over time to find 50 other like minded people who have this similar passion and love with writing letters – who like to get ‘real snail mail’ – so to have already met and have some new pen pals as a result of this blog is exciting to me!
• And there is this  fun realization – while I may have a very thoughtful blog post it seems the ones that have us remember items from our lives growing up bringing back fun memories gets more email feedback and sharing your stories with me.

“The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business.   The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: an action plan.”  – John Tesh

Thank you for continuing to be on this journey with me as we strive to write our letters and share our stories.  In another 100 days it will be December 22, 2015!  On the horizon plans include adding audio – think podcasts here in addition to these blog posts.  Join me tomorrow as the blog topic will be sharing My Favorite 10 blog posts from 101-200.

Anchors Aweigh,

Helen