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Year Of
Why do I have a blog category called Year Of? Well, actually, there’s more than one. There’s 2012, 2013 and now 2014.
The title is not particularly original. The Year Of format can be seen in many places and is used by many organisations as a means of focussing attention on a particular problem. I decided to personalise it, and then discovered I wasn’t the first person to do that.
Posting is erratic. As with many new year resolutions, activity declines as the year progresses. Is the Year Of category worth pursuing?
But why am I asking this question? Well, at the end of 2013, I transferred to the new 2014 WordPress theme. This was an opportunity to re-evaluate the structure and direction of my blog. In this post, I’m looking specifically at the Year Of category: why did it start, how does it fit and where is it heading?
What is a blogging category?
For those new to the world of blogging, each post can be allocated to a category. The category becomes a story. It is created for a reason; it evolves; it has high points and lows. It might eventually end.
What happened
When I chose blogging rather than Facebook, I did some research to find out what was involved. “People want information” was the recommendation. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert in anything.
The previous successes of my Year Of format gave me an idea. I would blog about my latest – 2012’s Efficient Eating. There would be lots of information to pass on as I worked my way through recipes, nutrition and strategies.
In working out how to write, I tapped into stories from my childhood. These proved popular. Turns out, readers like things other than information.
My favourite post
My favourite post in the 2012 Year Of category had nothing to do with food. The fragility yet apparent functionality of a magpie’s nest suggested to me that efficiency could be extended to other areas without compromising value and wellbeing.
Efficiency could even be beautiful.
Does this category fit with my blog theme?
I’ve been asking this of each of my blog’s categories. In this case, the question is redundant. My blog’s overall theme of exploring evolved from the Year Of category. So, of course, it should fit.
Where is the category heading?
I lost my way during the 2013 Year Of. I initially blamed this on the change of season. Exercise often drops off in winter. However, I subsequently realised that development stagnated when activity became routine. I’d stopped exploring.
It really is important to periodically review your blog, to think critically about what you are doing and why. In response, I sat down today and drew up a mind map of all the various topics I could explore that have even the slightest relationship with movement and sweat. It looks like 2014 will be an interesting year.
It’s time to re-embrace the reason for blogging: To share information and stories about change; to explore what it means to explore.
Link to the Year Of archive
Related Posts
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By the way, here’s another shot of the magpie’s nest. This is 12 months later. They’re setting up for the next season. I got in a little earlier, while they were building and before the leaves emerged. The nest seems more like it’s part of the tree, rather than an add-on.
Love it.
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Cherrie Zell 
What are your thoughts?