Why I’m Not Doing 31 Days This Year

Let me just say that I love The Nester’s 31 Days of Writing series. I enjoy organizing and outlining posts for the topic, investing time and mental energy into said topic, and the challenge of writing something (public) everyday for a month. Participating last year was a great introduction to the blogosphere – a concept and community I was brand new to. I connected to wonderful people online (like Katie of Cardigan Way) and sweet parishioners at what was then our very new church by writing my 31 Days of Letters*.

We moved into our first house in May and my original plan was to write 31 Tales of a First Time Home Buyer over the summer. That didn’t exactly happen. I found out I was expecting in June and lost all my writing gumption (hence the summer silence on Primitive Roads) for the first few months of pregnancy.

When I regained energy and motivation for things other than couch-sitting, Kindred Grace, a blog I contribute to, was already planning for October’s A Peek Into Your Personality series. I jumped at the chance to review Quiet by Susan Cain (SO good!) and became immersed in all things introversion. All types of posts started whirring through my mind about introversion so I decided that would be my 31 Days series topic.

One small hurdle. Another week in NY was in my future for the beginning of October. I didn’t want to take my computer or write posts everyday or struggle with limited Internet access when i had friends, family, and fall to enjoy. So, I planned to write the first half of my series ahead of time.

And then I got super overwhelmed by schedules, projects, and ministry – life in general. I was overdue on posts for other people and I was eager to get Primitive Roads out of radio silence mode. Looking down the barrel of a September that was fading away so quickly, all I saw was stress. I realized my drive to participate in 31 Days was more about not being left out and the chance to generate some increased traffic to my blog. I was beginning to feel like a failure for not getting my posts pre-written. With some encouragement from those who know me way too well, I recognized that my boundaries were lacking.

So, I am not doing 31 Days this year. I don’t want to compromise time with my husband or time with my family in NY by perseverating about writing blog posts, something I am way too apt to do. That being said, I will absolutely be following along with people’s 31 Days series. Here’s some I’ve already got bookmarked:

• 31 Days of Simplicity by Jamie of Brown Paper Bags and Strings
• 31 Days of Unforgettable Moments by Lindsay Lea
• 31 Days To Earning With Amazon by Dawn Perkins of The Momma Knows
• 31 Days of Scripture Printables by Kayse Pratt
• 31 Days Inside WordPress by Gretchen Louise 
• 31 Days of Artful Living by Emily P. Freeman of Chatting At The Sky

What can you expect from Primitive Roads during October since I’m not doing 31 Days? I’m still going to be writing about introversion. I have a couple great guest posts lined up for when I’m in NY. Plus, I’ll be sharing about the Bread and Wine book club my friend, Katie, and I are leading.

* I loved writing my 31 Days series last year. If you missed it, here’s the most popular of 31 Days of Letters.

• Dear Jackie – a letter to my husband’s ex-girlfriend
• Dear Southwest – a letter to my favorite airline
• Dear Eustace – a letter to a reformed dragon
• Dear Browned Butter – an ode and a recipe
• Dear High School Gals – a letter to singles about waiting