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Blog Challenge – Health Walking and Podcasts

My Health, Podcasts and The Blog Challenge

I realised that this blog challenge was going to take up some time this month and had decided that I would give myself two hours daily to do each blog.

Well that set the family off – bless them!

They already think I spend far too long at the computer and frequently tell me so.

  • My wife is a health visitor and claims she is always climbing stairs and walking;
  • My son is a surfer, climber type who is really fit and is running his first marathon in London later this month;
  • My daughter has videos on You Tube lifting weights, kick boxing, and goodness knows what else in the gym (did she mention kettles?).

So you probably get the picture – here is the old man who has had some heart issues spending another two hours online writing daily blogs.

Well I know they care and mean well AND I also know they are right.

The Secret to Keep Everyone Happy – Podcasts On The Go

So my daughter ( who has the ability always to do twenty five things at once ) has made me promise that I will go for a fast half hour walk WHILE listening to my podcasts for content and ideas etc.

That is what I will do.

Challenge after Challenge.

The next thing I need to sort out is how I take notes as I am listening to podcasts while walking.  I need some voice recording software which can kick in and stop the podcast playing while I make a recorded voice note.  It would be even better if the recorded voice message was automatically converted into text.

There you are software developers.  Your comments please.

STILL – Two and Half Hours Per Blog is Not Long

Having said all of that – two and half hours is not long to efficiently do a blog.

It is alright for a personal narrative like this post.

But for news subjects: finding your facts research, picture locating, headline creation, structuring, SEO keywords – and of course writing all takes time.

So need to get nifty and efficient.   I am on a learning curve and want to get really sharp with good processes in place.

So What Now?

It is day three and I am realising the importance of this challenge and just what I am learning already.

I have blogged for many years on and off but it was done with NO real urgency.

Sometimes a post would be in preparation for some time as if it was being marinated.

I know I get quite scared about putting things out –

  • Will there be grammatical errors? – YES – inevitable.
  • Will every sentence make sense? NO
  • Will I upset anyone? Inevitable.
  • Do I want comments? – YES – BUT

With this daily challenge assignment approach I have had to begin to act and think like a journalist, and quickly source the facts and story-line.

One of the things I am now doing is reading newspaper and magazine articles carefully.  Reading less – but reading with more purpose

What a great thing to do.

It is enjoyable and you can see the writers craft and use of language.

Giving myself a limited time though means that I have to be very specific with the topic size.

However – By writing daily you give yourself the chance to pick up a subject again and develop a theme.

AND I Will Do That Today,

I have a BIG question that I will make the subject of tomorrow’s blog.

The issue is all about writing to a particular person in your writing.

For example:
I am assuming for instance that the majority of the people reading this message will be other blog posters taking the challenge.

My question tomorrow will be about promoting something much more generic than any individual item.

Here is Wisdom Of Professional Blogger

Here is a a paragraph from a blog post by Julia McCoy
https://expresswriters.com/ultimate-guide-to-writing-a-blog/

The “Golden Rule”
The “Golden Rule” of writing a blog is simple; write for ONE reader.

The hope would be that you already have a good idea of who your ONE reader is.

Hopefully you also have a good idea of where they are, what problems they’re having, and how they communicate.

Entire books and long form guides have been written on defining, finding, and targeting your ONE reader (also called target audience, target market, etc.)

I get this advice entirely.

OR DO I ?

Check back tomorrow right here…

 

Photo by Victor Xok on Unsplash


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Comments

7 responses to “Blog Challenge – Health Walking and Podcasts”

  1. Tammy Fuller Avatar

    I want the app that will pause a podcast and allow you to record your notes too! I have frequently wished for something like that. This is a great post. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s installment.

  2. Paul Taubman Avatar

    You are doing great!

    I use a service called, “Descript” for transcribing: https://app.descript.com/r/H1btvb6EG
    (this link will get you 100 free minutes and the same for me) – 100 minutes gives you a good taste of how it works.

    Anyway… the Ultimate Blog Challenge is a challenge 🙂 I am going along with you on it!

    Just do a blog post a day (and maybe stock up on the weekends while everyone else is still sleeping – that is what I do!)

    Thanks
    Paul.

  3. Angie Avatar

    I get it now Keith! I am starting to save some podcasts that I want to listen to and you can bet I’ll listen to those while I workout. Great idea and a tip I heard yesterday from my friend Carrie that if you want to listen to a podcast you must also do some sort of fitness at the same time.

    As for recording, check out the Evernote app.

  4. Kristin Lohmeyer Avatar

    Listening to Podcasts is one of my favorite things to do while I’m walking or on the treadmill – such a great way to do two things at once – learn and stay fit lol! Enjoyed this post a bunch 🙂

  5. Snehal Joshi Avatar

    Well that is a great plan. Multitasking at its best. 🙂 Looking forward for your posts.

  6. Keith Watson Avatar

    Thank you for your link to Descript for transcribing. Appreciate this challenge and really into it.

  7. Ruth Bowers Avatar

    I really need to do more walking and less sitting too. I’ll have to try listening to pocasts while I walk. I watch videos when I’m riding the trainer so I can avoid looking at the timer, but I’ve never really tried listening to anything while I’m walking.

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