Blog Init

I have always harvested the ambition to build and maintain a blog, but found the task forever tumbling down the perpetual To Do list. I could rarely justify taking the time to author my own content for publication, as ever-urgent, competing priorities jostle for time and attention. There were always too many other things to do.

New Perspective

The change of pace enforced by the COVID-19 lockdown has afforded me some welcomed additional headroom. It is without doubt a privileged position given the wider challenges and outlook. While I wish circumstances were different, I am thankful to embrace the opportunity to slow down and reflect with greater intent.

Contrasted against my typical frenzy of doing too much just-in-time, the result is I feel a greater sense of control and inner calm that is warmly welcomed and enjoyed with enthusiasm. While obvious trade-offs and new frustrations must be navigated, it's been a healthy exercise to contemplate my modus operandi.

One leading, recurring reflection that has arose is my desire to write and publish more.

I must credit Tim Casasola for his article Why does remote writing matter in remote work? for sparking my action. His post neatly reflects on both the functional requirement of writing to fulfil remote obligations. But his contemplation of writing well as an advantage is what really provoked me. Considered writing has the ability to encourage more effective work execution, empower engagements, and open new opportunities.

Incentivised

With this newfound intent to start a blog, I've been tracking more conversations, rebuttals, and technologies related to the topic. A fatigue for the distraction and distrust of the dominant social platforms seems to be contributing to a resurgence of new-old technologies in the tech community, such as simplified development stacks, minimal CSS frameworks and calls for the return of Really Simple Syndication.

An ambition to extend my understanding and application of the JAMstack gave me reason to build and manage a personal website for my professional development.

From a personal development perspective, I am already writing frequently. Not only in my day-to-day work, but also in recording my personal thoughts and feelings in a (mostly) daily private blog. Only recently have I considered the additional value in publishing instead of simply recording.

Publishing to a public forum forces a new perspective. The mental exercise of threading interesting narratives, theming experiences and identifying key learnings is not only personally empowering, but may also produce value for others.

Considered reflection promotes forward momentum.