It’s 200 & Counting…
Learnings over the Course of a Personal Milestone
It’s celebration time!
I have reached a milestone. I have scored a double hundred on this platform. This is my 201st post.
It has taken me eight long years to reach the 200 posts milestone. A long time you may think, especially considering the fact that there are writers on Medium who manage to make more than one post a day. How they do it is beyond my comprehension. I am not capable of such impressive feats. That being said, my journey to the figure I have reached has been quite a learning experience, and it is something I am proud of.
While talking about my personal landmark it is imperative here to mention that more than half of these 200 posts have been made in the last three years. In fact the number is close to two-thirds of the total. A third of them have happened in the last one year alone. What was I doing on Medium in those first five years you may wonder…
To be honest I don’t have a convincing response. Nonetheless I will make an attempt to explain.
When I began this was one of the many platforms I was writing at. Since the others were financially viable — as in the monetary incentives were a lot more tangible and certain — this was palpably neglected. Medium back then was more about posting the leftovers. That being said, I still managed to make enough posts per year.
In fact the period somewhere around mid-2016 to mid-2017 was a productive one. I must have made more than 50 posts in that time span. Thereafter, a senior profile ensured wholesale changes of priorities.
A plethora of meetings were scheduled on every working day. Consequently, there were more hours spent in a conference room. Add to it frequent work-related travel, and the combination of factors took its toll. There was a paucity of time.
Once the professional commitments got over the body begged for rest. Not to forget the mental fatigue that the work-related stress ensured. Writing suffered in general, and this account in particular. For the next three years it was about one post here, another there. There were months when I didn’t post at all. To be honest there were considerable gaps during this phase.
Even as I write this I do feel ashamed but have no qualms to admit in both 2018 and 2019 my annual submission of posts was in single digits. Yes, about one post every two months or so. Writing is something I am passionate about but profession had ensured passion took a backseat. I had lost touch. I wanted to get back to writing, but had been rendered helpless.
It’s only a few months into the Covid-imposed lockdown that I could start all over again. Work From Home (and now Hybrid) is not exactly as draining, both mentally as well as physically, as the daily routine in the good old days. At least one has to not worry about travelling to (and from) work. So it gave me a license to get back to the drill. It gave my writing aspirations a lifeline.
It’s been a couple of years now. I have made a sizeable number of posts in this time frame. I have set targets, and achieved them. I have made New Year resolutions, and for once, have been able to follow them.
More importantly, it has been a learning process. It has taught me that passion and profession can coexist with a proper course of action. It has made me learn the importance of a consistence approach.
It has also made aware of the importance of planning. That being said the biggest realization has been the fact that even though not everything goes as planned, it is still better to do some planning than neglecting an aspect altogether.
After a certain consistency was achieved over a period of time, I planned to make an average of seven posts for a few months in succession. Now that this target has been achieved, this achievement has ensured a revision.
I am now aiming to reach a century in this calendar year, that is a total of 100 posts in 2022. Even as I write this about 60 per cent of the target has already been achieved. With over four months to go…hope floats. I’m not only confident of achieving the target for this year, but also of setting a revised target for the next year.
What seemed a failed experiment, rather a lost cause only a couple of years back has changed into a satisfying experience thanks to some concerted effort, and of course a bit of luck.
Things are moving at a good pace at the moment. However, that is no excuse to get complacent.
There’s a lot more ground to cover. I neither have many followers nor can I boast as regards being a top writer. I am yet to fully understand the dynamics of Medium. I need to know about Medium’s algorithm, curation of stories and many other such things.
I work hard on every post and I would love to have more and more people reading it. I, akin to most people who write on this platform, like the idea of a post going viral. It gives a different kind of high. Lastly, there is no better motivation than the financial kind. Who doesn’t like a few extra bucks? Am I right, or am I right?
Taking all these factors into consideration it will suffice to say that I am only starting, even if it actually happens to be a restart of sorts.
That being said there have been many positives from my journey so far. I have had my own experiences. There are some posts that have given me immense satisfaction at a personal level, and have also done decently well on this platform.
Besides, I have also had some of my writings published in a few top notch publications like this one. Honestly, this seems like a good start to build on.
The recent consistency has ensured a good overall reception and a steady increase in followers. I interact with readers on a regular basis nowadays, and appreciate the fact that they express their opinion and views without hesitation. To see my effort getting appreciated gives me immense high. I am motivated more than ever before.
More importantly, I am enjoying writing again. Here’s hoping I can keep the fire inside burning and keep this newfound consistency intact for many more years to come.
