It's a bit hard to believe that Christmas is less than 40 days away. This post isn't really about Christmas, but I was thinking of lists the other day and given the song mentioned in the title, there is a pretty strong parallel between this time of year and lists.
My wife reached out to our nieces and nephews the other day and asked them to give us their Christmas lists. It's interesting how the older they get, the more expensive the stuff they want is. I don't know if that is an inflation thing or just the cost of getting older. Shortly after Christmas comes the New Year where people start making a different kind of list.
All the things they want to do or change in the coming year. I have never been much for resolutions like that. It seems like you are just setting yourself up for failure, but what do I know.
Late Fall and Winter is usually a pretty tough time for me. In the Summer it is quite easy to find plenty of content to fill my HIVE blog, but as the weather turns colder, I'm not able to get out and about as much as before. Content becomes more difficult to find, and for me, it's just harder to put out my posts five days a week.
Quite some time ago, I started keeping a list in Google Keep of different story topics that I should/could cover in some of my HIVE posts. Some of them are just a couple words about a subject I can hopefully expand on to create a full post. Others are #threetunetuesday ideas that I might want to share in the future. Other times I write something down and totally forget what I was thinking at the time. Then I have to go back and figure it out and add more context to the line item.
Those are the worst!
The Google Keep note is titled "Story Ideas" and I keep it pinned at the top of my Google Keep screen. I was actually standing at the gas station pumping gas this morning and an idea for a post came to me, so I quickly pulled out my phone and added it to the list.
I thought there was a way to see when the note was created, but I haven't been able to find that info now. I could scroll back through the version history, but I update this particular note so frequently that I think it would take forever to get to the beginning.
In fact, would you believe that I am just three topics/posts away from having completed 150 items on this list?
I have the list set up as a checklist so that once I write a post about a topic I can place a check in the box and it moves it down to the completed area. I was a bit blown away the other day when I was scrolling through the list and noticed that I had 147 completed items.
It almost doesn't seem possible.
That's almost half a year worth of HIVE posts if I was posting every single day. The fact that I am not probably makes it closer to 3/4 of a year's worth of posts. Nevertheless, it's just crazy to think that I have dedicated that much time and energy to this blockchain. Sure, I know I have been here almost 8 years now, but I still just can't wrap my head around the fact that I have posted that much.
I know there are all kinds of analytic tools now that can show me how much I have posted. There is even one that can tell me the total number of words I have written to the HIVE blockchain. It still humbles me. I never would have guessed my path would have lead me to this place.
If you ever struggle for content, I highly encourage you to use Google Keep or some other note taking app on your phone and start a list. It's still not going to write those posts for you, but it can give you a bit of inspiration in the times when content is a little dry. It's also a good way to organize your thoughts for when that awesome idea for a post pops into your head (usually in the middle of the night when you are half asleep!).
Here's to 150 completed items, and 150 more to come!
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That list isn't a bad idea. On the other hand some of the ideas on my list would be bad ideas after reviewing them.
Was planning to write an article about the first calculator, my words didn't come to my mind. So, I wrote a rant about Hive :) Not a good idea eather.
But that list isn't a bad idea at all!
So 3 more to go!
A
!BEER
to that.
I think you should still write them down. I have some story ideas that have been sitting at the top of my list for years now. I might never get to writing about them, but who knows when something else might come along that pulls that original idea into a cohesive post!
I will use Gemini to store that information.
So that Gemini can advise when it is time to write about a specific topic :)
:)
I laughed a bit when you mentioned how the kids Christmas lists get more expensive as they grow older , I noticed the same thing with my younger cousins! Before it was candy and toys, now it’s gadgets and branded shoes . I guess adulting starts earlier than we think.
Yeah, I guess so! That is pretty funny! My nephew had expensive headphones and branded sport jerseys on his list this year!
I have been known to note down post ideas, but with my running and the regular Follow Friday and Britlist posts I will do a few any. I don't fool myself that I have a massive audience, but I get some engagement anyway.
Xmas is coming up quickly. Our kids won't want much so I don't have to do much shopping. With the adults it gets harder to know what to get them. Food and drink can be good options.
It is certainly feeling wintry here with a bit of short lived snow yesterday and colder temperatures today.
Yeah, sometimes gift cards or cash seem like the best way to go, but it is so impersonal. Having fixed things that you post about every week definitely helps! Sorry your snow didn't stick around longer!
This photo 2 is good, soon I have also lot snow 👌👌☕
Wow! Winter wonderland over there and here it is a sunny 52 degrees...
These were all from past winters, but it felt like they fit the theme!
Keeping a list is always a smart thing, too bad I avoid Google like the plague or I would try it out. I do have some similar lists I keep on my phone and regularly transfer over to the computer to not lose track of my thoughts.
It's amazing how fast the year has flown once again, it's almost Christmas and I love seeing all of the lights and decorations out there. It's a lot of fun. Those snow drifts of yours on the other hand you can keep! I don't miss the white stuff!
That first thought about gifts getting more expensive the older the kids get is very true. I think it always has been, but growing up we never had much money so most of the nicer stuff I owned I bought myself by working. Mowing lawns in summer and even working in Arby's for awhile. I hated that job... Lawns were great, you do them at your own pace and book the jobs you wanted that pay well. The good old days of simplicity before houses, cars, marriage, and children! lol
I can still remember when I stopped asking for toys for Christmas and I started asking for tools. It wasn't really any cheaper, but I still have those tools and use them today. Most of the toys are long gone! I have a subscription to Proton that is tied to my domain, but I need to check it and see if it has some of the same tools I am used to using with Google.
I must admit I am not a fan of lists, probably as a result of being a Projects Manager for fluffing years. They do have a place though lol.
Your weather is absolutely gorgeous! Here we got down to minus 2 C but no snow or anything like that around here.
It's nice if you don't have anywhere you need to be. If you have to drive on it, that is a totally different story!
Oh yes it is a pain in the arse, I think the last time we had snow was about 2018 and a pain in the rear end it was lol!
Even here people forget how to drive until about the third good snow.
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