Goal Accomplished – Time to Shift

Well, the goal has been accomplished. 

When I started this blog on September 7, 2019, I made a pact with myself.  I was going to post twice weekly for one year and then re-evaluate how I was feeling.  Maybe life would get in the way or some catastrophe would stop me from reaching this summit, but I was going to do everything in my power to make sure I didn’t let myself down and accomplished this goal. 

Did it really matter?  No.  What happens if I did miss a post?  Nothing.  Readers would have gotten their article a day late or something.  But more importantly I would have known.  And I would have had to live with that I had failed.  Hahahaha.  Fucking damn Alpha personalities. 

So, after 365 days and 105 separate posts like clockwork, I have a disappointing announcement to make.  And I hate giving my readers bad news. 

For the next year, I will be reducing my output to only once a week.  I know.  I am fucking over you, my readers.  You have come to know my consistency over the past year and now I’m pulling the rug right out from under you.  And I understand the disappointment.  I would hate it too if someone was going to give me a 50% haircut on their service and say fuck you! 

BUT, hold up mi amigos!  It’s not as bad as it seems.  Let me reach out my hand and walk you back from the edge, there is no need to jump.  Your good ol’ pal Q-FI isn’t going anywhere.  At least for another year. 

With one year down, here’s what I have planned for year two: 

My previous schedule was posting twice a week on both Wednesday and Sunday.  However, I will now only post guaranteed on Sundays, and Wednesday will turn into a bonus post day if I am ahead in my schedule.  So, I’m actually doing you a favor here and creating some excitement in your life.  In the past, you had the boring consistency of knowing a post would always show up in your inbox on hump day.  But now, Wednesdays will be edge of your seat anticipation to see if you get a bonus post from Q-FI stardom!  Haha.  Oh, reverse psychology. 

What’s the real question on everyone’s mind?  Why would I fuck with something that works? 

Like everything in life, it all boils down to change and time my friends.  But to give you the respect and full elaboration you deserve, here you go (and in no particular order of relevance): 

1. My job and workload have been insane with this pandemic – the three hours I gained from not commuting has burgeoned into basically 24/7 corporate America drain.  I’ve also written about this before, but I pretty much can only write on weekends and as we progress further into COVID, I’d like to take a little more time on these free days to try different things. 

2. With the plan to buy a house at the end of this year, the wife and I are going to have a lot to do between moving and getting the new place set up.  As I mentioned in #1, with so little time on weekdays to accomplish any of this, my weekends will most likely turn into house project time zones. 

3. I’ve also mentioned that we hope to be foster parents near the beginning of 2021 and have been preparing for this the past year.  So, throw a new baby in the mix and I want to give myself some flexibility in writing, because I have no fucking clue what being a father is going to be like.  Well, less time on my hands, I definitely know that part. 

4. I had foot surgery in April, and to my frustration it still has not healed.  However, from all of my follow up visits and rehab, the expectation is that I should get better soon.  Once this bad boy finally heals over the next few months, I’m going to want to go nuts on the activity spectrum since I’ve been holed up all of COVID and not able to do any physical exercise.  This means a huge increase in weekend hiking/camping/trips… and what the fuck-ever to get my body back in tune with nature and spend as much time as I can out in the wilderness. 

There are a bunch of other factors as well, but these are the main ones that I’ve mulled over the second half of this year.  This was a tough decision, but I’m finally at peace with it. 

I will put in, if anyone happens to have an extra $1M laying around and wants to donate it to me, then I will make sure I keep up the twice a week posting!  Hahaha.  So, if you just can’t live without your Q-FI twice a week, then there is a way to keep it.  Just saying… 

But to sum up everything so far, like most bloggers say, this has been such a fun and rewarding experience to throw absolute gibberish out into the internet void and get interaction back.  And not just frivolous comments, but deep thoughtful engagement as well as insightful advice.  To those who read in the shadows, thank you! (My internet stats tell me there are about 30 of you lurking out there per post… hahaha.  If you want a new goal for 2021, don’t be shy and throw a comment my way so I know who you are!  Don’t worry, Q-FI is only an internet alter ego and cannot bite you through the computer screen.)  And for the few who do comment, you know who you are, it makes my day every time I see a new one in my inbox!!! 

One last acknowledgment for those of you who do post twice a week, I have mad props for you.  That is some badass shit.  I only managed one year and couldn’t believe how much work it was.  Keep up the great content creation, because I know your readers enjoy it!  At least I know I do! 

Alright mi amigos, one year down and I look forward to many more to come. 

Thanks as always for reading.  I love you guys and hope everyone is hanging in there to the best of their ability in 2020. 

Sincerely, 

-Q-FI 

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P.S. To those bloggers out there, what was the biggest takeaway from your first year of writing, or if you haven’t hit one year yet, your biggest takeaway so far?