I signed up for the Spark ecourse about weeks ago with every intention of sticking to it.  Basically it's a 30 day course designed to help get the blogging spark back.  I've been so overwhelmed with life lately that my blog seems mixed up and about to collapse.  Of course it may not seem that way to readers.  I've kept the everything looking nice and neat for readers, but behind the scenes, I am a mess.  I needed something to help me get back on track.  I needed a bit of a push to focus.  Enter Spark.  Every day I received an email with a bit of discussion and a task.  I was supposed to do the tasks daily, but with my life, it just didn't happen.  Instead, I created an email folder and just dumped the emails in when I received them.  Whenever I got a 30 minute window of quiet, I pulled up the next day's email and went to town.  This has resulted in a 30 day course stretching into almost three months, but that's okay.  Even with the delays, I feel like I'm getting my blog back on track.  Click on the pic to join in the fun!

Here are my thoughts and accomplishments for Days 6-10:

Day 6 - Blog Comments

I spent some time today attempting to write meaningful comments on posts that resonated with me.  I managed about 5.  I'd say that's pretty good given the time constraints on my days.  In the future, I need to make sure and stop and comment if I read a post and it strikes a chord.

Day 7 - Disconnect

I spent some time away from social media today.  I didn't check FB or Instagram.  I didn't post anything.  I didn't even open up my blog.  Instead, I pulled out my trusty notebook and jotted down any and all thoughts.  I ended up with a fair amount of blogging ideas and even more to-dos. I feel like I can refocus on my blog now.  I didn't go that long without social media, but even a few hours of conscious abstinence helped refocus my mind.

Day 8 - Update Your Bios

I spent a few minutes updating some of my biographical information across my platforms.  Most were update, but Twitter still said I lived in Fort Wayne.  Ha!  That was almost four years ago.  I really need to put this task on my yearly to-dos.

Day 9 - Identify Your Favorites

In attempting to pick my favorite blog posts from my past, I found that my favorites were rambling writings.  They were the brain dumps.  I like having a record of book reviews, movie reviews, and fun videos, but I love reading my free writing.  For the future, I need to make sure to leave room for these types of posts.

Day 10 - Time to Unsubscribe

As part of Bloggiesta last weekend, I did a complete weed out of the blogs that I follow through Bloglovin'.  I got rid of inactive blogs helping to unclutter my feed.  I updated my blogrolls on both my blogs.  But the best part of the cull was getting rid of those blogs that I just always skip through and never read.  Why do I keep those in my feed?  I've shed the weight and it feels good.