How I Do This

The most common question people ask me about Viva Survivors is, “How do you write and publish a daily blog?!”

Here’s the short version:

• I write everything myself: no out-sourcing, no guest-posts. I write posts weeks in advance, not on the day of publication.
• I’m organised: I have notebooks that capture ideas. I have plans for the coming weeks of what posts are going to be written for which days. I also have a wallchart with lists of topics in case I find myself wondering what to write.
• I have a general workflow: I try to have at least two weeks of posts ready at all times, in case of illness or problems. I have a pattern for how I work: I draft seven posts on one day, then come back to edit them the next.
• I have tech and services to support me: Viva Survivors is a WordPress site that is simple and works well. I use Buffer to pre-write tweets to post to my Twitter account.
• I keep records: I have a big spreadsheet that tracks post titles, dates of publication and word counts. I’ve published every day for nearly four years and seeing the records of this is a big motivator.

A spreadsheet isn’t the only reason I’m motivated to keep going though! Knowing I can help people helps me to write on days when I’m tired, distracted, bored or stressed. Knowing that a few hours later I’ll have a few more posts written gives me a boost.

How did you do your research? What methods and processes did you use? What tools or techniques? What and who supported you?

The how isn’t always as fun to explore as motivations or outcomes – the why and the what – but how you did your research will come up in your viva. Reflect on the how of your research in the weeks leading up to your viva and you’ll be prepared to explore it with your examiners.