TL;DR I'm going to blog much more this summer

It's 8:21pm, Monday the 27th of May, and I have decided I should blog more.

Back in college I had an Economics tutor who beat my brain into a religious discipline for good writing. We would write essays upon essays until we deeply appreciated the need to construct careful arguments, divide points neatly and in discussion with one another, tell a story with these points, and conclude with strong summaries. I miss the days I could whack open a test paper, read a daring statement, and generate pages and pages of academic evaluation. I miss college and university in this way.

"Discuss the difficulties of controlling inflation."

"Should the main macroeconomic aim of the government be full employment."

"Evaluate the benefits and costs of economic growth".

Nowadays, I can't even begin to answer these questions. That doesn't bother me, as knowledge fades and changes. What does bother me is that I can't replicate the integrity and detail that I approached these questions with, even when the topic at hand is something I have so much knowledge and opinion about.

With repeated practice, however, habits can be built. With real determination then, habits turn into talent. I'd really like to write better than I do today. I read so many great articles online by talented bloggers, especially since Google+ took off in a big way and drew a lot more content towards me. I read these bits and pieces and would love to challenge some of the opinions in them, but since University my writing has been out of shape. It's become sluggish without regular exercise. I can't only blame my work for this, but having less time is certainly a part of it. But I accept that it's on me to improve and develop skills that I want.

Merely writing this short realisation down on Blogger would not hold me to my conviction. I should quantify my success, know my KPIs (key performance indicators), and prepare my OKRs (objectives and key results).

For the first time ever, I will blog with the intent of growing an audience. I never liked the idea of it before, but it would act as a clear indication that my writing was improving, if my readers grew steadily. Secondly, quantity; I will aim to post informed and relevant content thrice a week. Probably 2 at weekends, and 1 during the week, reflective of when I have most free time.

So that's my summer challenge. I can't wait to get started, so I better get started and go hunting for my first topic.