LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT*

NaBloPoMo is over and I'm happy to report the project was a success. The challenge was to post every day during the month of November. I forget exactly why I signed on, but I think it had something to do with a friendly rivalry with two other bloggers. (They also succeeded at the challenge, congratulations Ransom and Birchsprite.)

It turned out to be an interesting month. It wasn't easy posting 7 days per week, especially during the weekends when readership was down. But after a few days, the gears got moving and I was able to find inspiration in the world around me. It's a mindset I used to have when I wrote a weekly humor column. I like that mindset.

Another helpful surprise came from the Writer's Guild of America. When they went on strike, The Daily Show and Colbert Report went into reruns immediately. The Office followed soon afterwards. That freed up at least an hour each weekday that I would have spent in front of the TV. I do miss Jon Stewart, but it's nice having the extra time.

The project also boosted traffic to this humble site. Hits were up about 30% from normal levels during the month of November. With a site this tiny, it doesn't take too many people to see a noticeable boost. But hey, 30% is 30%.

Now that November is over, I likely won't be posting every day of the week. I need to sleep more and exercise more and pay more attention to other parts of my life. But I've developed a habit of writing more, and I want to keep that up. So the result of The November Experiment is you will likely see a bit more content in this space.

That's all for now. I look forward to participating next year.

(*That's a lyric from an old Barry Manilow song. I have never seen him live, and I regret to announce that we have never danced backstage at any show. Oh well.)