2023 Content Challenge

by | Mar 13, 2023 | 2023 Content Challenge | 0 comments

It’s nearly two months into 2023 and I’m finally getting this party started. 😅

But hey, better late than never. 🤷‍♂️

Last year’s content challenge started off so well then came to a screeching halt. 🛑

Due to this year’s late start, I can’t even make it to 365 days in a row by the end of the year. 😭

Still, that won’t stop me from trying to make it through the end of 2023 (and beyond).

I went into 2022 feeling like I was finally going to complete the challenge.  Indeed, I came closer than I ever had before—finally breaking the 6-month and 200-day marks on a content streak.  Things were going great… until they weren’t.  Despite setting a new record for my longest-ever daily content streak, I regressed on all other metrics.  I had my lowest percentage of days with new content since 2018 (before my challenges began).  I also set a new record for my longest-ever no-content streak.  Booooooooooo! 👎

I’ve been at my Content Challenges since 2018.  For the first one, all I had to do was produce a blog post every month.  I succeeded with relative ease.  Then I got more ambitious.  Since 2019, the objective has been to publish new content and/or update existing content every single day.

The results:

  • Daily Content Challenge – Produced content at least 301 out of 411 days (73%).  Longest content streak: 97 days.  Longest no-content streak: Unknown; 13 days max.
  • 2020 Content Challenge – Produced content 300 out of 366 days (82%).  Longest content streak: 157 days.  Longest no-content streak: 6 days.
  • 2021 Content Challenge – Produced content 332 out of 365 days (91%).  Longest content streak: 67 days.  Longest no-content streak: 4 days.
  • 2022 Content Challenge – Produced content 195 out of 365 days (53%).  Longest content streak: 217 days (cont’d from 2021).  Longest no-content streak: 76 days.

Due to this year’s late start, I can’t even say that I’m going to produce content everyday of 2023.  Nor can I set a new record for the highest percentage of content-producing days.

Nonetheless, I can finish the year with my longest-ever continuous content streak.

So that’s what I plan to do.

Getting Back on the Horse

I’ve been out of the swing of things for so many months.

So I thought it might be a little rocky at first.

However, it’s been relatively easy so far.  As I write this post, I’ve only been back in the game for a couple of weeks.  Yet I already feel like I already have great momentum.

Maintaining my “My Hour First” protocol (working on my own content to start each day) feels so natural.  That’s how I crossed the 200-day mark last year.  Breaking the protocol is how my streak got snapped.  If I stick to it, I’m confident that I can set a new record.  I’m even considering making Saturday a my-stuff-only day.  Traditionally, I’ve treated it like a regular work day.  But considering how much working on my own projects adds fuel to my fire, giving them a whole day seems like a really good idea.

I’m not totally sure how many of My Brands I’m going to work on this year.  I made decent progress on several of them in 2022, including This Site, Greensboro SEO Pro, Playing Markets, Insider’s Guide to Credit, and Make Your Brain Better.  I still have others that are half-developed, like Work From Home Junkie, My Raggedy Patch, Truth in Blockchain, and Know It All Copy.  And I have even more waiting in the wings.

However, I’m going to stick with baby steps for now.

In years past, my approach was really ADD, spamming work across several projects at the same time.

It works for the content challenge aspect.  However, it leaves me with an ever-growing number of loose ends to tie up.  This year, I want to reverse that trend.

The goal is to find stopping points on the websites then get back into video content.

If I get that right, I might even be able to set 1000-day content challenge goals. 💪

Weekly Round Ups

Just like the last two years, there won’t be anything fancy here.

All that matters is documenting my progress towards becoming a truly prolific writer (and all-around content producer).

Weekly Round Up Key:

  • ✅ – 7/7 Days New Content
  • 😭 – 0/7 Days New Content
  • 📍 – Content Streak Started
  • 💥 – Content Streak Snapped

Quarter 1

I’m starting off the year the same way I did last year—with my Achievement silo.

It served me very well last year.  I got off to an incredible start.

Once again, I’m going to use it to jumpstart my Productivity.

For now, the Zach Bradshaw Brand will be the sole focus of my content production.  It’s generally the easiest site for me to work on.  Plus, it has the additional benefit of reinforcing habits and principles that need reinforcing right now.

If all goes according to plan, I’ll have a 40-day streak when April rolls around.

It’s nothing special.  But at least it’s something.

Update (3/6/2024):

As anticipated, I did indeed have a 40-day streak by the time March was over

This was one of those streaks that required me to power through everyday.  There was no help from my team and no scheduling ahead.  Pretty decent for what it was.  I’m hoping to replicate something similar in 2024 as I write this update.

Quarter 2

Update (3/6/2024):

To start quarter 2, I picked up right where I left off.  

However, feel into the same bad habits that lead to my downfall in 2022.  I didn’t fall as far as fast.  But I did let my streak break and never didn’t make any real effort to pick it immediately back up again.

Quarter 3

Update (3/6/2024):

Quarter 3 continued on from where quarter 2 left off.

However, I started to pick up some momentum halfway through—not just for my content challenge, but virtually everywhere else in life as well.  I actually felt like I was starting to get on a roll heading into quarter 4.

Quarter 4

  • Week 40 Round Up 💥
  • Week 41: Round Up 😭
  • Week 42 Round Up 😭
  • Week 43 Round Up 😭
  • Week 44 Round Up 💥
  • Week 45: Round Up 😭
  • Week 46 Round Up 😭
  • Week 47 Round Up 😭
  • Week 48 Round Up 😭
  • Week 49 Round Up 😭
  • Week 50 Round Up 😭
  • Week 51 Round Up 😭
  • Week 52 Round Up 😭😭😭

Update (3/6/2024):

When quarter 4 actually rolled around though, I started to stink the place up again.

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

It was actually all quite pathetic.  Without a doubt, quarter 4 sealed this year as the worst performance I’ve had in a content challenge to date.  As a quarter, it only compares with quarter 4 of 2022 in terms of worst quarter overall.

Depressing AF.

2023 Content Challenge Round Up

3/6/2024:

Overall, 2023 was…

Miserable.  Piteous.  Lamentable.

It was so bad I had to ask Google for synonyms.

😂😀😅😐🙁😢😭

I suppose the best way to describe it is this:

I was as bad at producing content in 2023 as my favorite, Chelsea Football Club, were at winning games.  Historically bad on both accounts.

This was the first year since 2019 in which I failed to produce new content in less than half of the days.  In raw numbers, I produced content in 100 fewer days in 2023 than I did in 2022.  What’s worse, I produced content in 100 fewer days in 2022 than I did in 2021.  In total, my number of content-producing days has dropped by 200 per year in two years.

😱😱😱

It hurts more when you fall from such heights.

But oh wait! There’s more!

I also put together my worst-ever longest streak in any given year since I started my content challenges.

And just to twist the knife one last time:

This was the first time my longest content streak was shorter than my longest no-content streak.

There was only one “record low” I missed.  (And technically, it would have been a record high.)

I missed the record for the longest-ever streak without any new content by only 3 days!  (76 vs 73)

😭😭😭

Whereas 2022 was pretty good for the whole first half of the year, 2023 was pretty much garbage throughout.  There was a short period in the beginning of the year that looked hopefully.  Then it all went back to sh!t.

Embarrassing.

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

And the total stats reflect that.

2023 Content Challenge Results:

94 out of 365 Days of New Content

Longest Content Producing Streak: 62

Longest No-Content Streak: 73

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