Well, my first Bloggiesta is over. For having only found out about Bloggiesta on Thursday, I’d say I had a very productive weekend! I started out with a to-do list, and I got almost everything done. The few tasks I didn’t finish had to do with actually writing posts, which I’m used to doing on a daily basis, so no problem there. Here are the highlights of what I got done:
- I finally invited Erin Reads readers to be my reading buddies! Check out the post and sign up if you’re interested. I’m excited!
- I fiddled with my blog layout a little, adding, combining, and removing some elements from my sidebar. New sidebar items include posts by topic, recent/popular posts, and a feed of Google Reader items I especially enjoy (thanks to Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness for that one)!
- I created a landing page for the Erin Reads Facebook page! I’m not sure I’m fully happy with it, but I’m pleased I got something up. If you’re on Facebook and would like to stop by, I’d love to see you over there.
- I added a LibraryThing button to my Subscribe & Connect box! I wasn’t able to make my own, but Rebecca from Rebecca Reads was kind enough to share hers. If you’re on LibraryThing, come say hello!
- I installed a lot of plug-ins that are already helping me blog more efficiently and will, I hope, generally make Erin Reads a nicer place to be. Most visible of these are my Contact page, related posts, and a copyright notice, but there are some cool behind-the-scenes ones too. I also deleted some unused plug-ins.
- I learned to label and archive my Gmail inbox. It took many hours, but I got my inbox down from 3000+ messages (mostly read but not deleted) to just 14!
- I made more improvements to my Google Reader! Rebecca’s post on the Book Lady’s Blog about taming your feedreader was hugely helpful. The Firefox add-on she suggests? Magic.
- I updated LibraryThing and GoodReads with review excerpts and links.
- I worked out the details for a few new post formats I’d like to use and created buttons for them.
- I added a few bells and whistles to my existing post formats, including My Week in Books and my review posts (“Book Thoughts”).
- I cleaned up the blog files I keep on my computer so that I can actually find things!
- I cleaned up my categories to better reflect the posts I’ve been writing so that you can actually find things!
- I participated in 18 mini challenges, all of which helped me improve Erin Reads.
I ended up working for a total of 35 hours (whoa!). I’m so glad I participated in Bloggiesta and can’t wait for July, when the next one rolls around!
Your Turn!
If you participated in Bloggiesta, how did it go?
Oh my, 35 hours! I’d really like to take part in a Bloggiesta sometime but I always find I’ve just finished all the updates I wanted to do when they come along. I like the Posts I’m Reading feature, and I love your Further Reading list, it looks really professional!
Luckily we had nothing planned for the weekend! My husband worked on a project of his own, and I worked on my blog. It worked out well. I’m bad about keeping up with updates, so Bloggiesta was great for me. I’m glad you like the new additions! I must admit, the Further Reading list is a plug-in. I wish I could write a pretty gizmo like that myself!
I didn’t technically participate, but it did motivate me to finally clean up our twitter account – put everyone in lists, follow back some folks, and weed out some others (mostly publishers or authors who are out of our YA focus). Sounds like you got a lot done!
Eek, I didn’t even think to work on Twitter! Oh well, next Bloggiesta. I’m glad you got some nagging tasks done, even if you weren’t officially Bloggiesta-ing!
Sadly I only ended up having about 7 hours to spend on Bloggiesta this time because I did so much traveling around. I wanted to spend so much more than that. I’ll be continuing with the tasks I didn’t finish a little bit each day, I guess…
You still got a ton done for only working for 7 hours! Wow! Even if everything didn’t get done during the actual Bloggiesta hours, I’m guessing we’ve probably generated to-do lists that we’ll keep plugging away at for the upcoming months.
I’m very impressed Erin. I wouldn’t know what a plug-in is if I met in an alley way on a dark night!
I had to learn, when I moved over to self-hosted WordPress last fall! WordPress without plug-ins is pretty boring. The problem is, getting into them is like opening a can of worms. There are tons of them out there! Luckily for you, I don’t think they tend to hang out in alleys, so I think you’re safe π
You accomplished a lot! Congratulations! I’m off to find you on Library Thing and read your other posts from this weekend.
Thanks! I had fun! I’m glad you found me on LibraryThing. I have a feeling there are lots of bloggers on there, and I’m hoping now that I have a button up we can all find each other. I love seeing which books I have in common with everyone!
This was my first Bloggiesta too. I wasn’t as productive as you, but I managed a number of things that I had wanted to get done and never quite managed to get to. Your site looks good!
I’m glad your Bloggiesta went well! I’m already looking forward to the next one π
Goodness, what a productive week for you! I need to get my act in gear and fix up a whole bunch of things on my site. Tomorrow’s a public holiday, so perhaps I’ll get on to it then. π Thanks for the inspiration!
It was, and completely unexpectedly! Enjoy your day off…I hope you get lots done! π
Wowzers, 35 hours of blog-related work is amazing! Congrats on a successful Bloggiesta!
A lot of it was mindless…like the many hours I devoted to cleaning out my Gmail! Thanks…I’m glad I got so much done π
You’ve definitely had a busy weekend! Looks great! I should have participated…
Thanks! It was far more productive than I’d anticipated. There’s always next Bloggiesta! π
Wow, that’s totally inspiring! I do like the idea of devoting a large chunk of time to this, rather than feeling like you’re always picking at it, constantly shifting something, adjusting something else, with an endless to-do list nagging.
It was great to just get a bunch of projects out of the way. I came to this Bloggiesta a bit late in the game, so I didn’t get to plan out my list in advance, which is something I’d like to do next time. Perhaps we’ll be in the next Bloggiesta together!
18 mini-challenges? Rock. On. The blog looks fabulous. ^_^
I had a lot of fun with the mini-challenges π Thanks!
Wow … I’m impressed. How did you create the Further Reading box?
Thanks! I used a plug-in called SidebarTabs. Easy to use, but not many appearance options.
You got a lot done! Congrats!
Here is my Bloggiesta-Wrap Up post!
Thanks! I had fun!
Wow, Erin, that’s fantastic! I will definitely look at all your improvements in more detail and probably steal a few too! And I’ll be sure to look at your reading list, would love to do a buddy read with you! I’m so bummed to have missed Bloggiesta!
Thanks, Joanna! I’d love to read a book with you. Just let me know which you might be interested in. There’s always the next Bloggiesta!
That is an impressive amount of work! Nicely done. As usual, I wish I had the time to devote to my blog, I’m hanging on by a thread. π
Thanks! Luckily I had a clear schedule for the weekend. It was nice to get a lot done at once, but I know a lot of people are too busy to devote a whole weekend to a blog…I’m soon to be one of them!