I suppose it’s fitting that the first day since last year (in early December!) I truly skipped a day in my daily-blogging challenge is July 4th, also known here in the U.S. as Independence Day. 🇺🇸 🎆

I hereby declare my independence from #writing every day! 😆

OK, this wasn’t entirely an accident. I recently talked about how much I’d been enjoying this challenge over all yet I wish I’d given myself an “out” from having to do it without fail, without any breaks, every single day.

After never breaking my daily blogging streak for over six months (!!), the time has come to make those tweaks! So I’ve given myself a maximum of four skip days a month. That means I could essentially take a day off each week, or I could save my skips and cluster them together. At any rate, I’m no longer worried about breaking my streak, because that’s built into the framework.

To be clear though, I’m definitely NOT giving up daily blogging! As I keep saying, it’s been absolutely incredible for me and has reshaped my relationship with writing this year. I no longer consider it merely a hobby. Twelve years ago I mused on the thought that “at some point I will officially make the transition from amateur writer to professional.”

That’s exactly what I’m doing at this point in time. And not just a professional writer—a professional podcaster as well. So yeah, it’s no longer an option for me to flake out and not “do the stuff” for long periods of time. I’ve “gone pro” as it were, and I increasingly see that taking up a meaningful portion of my overall efforts as a creator.