My half-French-half-Canadian friend, Zhu wanted to know what I have learned in 2007. I wished I had kept an account of the things that I have learned in the entire year, but I didn’t, so my list wouldn’t be comprehensive :blush:

ON BLOGGING

Blogging is time consuming. Actually, I have just learned in 2007 that blogging is a very time-consuming activity. Especially when subjects needed to be researched and points and facts needed to be doubly checked before anything is published. On top of that, the process of sourcing an image and making sure that the right credit goes to the right picture also requires a certain degree of attention to details.

Blogging is therapeutic. Not that I am depressed, but whenever I feel down (we all feel like crap once in a while, don’t we?), I could research and write a few blog posts at one go! On top of that, blog-hopping and networking also takes a lot of those gloominess away :D

Blogging keeps the mind active. I think about what to blog most of the time when I am alone. When I started blogging in 2005, I always thought about the things that I could blog about to bring traffic to my blog. But lately, I kept thinking about the things I could blog about to increase awareness on certain issues. I think about how to promote the issues, and I think about all those bloggers whom I could approach for assistance.

Blogging for money isn’t my cup of tea.

I have gone a full circle from thinking about “blogging for money” to actually doing it, to doubting myself for writing those sponsored posts because I sometimes tried too hard to blend it into my blog, to empathizing with my readers, to thinking about the directions I wanted my blog to head to, to not writing those sponsored posts anymore.

I wanted to be a campaign blogger.

I enjoyed spreading awareness on issues that needed the attention, and I enjoyed sharing with my readers the many ways that they could help the needy. And over time, that particular post grew into a category by itself and then a website by its own!

ON A MORE PERSONAL SCALE

Taking action pays. This definitely is the most important lesson that I have learned in 2007. I have learned that taking action and following up on it get things done. I have also learned that if you wanted something badly enough, you will go to great lengths to achieve it. At the beginning, it wasn’t easy but eventually it became a habit and taking actions slowly turned into a habit of mine.

Good time management increases productivity. I have started using a diary-cum-organizer in 2005 but only in 2007 I realized the power of good time management. In my not-very-fancy organizer, I wrote down things that I could and couldn’t remember, things that I wanted to remember, things that I needed to remember and other things that other-people-should-remember-but-I-bet-they-won’t. I started writing my TO DO list whenever I anticipate a hectic day so that things that needed to be done are done.

It doesn’t take a year to write a thesis. We’ve all heard our seniors say how difficult it is to write a thesis and all that jazz. Yes, it is very difficult to START writing it, but once momentum is gained, it becomes a routine, and when you see your Word document grows from 15 to 85 pages, you get the kind of satisfaction and motivation to even work harder on it. Saying that “it is very difficult” is only an excuse. All you need is a strategy. And possibly a company ;)

The sky is the limit, when the heart is in it. ‘Nuff said.

So what did YOU learn in 2007?