In his year-in-review post, Tom MacWright lauds the benefits of blogging:

Blogging has been, for me, an unalloyed success. It has connected me to people, given me a place to develop my thoughts, made some of my work on the internet – a place always decaying and forgetting – a little more permanent. I absolutely recommend everyone do it.

I know why most people don’t do it: not enough time and too much fear of publishing ‘bad writing.’ Maybe ‘nothing to write about,’ too, though this never seems that real to me, given how the average person I meet has interesting thoughts and ideas to share.

I second this sentiment. Next year will be my 20th blogging anniversary (!!), and at least for the way I approach it—as a personal, generalist, and low-stakes log of what occupies my interest and attention at the moment—it’s something you should be able to slide in between everything else in your life. That’s to me what makes it a fun and sustainable hobby.

It feels like people think writing a blog post equates to building an ornate wooden desk—something that requires intense dedication and specialized skills and a huge time commitment—when really it’s more like whittling a stick. Dash off a few (key)strokes, make your point, and you’re done. Then whittle another one. That’s it.

He also mentions removing analytics, which is key. If you’re in it for the likes or views or revenue, then it’s a hustle, not a hobby, and you’re bound to abandon it or get burned out.