All The Things I’ve Stopped (Part 3 of 9)

For the third part in this series, I'm going to evaluate my 50 blog post topics list. I wrote this list so I wouldn't get stuck with writer's block and stop blogging. I didn't like the blog post ideas that I was coming up with just so I could get a post up, so I decided to ensure I wasn't wasting time coming up with a good idea. The list of topics took me a few hours to put together, and in the end I only did 15 of those topics. I also ended up doing the 15 easiest topics first, leaving the tougher topics for, well, perhaps never.

The Tougher Topics Would Have Taken More Time than I Had

Many of the tougher topics (particularly the questions about current affairs) would have required a ton of preliminary research, and once I sat down to write the post, it would've taken me about two hours to write it. Add that to the research time, and tackling one of these tougher topics would've taken between four and six hours of my time. That's time that I could've made room for if I made the blog post a priority, but I couldn't make it that kind of a priority over paying clients.

I wasn't going to do a sloppy job of tackling these topics either. Here's a David Cameron article that I wrote in September 2013, an example of what I would like to do when answering one of these questions. Sure, I could answer a similar question with only two reasons instead of three, or I could include three reasons but cite fewer sources throughout the article, but the David Cameron article is a great article. Not to toot my own horn, but I did a great job in answering the question. If I'm not going to commit to that level of quality, then I'm not going to start the blog post or find an easier way to do the blog post. The David Cameron article is simply how those current affairs questions should be tackled.

Going Back to Making It a Priority

In the first two parts of this series, I've discussed stopping ventures because I lost interest or because I found a better option. This time, I stopped completing this list because I felt I had more important priorities besides taking the time to write on the tougher topics. This blog (for now) is simply for fun and I can't let it get in the way of paying work. Well, I could let it get in the way of paying work, but I wouldn't be earning enough to pay my bills. I also didn't want to spend so much time on just one blog post, because if I did commit four to six hours to write one post, then I would've had to reduce the number of times I published in a week. Back when I was doing those posts, I was publishing about every other day (and I'm currently working to come back to that frequency). Tackling these tougher topics would've meant publishing only about once or twice a week, perhaps even less frequently. That's just no good for blog. At least I don't think that's good for a blog.

Perhaps I'll be able to tackle some of the tougher topics in the future if I plan accordingly. I would probably need to give myself about a month's leeway, and if I do that, then I would need to choose topic that would still be timely in a month or two. That's not too hard, considering that some current issues can go on for months.

50 Topics to Write about for the Next 50 Posts

My brain has been mush for several weeks, putting this blog in jeopardy and any other chance I have to build a substantial, professional, worthwhile online presence that could lead to something better down the road. I need to stop dragging my heels when I'm staring at the blank screen, have my mind together, and get to writing. After all, I've written several posts about blog post ideas, such as this one, this one, and this one (all taken from one piece of lead generation content, if you wondered why many of the ideas were similar). Therefore, I'm preparing ahead of time by coming up with 50 topics to write about for the next 50 posts. Of course, if something cool came up that's worth writing about in between post one and post 50, I'll write about that. This isn't meant to be a restrictive list. It's meant to help me stop wasting time, to stop thinking that I don't have anything to write about, and to prevent myself from spending six hours on a blog post. It shouldn't take me six hours to write a blog post, unless I do extensive research prior to the post. Hopefully, this list won't take me six hours to put together, but here are my 50 topics:

1. How I Would Fix Gender Pricing
2. X Empowering Songs for Kicking Ass and Taking Names
3. If I Were the CEO of AOL, What Would I Do to Make It Relevant Again?
4. Should India impose mandatory death sentences on those convicted of rape?
5. X Job Hunting Statistics You Wish You Knew Six Months Ago
6. Embracing Being a Night Owl
7. Why I'd Love to Run a Food Bank
8. 15 Things I Am Horrible at Doing, and Why
9. Will You Be My Accountability Buddy?
10. My To-Learn List
11. What I Learned About X
12. Why I'm Going to Start Taking People Out to Coffee
13. Why It's Important for Me to Excel at Poker
14. Why I Love Poker
15. How I Can Be a Better Half the Sky Ambassador
16. Why Blogging is Crucial to Your Personal Online Reputation
17. What I Would Do if I Won the Main Event of Poker
18. What reforms should be made to U.S. surveillance efforts?
19. Will the newly signed student loan rate legislation make higher education more affordable?
20. Does Bill Gates have the right ideas to reform American education?
21. Should there be an increase in the federal minimum wage?
22. What should Russia do with Edward Snowden after his one year asylum expires?
23. Are European governments too lax in their protection of the Roma?
24. Is time running out for the Israelis to make a suitable peace with the Palestinians?
25. Has Venezuela’s international profile taken a serious hit since the death of Hugo Chavez?
26. Why is South Africa supporting Robert Mugabe?
27. Is an Egyptian government led by its military better for the West than a government led by the Muslim Brotherhood?
28. Is nuclear power the key to China’s economic future?
29. Are Afghanistan’s security forces strong enough to contain the Taliban?
30. Would a government shutdown over funding Obamacare hurt the GOP in the 2014 midterms?
31. How can President Obama get his economic agenda through Congress?
32. Why You Should Hire Me to Write Your Content
33. Why You Should Hire Me to Manage Your Social Media
34. Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex Is Destroying America Review
35. Collision 2012: Obama Vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America Review
36. Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t Review
37. X Things I Could Do to Come Out of My Comfort Zone
38. Will attempts to unionize America’s fast food industry succeed?
39. Is America’s housing market on the road to recovery?
40. How should the Brazilian government deal with rising illegal immigration?
41. Will recent revelations about radiation at the Fukushima nuclear plant doom attempts at reviving nuclear power in Japan?
42. Do European governments need to take stronger actions against neo-Nazi movements?
43. Will the release of Hosni Mubarak make Egypt’s interim government extremely unpopular?
44. Is America’s housing market on the road to recovery?
45. Will privacy rights be a major issue in the 2014 midterm elections?
46. Is America winning the fight against obesity?
47. How can the U.S. make itself less dependent on foreign oil?
48. The First Few Steps to Creating a Wiki
49. X Video Games I Want to Play Next
50. What I Need to Be Able to Play Skyrim

This Week's Questions Absolutely Suck

It's probably a little fortuitous that I didn't answer any questions from last week because this week's questions are absolutely abysmal. Some of the US questions are out of left field, the international questions are somewhat interesting, but incredibly difficult to tackle if you don't know anything about what's going on. Which I don't, so I should start using the free printer at work to print out articles. My parents won't like that idea, but I assure, the office is cool with it.

This Week's Possible Questions

I actually left all 20 here to show the weirdness I'm refusing to work with here. I'm probably not going to pick any for this blog, but I might do one or two for the Amnesty International St. Louis blog. Therefore, I don't think it's worth it to spend any time narrowing the list down. Since I'm working on getting that file cabinet, I think I'll spend more time doing research and preparing myself to do this weekly (or more often). I have yet to make good on my word. I'll probably stick with the questions I wanted to answer last week. The nice thing about these questions is that, for the most part, they are relevant past their initial week.

1. If not Hillary, then who? (I'm presuming for presidential nominee in 2016, but the question is phrased rather vaguely.)
2. Will attempts to unionize America’s fast food industry succeed?
3. Has Obamacare’s implementation been a disaster?
4. Will leaks about NSA surveillance activities lead to significant revisions of government anti-terrorism powers?
5. How should the U.S. respond to allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria?
6. Is America’s housing market on the road to recovery?
7. Will the Playstation 4 have a more successful release than the XBox One? (I mean, really? What does this have to do with domestic policy? Does anyone care besides gamers and industry analysts?)
8. How can Steve Lonegan defeat Cory Booker? (Too localized for my tastes.)
9. Will Texas’s redistricting plan pass constitutional muster?
10. Does Chelsea Manning have a constitutional right to hormone therapy while in military custody? (No, because the Constitution doesn't say anything about this. Not sure what to say or argue here. I don't think there's much on the issue from this angle).
11. What should the Russian government do in light of new reports of chemical weapons usage in Syria?
12. Will the release of Hosni Mubarak make Egypt’s interim government extremely unpopular?
13. What can missile defense planners learn from Israel’s Iron Dome?
14. How can the UN’s MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo improve its effectiveness?
15. Will recent revelations about radiation at the Fukushima nuclear plant doom attempts at reviving nuclear power in Japan?
16. Do European governments need to take stronger actions against neo-Nazi movements?
17. Why is economic growth in India slowing down? (My initial gut instinct says that it's either one or two big reasons, or many little reasons. The latter would make this question hard to answer.)
18. Should Ukraine sign a customs agreement with the European Union or Russia?
19. How should the Brazilian government deal with rising illegal immigration?
20. Would consolidation improve European banking? (Consolidation of what? Would research tell me?)

Goals, Updates, and What I'm Capable Of

My parents say I shouldn't be so negative on this blog, referring to my previous post on how I'm so horrible at this new niche (and considering that I haven't written a single post this week, I'm still very horrible). However, I say that it's important to be open and to be honest about these things. Besides, if I put my mistakes and shortcomings into writing and admit them to the world, then I can acknowledge them and fix them. If I just go one pretending they don't exist, then I'm probably not going to do anything about them.

Goal for this Week: Do One Post, Just One Post

Apparently, two was much too ambitious for me. I couldn't discipline myself to do the research. I also got busy and distracted, although I was way more distracted than busy. Below are the 10 possible topics that I might do for my one post (since these are rather engaging and interesting topics, I might actually do more than one like I'm supposed to. Some of these actually sound fun.)

1. Will Cristina Fernández de Kirchner succeed in amending the Argentinian constitution so that she can run for a third term?
2. What reforms are needed to the Mexican judicial system?
3. Should India avoid an upcoming meeting with Pakistan due to the recent violence in Kashmir?
4. What changes should Hassan Rohani make to Iran’s nuclear program?
5. What role should the European Union play in the Gibraltar dispute?
6. Is America winning the fight against obesity?
7. If you were the chief executive of AOL, what would you do to make it relevant again?
8. How can the U.S. make itself less dependent on foreign oil?
9. Is the GOP’s refusal to participate in CNN and NBC 2016 presidential primary debates justified?
10. Will privacy rights be a major issue in the 2014 midterm elections?

I'm So Close to My File Cabinet!

My main goal for my inferno of productivity is to accrue 300 points so that I can get a file cabinet! I ended the previous week with 271 points, and after tallying this week's points, I have 322 points. This means I can finally get that file cabinet! I am excited since I've need a file cabinet so badly, and never got around to getting one. Now, all I have to do is redeem those points and get one. I took a quick look online and there's nothing that I really like. I'd really like a wooden file cabinet to match my a little bit, but perhaps I'll settle on a metal one because they are cheaper.

Once I achieved my goal, I said that I would evaluate my inferno of productivity to see if it really worked at boosting my productivity and to make a decision as to whether or not to continue the game. I think I will continue it because it's a record of what I accomplished each day as well as a fun way to work toward rewards and to give myself those rewards. Also, by assigning points, I can prevent myself from overindulging on these rewards One of my prizes is eating out, and eating out is much less appealing when it means I have to give up points and it means one more week until I can get that file cabinet, or that haircut, or whatever it is I want.

It's also a good way to ensure that I purchase things that I've been intending to purchase for a while, such as that file cabinet. It's really easy to forget those things and to work around the problem (the problem with the file cabinet being my papers and files are in piles on the floor, unattended and dusty). For my next goal/reward, I want a haircut. I badly need a haircut, as my hair is way too long. It gets in the way when I sleep at night.

Speaking of sleep, I should go do that.

I'm Not Doing Too Well at this New Niche

Of the four questions I planned to do last week, I only did one of the four on the obscure topic of the national horse slaughter ban. The post did rather well for this blog, but I failed to keep the momentum going and to offer insight on a more mainstream topic. I also think my analysis could use many more facts, figures, and demographics to support it. The horse slaughter post was a bit philosophical. I can do much better.

This Week's Possible Topics (of Which I Will Do at Least Two, for Improvement)

1. What reforms should be made to U.S. surveillance efforts?
2. Will the newly signed student loan rate legislation make higher education more affordable?
3. Does Bill Gates have the right ideas to reform American education?
4. How can the federal government better the plight of wounded veterans?
5. Should there be an increase in the federal minimum wage?
6. What should Russia do with Edward Snowden after his one year asylum expires?
7. Are European governments too lax in their protection of the Roma?
8. What grade should the Turkish government receive for its human rights record?
9. Is time running out for the Israelis to make a suitable peace with the Palestinians?
10. Has Venezuela’s international profile taken a serious hit since the death of Hugo Chavez?

I Need to Change the Task

Currently, doing one personal blog post is part of my task list for each day. Because of my new niche and my goal for this week, delegating the task in that manner doesn't actually help. What I think I need to do is set that as the task for every other day, and then the days that aren't assigned to writing the blog post will be assigned to the necessary research. The main reason why I didn't get anything done last week was because I didn't spend the time doing the research. I am getting a late start to this week, which is why I'm shooting for two, but including the research as part of the points I can get for each day will incentive me to do the research. This also prevents that overwhelming writer's block, that burden where I need to do research and do a blog post in the same day.

Currently Reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In and It's Amazing

I am almost done with Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (which is good, because I have way too many books to read right now, and this one wasn't on my summer reading list) and I think it's an absolutely phenomenal book. I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and I'm so glad that I finally have! She makes great points throughout the book, and what I particularly love is that I could relate to them even though I'm not a senior executive with two kids. The most profound point, to me, is that it's stereotypes about women that are holding women back because women are held to those stereotypes by others (and then punished for not adhering to them) and because women hold themselves to those stereotypes at times. It's ideas that women are supposed to be nice and nurturing, that women are always going to be the ones to take the brunt of the child caring duties, that women always have to worry about a family/career balance.

I loved that Sandberg encourages to break those stereotypes and not to worry about what others think about you. She says that it's more important to be comfortable with your own choices, to do what's best for you and your family, and to not leave the workforce before you've actually left. Don't turn down responsibilities and new opportunities because you're afraid a child is going to get in the way, so you're making room before there is even the prospect of a child in your life. Go for success now, while you can, before the child is expected.

This is Why It's Awesome to be a Night Owl!

I have been so excited for my new niche this weekend! I've been wanting to get started so badly that I kept going to the site looking for the new questions, but new questions are released every Monday. I didn't want to prepare a question for last week for this week. I want to keep this week for this week and next week for next week etc. So, I sighed and distracted myself with other things (like Rogue Legacy). Only then did it occur to me that the questions came out a midnight! This means I can start planning now if I want to, and I really do, and maybe even get my first question out on Tuesday. I've only looked at the international questions, and there's already a few that I'm interested in. This is why it's awesome to be a night owl! You get the first crack at things! You could think of it as the earliest bird getting the worm!

What Do I Want to Tackle This Week?

Of the 20 possible questions, I can only settle on three for four. I don't have the time, or the interest, to do all 20. To get me a little head start, I've narrowed down the 20 to these possible 10 questions. I don't want to give away too much, after all. There still needs to be some element of surprise!

1. Does Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leave office with a positive legacy?
2. Why is South Africa supporting Robert Mugabe?
3. Is an Egyptian government led by its military better for the West than a government led by the Muslim Brotherhood?
4. Is nuclear power the key to China’s economic future?
5. Are Afghanistan’s security forces strong enough to contain the Taliban?
6. Would a government shutdown over funding Obamacare hurt the GOP in the 2014 midterms?
7. How should the U.S. respond to Russia’s sheltering of Edward Snowden?
8. Should the national horse slaughter ban of 2006 be repealed?
9. What changes should be made to America’s food stamp program?
10. How can President Obama get his economic agenda through Congress?

I Might Even Be More Excited Tomorrow

It is getting late, so I'll probably be heading to bed in an hour or so (maybe, that's a very big maybe).  I don't know, I did find last week's questions much more interesting than this week's questions. However, I do think once I get some rest, have a productive Monday, and get started on my very first question, I'll be much more excited. I'll be taking the time to learn about current events of the day, to sort through the partisan spin and come down on the arguments and truths that answer the question. These are the questions that ought to be answered on cable news shows and in commentary, something beyond a simple reporting of the facts and providing that liberal/conservative perspective that the audience is seeking. It's questions like these that really get the discussion going and really determine what the next steps should be for these different issues.

I'm Going to Have to Reorganize My Categories

I just realized that nearly all of the categories I have now won't be applicable to this new niche, meaning that I'll have to redo all of them. Or, I'll at least have to create a whole bunch of new ones and fiddle around with the widget so that only the categories related to current affairs show up on the home page and such. I'm pretty sure it's possible to delete categories. I know you can simply change the names. I'm not sure if you can pick and choose the categories that you want to feature in the widget. Perhaps I'll find all this out in the coming weeks as I write these new posts and create these new categories.

I Figured Out a Niche

I know I've gone through this whole charade before (and I totally did when thinking about my news show and before settling on identity capital), but I've figured out a niche for real this time. After thinking about my niche, I've come to a decision and I think it's a good one. I'm going to cover current affairs as a whole.

After thinking about that niche and outlining my ideas, I realized that they all fell under the category of current affairs. Even identity theft and credit reports are current affairs topics, since they keep coming up in the news and they are changing enough to merit constant attention.

Here's the Plan

My plan is to pull my blog post ideas from Extemp Central. They do a good job of posting questions every week, but I do notice the site lacks in original issue analysis (perhaps that's what the strategy briefs are about, but you have to pay for those. Not everyone wants to pay for those.) It also lacks answers to the questions it posts, although it does share and forward useful articles every week, sometimes those articles don't line up with any of the question it's posted. So, I plan to fill in what's missing by answering questions three to four times a week. It will take some time to do the necessary research, but I also do want to do personal, off-the-wall blog posts from time to time, so there's room for that as well.

Have I said all this before? I feel like I have since it all sounds so familiar in my head.

Blog Post Topic Examples Include:

1. Should the U.S. cut off military aid to Egypt?
2. Are Common Core standards bad for American education?
3. Should Google Glass be banned from public places? (I've actually answered this question before on another blog, but nothing too extensive).
4. Is Elizabeth Warren a potential Democratic presidential nominee in 2016?
5. Should secular corporations be exempted from Obamacare’s contraception requirement on religious grounds?
6. How should states deal with their looming pension crisis?
7. Is it in Pakistan’s best interest to improve ties with Afghanistan?
8. What steps does the Libyan government need to take to restore stability?
9. Is al Qaeda making a comeback in Iraq?
10. How should the international community police money-transfer agencies to insure that they are not funding terrorism?
11. Would the construction of an inter-oceanic canal solve Nicaragua’s poverty problem?

Subtitle

I originally got into international extemporaneous speaking almost 10 years ago (it's been that long since sophomore year of high school! Whoa!) because I was learning so many things that I didn't even know were going on. On top of that, these were issues that weren't talked about on the news but were very important for people to know and understand. With what the American media covers and what the pundits talk about, this situation hasn't improved. If anything, it's gotten worse since the mainstream media is much more partisan than ever and it completely ignores foreign events unless it somehow relates to the United States (or when someone of royalty is born, as that's very important). It's tough to find world news on the mainstream channels and websites. You have to know where to look.

At the very least, I'm working to prevent what happens in this video from happening to other people. I mean, the family was so darn excited to play too. Apparently, they didn't have a clause that said, "Pass when we don't have any answers." The other family didn't have clause that said, "When I can't think of an answer, I should probably listen to the rest of my family."

How Speech and Debate Has Been Crucial to My Career

I just finished a trial article for a potential client, a Boston non-profit that works with public and private partners to improve the parks and green spaces in the city. The client wanted an article about Portland, Ore. park system, and how they handle public and private partnerships. I've never been to Boston, and have never worked with any system park system. I have minimal experience writing and covering government projects and funding. Usually, in this line of work, such expertise might be preferred but it's definitely not required. What's required is that you can write well, understand the format you're writing, deliver results with your work, and not need any hand holding throughout this whole thing. It's harder to come by then you'd think. It's also tough to come by if you don't communicate what you need all that well, but that's another story for another day.

What does this have to do with speech and debate, an extracurricular activity from high school?

Well, I finished the trial article in just over an hour. It was 700+ words, and that hour included research time. I'm worried I might be too efficient, hurting only myself because I'll only get paid for an hour of work, instead of the five the client originally budgeted for. I suspect I am able to be so efficient because of my speech and debate experience.

My Speech and Debate Experience

I did speech and debate for three years in high school, primarily competing in international extemporaneous speaking. If you don't know, in international extemporaneous speaking, you have 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech about international current affairs. You don't know you're topic until the start of your 30 minutes. With a time constraint like that, you have to do the research and analyze what you are reading the research at the same time. Is this information even useful? How does it answer my question? How does it fit in with what I've already researched and learned? How credible is it? You can't waste time.

On top of that, you have to work with the articles and information you brought to the tournament. You can't use the Internet or go on the computer. You can't ask your teammates for help. You have your head and those hard copies, and you have to make it work. You can't learn everything, even if you wanted to. It's also best that you leave yourself some practice time, so although you have 30 minutes, you really have 15-20 minutes to do the research and to compose the speech. You don't want the first time you're delivering the speech to be the one that counts toward your points, if you can help it.

Research Skills are Necessary, Especially in this Google Era

I remember that I took a public health class the second semester of my senior year. Thought it would be interesting. We had to do a 10-15 page paper as our final. Could've been worse. I remember some of the students complaining that they had too much information for their papers, that 15 pages wasn't enough and that they had no idea how to reduce the overload. I don't understand how this was such a problem. I mean, you're not going to do 20 pages. You're a college student during the last few weeks of school. You should be happy that 15 pages are going to come so easily.

Another lesson I learned from speech and debate and all that research: you gotta know when the stop. I'm not writing a 20-page paper here, so although I want more than enough research to write 10 (I don't want to be stuck with less than I need), I also want to give myself room to leave something out. I want enough to form a cohesive 10-15 page paper from start to finish. I have to narrow my topic from the beginning. I have to construct the narrative in my head as I read each piece of research and organize all the journal articles and sources I've collected. It's college. There's not necessarily a right conclusion, just a solid one based on sound logic and argumentation.

I'd say the cohesion came from speech and debate too. There are only consequences to preparing an eight minute or a 10-minute speech, so you learn the amount of research necessary to deliver a seven-minute speech (by the way, it's introduction, three main points with two to three sources per point, and a conclusion). As someone who's been writing to 600-800 word posts for at least a year now as part of a professional standard, I know what that looks like and I know what that takes. The hard part is accomplishing what a 800-word post can in 400 or 500.