I had been feeling stuck and like I wasn’t learning anything. But I also realized that *I* needed to take control of my own growth. So I made a list of things I wanted to learn / get better at / do more of. One of the things was to learn something about WordPress.
I've been blogging for more than ten years. I remember trying to choose between WordPress and Blogger, and chose Blogger. Why? Because it felt like Google was the better partner. Oops.
Now, to be clear, I haven't had any trouble with Blogger. Do I wish there was an official mobile app? Yes, but I didn't use it much when there was one.
But I know that WordPress has grown and grown. And when I wanted to build my won site, I decided to try using WordPress. And then I got stuck, and didn't touch it again.
After identifying WordPress as "something to learn", I started looking for resources. I'm too shy to drop into a meetup, frankly, but heard about "WordCamp" -- a mini conference, organized by volunteers, that are all about WordPress. And as luck would have it, Seattle was hosting theirs less than two months later. For $50 for the two-day event, I figured there wasn't much to lose.
I didn't really know what to expect, but the event felt professionally run and well organized. The quality of the speakers varied from session to session, but I've experienced that at much bigger events and conferences.
One speaker I especially liked was Nathan Ingram, who's talk "Dealing with Problem Clients: Fencing in the Friendly Monsters" included great strategies to manage client relationships -- which are also relevant to other workplace relationships, too.
On the morning of the second day I realized that I was really happy that I had come to WordCamp for a few reasons.
One, it made my introverted self proud that I had been "brave" for going. Now, I didn't network much, if at all. But I still decided I wanted to learn something, found an opportunity to do so, and actually WENT.
Two, I did learn some things. Not necessarily about WordPress, but some useful strategies and some interesting information.
Three, and perhaps the best thing, was that I made the time to sit and think and write and plan. I don't do enough of that, so it was really useful to make lists of things, and put some thought into plans for 2020. So I used the time between the sessions as well.
It might be time to move this blog from Blogger to WordPress ... though just typing that makes me feel anxious. But at least now I have a better picture of how to do so.
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