Over the last few years, I’ve done an end-of-year wrap up in the form of a short summary.  Just like the rest of the world, I find December to be a good time to pause and reflect and the year. I look back at many things, but I like to see what my blogging looked liked for a year. This is what 2021 looked like on Reflections on Leadership and Learning.

My favorite blog topics this year:

• Reading – I’ve blogged my monthly reading for awhile, but this was my best reading year by far, and I enjoyed keeping track of it all here on the blog. These posts were also all I wrote most months!
• Writing – In January, the month I wrote every day [somewhere], I reflected on Inauguration Day, women mentors, and how I read so much.
• Green Education – Over the last 1.5 years or so I’ve started a Green School blog series, in which I write very infrequently. This year I wrote about Green Teams.

My most read blog posts from this year (aside from my monthly reading blogs):

• Currently 3.0 – This version is a great moment in time because I wrote it while home on medical leave after having a hysterectomy, which was a very unique time in my life.
• Currently 2.0 – I borrowed this format from a lifestyle blogger. It’s a fun way to track current hobbies and interest.
• Sharing My Stuff– Inspired by Laura Tremaine, author of Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First, and the creator of the pocast 10 Things to Tell You, which I love. Her message is that we need to share our stuff with one another in order to move beyond superficial and into real connections.

The month in which I published the most posts:

• January – I set a goal in January 2021 to write every day and I met that goal! Some of that writing was here on the blog, some was in my personal journal, and some was my own writing work (fiction and nonfiction). I’m proud of that, especially because it was the only month I did any major blogging this year.

As I was reflecting on how little I blogged this year, I found this graphic in my website. It’s interesting to see how many pieces I published each year over the last 10 years. What’s even more interesting is that my blog received more traffic and had more posts read this year than in any year ever before. So even though I published less new content, people came back for the previous content. In fact, my series recapping Coaching for Equity by Elena Aguilar was by far the most popular read this year.

The top countries where my blog readers live (outside of the US):

• Phillipines
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• India
• Australia
• China
• United Arab Emirates (new to the list this year!)

New terms people searched that helped them arrive at my blog this year:

• scaffolding for students
• carbon footprint reflection
• coaching for equity questions
• core values

Shout Outs

• Frequent referrer – The editor of the AASA School Administrator journal regularly reads my blog, includes it on the Blogs page, and therefore connects new readers to my blog. Thanks Jay!
• Frequent reader & commenter – My boss and friend, Andree, is the first person to respond after I post a new blog. I love that she happily read my blog, loves to talk about books with me, and always provides a positive comment back. Thanks Andree!

Blogging goals and reflections

I am usually hesitant to set specific goals, because my blog evolves based on where I am and what I’m doing (and reading) at the time. This year turned out to be a low writing year for me, but a very high reading year. My blog goals for 2022 are:

• I will continue to use this blog as a source of reflection. I enjoy writing and appreciate that anyone is interested to read my posts.  I look forward to 2022 in the world and here in my little writing corner of the Internet.
• I would like to write at least 2 posts a month; one reading reflection and one that is something else I have written.