Blaugust 2024 retrospective

Batteries included is a blog series about the Python Standard Library. Each day, I share insights, ideas and examples for different parts of the library. Blaugust is an annual blogging festival in August where the goal is to write a blog post every day of the month.

Today is August 31st and another month has passed. This month was once again a bit special as I took part in Blaugust blogging festival and published a blog post each day for 31 days in a row.

I first heard about Blaugust in July 2023, took part for the first time in August last year and finished 31/31 that year. It was a good catalyst to get me into writing more and learning how to sit down and just write. It challenged me in a way that got my writing habit to a new level.

Batteries included

It also probably inflated my confidence quite a bit since somewhere around January this year, I decided that I’d write a tech blog post series this year and after bouncing around a few ideas, decided to go with Python’s standard library in a series I dubbed Batteries included.

Python is by far my favorite programming language and every time I get a chance to use it, talk about it or teach it, I’m happier than if I didn’t have the opportunity. Spending the August spreading my love for the language and how well-equipped it is straight out of the box was a month well spent.

During the year, I kept a note in my notes system where I collected ideas, links, resources and example ideas to help make the month of August a smooth experience. In hindsight, that was a brilliant idea but I still feel I bit more than I could chew and didn’t prepare enough.

I wanted Batteries included to be a cookbook style collection of recipes to achieve one thing instead of a replication of reference documentation.

The challenges

It’s really hard to come up with and write an interesting technical blog post each day for a month. I applaud those who manage to do it with little to none prep work.

For most days, I feel like I succeeded in that in a way that I’m proud of. I admit that some days I felt like cheating as I took the easy way out to get a post out. I have a more in-depth blog post about that reflection in works for September.

In my life outside blogging, I also ran into a situation where daily blogging, stress about approaching unemployment and getting final things done at my current gig all melted into one massive ball of stress which caused my creativity to run and hide.

Rainbow Diamond Award and Blaugust community

I’m extremely proud that for the second year in a row, I managed to finish Blaugust with 31 posts on 31 days and reached the Rainbow Diamond Award. It’s not why I participate in these festivals and challenges but it’s a very nice bonus that I can feel happy about.

Once again, we had a great community in Blaugust Discord during the month with a lot of new people joining and participating in discussions. The community is one key reason why I enjoy these festivals so much.

You can find all the posts I wrote this month in the category page for Blaugust 2024 and all the Python specific ones from Batteries included.

I want to also thank everyone who participated in the discussion, whether in Blaugust Discord, Mastodon, Koodiklinikka or other platforms where I shared my writing. The best part of blogging is the discussions and opportunities to learn more it generates.

Next year I will do a more relaxed Blaugust and write about whatever comes to mind with less plans and less technical posts for sure. Until then, I’ll return to my regular schedule of 1-3 posts per week and I have a few ideas that have come up during the month and have waited for the Batteries included part to be over to find a home in my blog.

Thanks Belghast for hosting yet another wonderful Blaugust festival!