Redjotter blog is 12 today!

My redjotter blog is 12 years old today! ⠀

I started it in 2008 on my way to the airport. I was headed to Amsterdam for the summer where I worked with the first service design team in Holland. I was 22 and I'd sent many application letters, with no reply, when the Design Thinkers team did exactly that with ‘we’d love to have you - what’s your day rate’ and I fell off my chair. I figured I needed an online space to document my work. I always used red notebooks so I was going to call the blog red pencil or red jotter (jotter is what we call small notebooks in Scotland) and I’ve been using redjotters ever since. I’ve got hundreds of them stacked along my bookshelf. I'd love Moleskine to sponsor me, please 😃⠀ ⠀

My blog was only ever supposed to be a place to capture my notes - and for months my mum was the only person who read it. She used to text me if I had a spelling mistake or remind me I hadn’t posted in a while. My old tutors read it and ended up offering me a scholarship for a Masters Degree. It became the go-to site for service design news and it's led to more good things than I can list. I’ve written posts to celebrate my 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 9th blog birthdays. I take it seriously because it has been such a critical part of my career and development.⠀ ⠀

I’ve written 1581 posts over 12 years. That’s 11 posts a month on average. ELEVEN A MONTH! And to think I spent so many moments feeling guilty for not writing enough, feeling cross at myself for not having a ‘writing habit’ and obsessing over analytics. ⠀ ⠀

I’m doing it⠀ ⠀

This is it - I was always doing it - things take time. ⠀ ⠀

Thank you to all my cheerleaders, early champions, everyone who has ever commented, liked and shared a post I’ve written. I appreciate you.⠀ ⠀

If you’ve been on the fence about creating a blog - DO IT! Your future self will love you for it. I'm happy to share everything I know about what I've learned - hit me up with any questions. ⠀ ⠀