I have a long draft almost ready to publish, but it is not so meaningful in the end, so, you know, let's restart from scratch.

Blog less

It has taken me quite some time. Blogging, clubs about blogging, reading other blogs, reviewing...
I have put lots of energies into it, not so much return so far.

I know these things do not work automatically, but I got a little sick in the meanwhile and ended up almost ignoring everything else and in return I also lost my inspiration to blog.

My blog comes from chess, not from blogging itself. I cannot really blog about blogging. Or better, I can, and I can read lot and lot about it, yet, is this really what I want to do? All the time?

No. I like it, but I don't want it to be my main approach to chess.

Does it mean I will stop blogging? Or following clubs about it? Or close my Blog Lovers Club? NO!

It means I will devote more time playing chess than engaging other bloggers to blog better. Engaging others is a long battle, and I risk to lose my own interest in the process.

As a long battle, it must be fought slowly.

Accept more

I have to accept some of my burdens.

I am always tired, probably it is the seasonal cold, probably the light cervical pain, probably the back pain when I walk since I weight 4 kg more than some months ago. And some other small issues.

I have to shape my life around them, or even better, I have to take care of them.

It means:

• exercising, low impact to start with;
• eating better;
• sleeping more and better;
• investigating with doctors if the issues persist.

Rewire

To rewire you need some distance. It is needed to take care of yourself.

I almost took a break from chess. I did some sessions of puzzle rush, played the occasional daily without too much effort, and let some videos go while doing something else, but didn't focus too much.

I read threads in my clubs, but did not start new conversations. I tried to engage in some existing ones, I tried to encourage people to start their own, but did not start one, as I did in all previous days.

Having the objective to start a thread every day can be daunting! I know, it's not a blog post, but you need something interesting! And it is seldom interesting enough to ignite a real conversation, if the club is small.

OK, it doesn't sound like a good break, and I am writing this post, also not that good of a break from blogging or from chess.

But I abandoned my last creepy blog post. There were some ideas, but it was even less homogenous than other posts, and I was mainly complaining. Who needs it? 

Old hobbies

Yes, chess is not my only hobby. Or at least, I had many others.

I watched some science documentaries, after a video from Kurzgesagt I stumbled in another channel I did not know, Veritasium.

Kurzgesagt has compelling videos of around 10 minutes, that often explain difficult concepts with easy words. Often maybe too simple for the scientist, but I would say good enough!

Veritasium has longer videos about important people in the progress of humanity, science in general, and also about the science behind learning. Guess what? Learning is vital for chess. So check this out!

I also checked out videos from Alessandro Barbero, but they are in Italian. If you are Italian you already know him, if you aren't but know the language, go for it! It looks like some videos are subbed in English. History, wars, must be a hobby of many chess lovers, right?

Last but not least I got intrigued by the Game of Life. It was cited in one of the Veritasium videos. You draw a pattern, or choose one, and let it go. So much magic!

Future Plans

• Take care of my health
• Not plan tournaments late at night
• Play different time controls that fit the time I have for a game
• Take time to disconnect
• Have fun, not only with chess

Shopping

I got the tournament size chessboard I wanted. Not the best around, I think the hinges to close it won't survive long. But it is definitely big.

I also ordered a couple of books, The Art of Checkmate, that a colleague suggested me, and a book full of puzzles used also in the chessdojo. Let's see. 

Final notes

I know this is not for real a blog post about chess, more about working a way to improve my life to have more time and energy for everything, including chess.

I know it is not the perfect blog either. I wanted it done.

I am experimenting with formats and with pictures in the meanwhile, to see if they work.

In the end this is a new blog, I still have to find the right way to do it. I love the idea of a diary of my progress, but sometimes there are more complaints than progress, and I have to shift the point of view!

I will blog more about chess next, be sure of it!