Changes for 2017

I said it last year, and now it's time for a reminder. I am no longer maintaining a queue of mental exercises to post monthly. Now that a year has passed, it's time to establish the future of this blog.

Early last month, I came to a conclusion. I decided that it would be best to go back to the roots of this blog. There were two primary considerations when I first developed this concept. The first was that I wanted to explore open-ended exercises as opposed to the more typical mental exercises where you are led to a single correct answer. The other idea was that I know Excel fairly well and wanted to help lead people into what can be done with the software. The logical conclusion for me was to focus on open-ended Excel challenges.

Due to the declining value of the work I have put into this blog, the new goal was to draw out Excel challenges that would help people learn the software. I would start with the fundamentals and gradually move to more advanced features.I would also break down each challenge into numerous posts with only one post monthly. This would reduce the amount of work for each post, and allow me to keep minimal activity on the blog in case I ever ramped up work in this area.

Since I made that decision, I have been second guessing myself. Things hit a snag when I developed a concept for a new blog. The idea was to take advantage of my ability to disconnect from mainstream mentality. My thoughts are not even restricted by what is socially acceptable. Because of this, I can provide a fresh perspective on numerous topics and sometimes see things that nobody else can.

This was an interactive concept that would require others to feed me questions that they want answered. There's a problem with that. I do not live a socially active lifestyle. It's unlikely that I could get the questions I need to maintain such a blog.

Despite the reluctance to add a new blog, this gave me a different look at my metal exercises. With all of my personal projects going on, adding something new would likely require something to give. The most logical sacrifice would be right here.

The idea that I could spend years sharing Excel-based challenges and still be sharing tips for absolute beginners due to the intentionally slow approach could be problematic. This is especially true if I suddenly cut off before reaching any real substance. It seems better if I don't even start. For that reason, I will no longer be maintaining this blog. The last post will be January 15.