Tracy van der Schyff

As some of you might know, my #Office365Challenge finished on the 28th of February 2017. The index to all the posts can be found here. A lot of people have asked me “What next?” and before I can answer that, I think I need to take a step back and explain the WHY.

(I took the above photo at one of my favourite places on earth. Lydenburg. Why is it so special to me? The most beautiful mountains, rivers & people meet, in one place.)

Blogging:

I’m not addicted to blogging, I’m addicted to helping people. Microsoft/Technology is the WHAT, writing blogs is the HOW, you are the WHY.

I started blogging years ago, first real blog written 22/05/2012. So nearly 5 years ago. The reason behind my blogging was as follows:

1. Learning:  To remember things, I’ve realised that I learn better when I write it down and try it out
2. Reusability:  I got tired of redoing the same Email Quick Reference Guide with Screenshots for users who wanted to know how to do things, I put more effort into writing the blog – but could then just send them the URL to the Quick Reference Guide (blog).
3. Sharing:  At first I just did recaps of conferences, to share my experience with others.  I never thought I had much to share (apart from that) – as all the info was out there already, and I was sure everyone knew what I was learning already. Being a trainer made me realise how much of the “every day stuff” still had to be learnt by so many.

I’d been wanting to write more frequently, but never found the time, only excuses. On the 29th of February of 2016 I came up with the personal challenge of writing a blog about Office 365, one every day, for 365 days. Right up to the end I though I might fail, and that has everything to do with self esteem. In the interview with Microsoft, I admitted my tendency to procrastinate and that on a personal development level, this was one of the best projects I could ever have taken on.

Don’t think you can only blog or speak at conferences if you’re an expert. No one person is an expert. Technology is changing way too fast for anyone to hold that title any more. I’ve always been honest about learning through the process and invited comments & corrections to my posts. I have been most surprised by HOW much I learnt the last year. And that’s why I would suggest a similar challenge to anyone out there, wanting to learn more & sharpen up their writing skills.

The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.

Many articles out there say that to achieve a big goal, you have to break it up into smaller goals that you can achieve every day. Want to write a 1200 page book over the next year? Impossible you say, well how about writing something everyday for 365 days. I did it, and so can you. After all, that’s how you eat an elephant, right?

I am not proud of every blog I wrote. Some were written on my phone in the back of an Uber, 15 minutes before ‘my’ midnight deadline. BUT I am proud to say that I did not stop trying (as I would have done in the past). I pushed through the ‘non perfect’ parts and grew and learnt every single day. And for that I will be ever grateful. I have become a better person because of this.

What now and what next?

Office 365 Challenge (01/03/2016 – 28/02/2017) – done and dusted

Overview of my challenge: As an absolute lover of all things Microsoft, I’ve decided to undertake the challenge, of writing a blog every single day, for the 365 days. Crazy, I know. And I’ll try my best, but if I cannot find something good to say about Office 365 and the Tools it includes for 365 days, I’m changing my profession. So let’s write this epic tale of “Around the Office in 365 Days”. My ode to Microsoft Office 365.

Thank goodness I didn’t have to change my profession!  I will be publishing this blog as a free PDF book soon. Will keep you posted.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (13/03/2016 – 31/12/2017)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 week blog challenge. Documenting my journey into understanding the mysterious world of UI / UX and CX. This challenge will be written on my WordPress blog and can be found here. I’ve always had a lot to say about UI / UX, but have been delaying actually learning more. I also turned 42 in February of 2017 – so I had no choice but to start this challenge 🙂

Mac Friendly Office 365 (March 2017 – ongoing)

After recently training a user Office 365 on a Mac, I realised how little I knew about the macOS and that I couldn’t help students who used Office 365 on Mac. When we’re not comfortable on the environments we work on already, we will not adopt any new technology. This blog will be dedicated to helping people on the macOS with Tips and Tricks as well as assisting them to adopt Office 365 on their favourite OS. The Mac Friendly Office 365 blogs will be written on Medium under my Mac Friendly Office 365 publication.

The Change Geek (February 2017 – ongoing)

The Change Geek Publication (also on Medium), will be focussed on opinion pieces around User Adoption, Change Management and Governance.

Thank you so much for your support, the people who inspire and teach me. Those who follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress & Medium. The feedback I get to stay on the right path. You rock, and without you, this would all mean nothing. 🙂