Blog Rhythm

A private dashboard widget that shows your own writing rhythm, at a pace you choose.

Description

Blog Rhythm is for people who want to write more often without turning it into a contest. You pick a pace that suits you, and a small widget on your dashboard shows when you've shown up.

Showing up can mean publishing a post, working on a draft, or jotting down an idea or outline. You choose what counts. Going over your pace is never treated any differently from meeting it, and quiet stretches are just quiet.

What you get:

• A dashboard widget with a calendar of dots, a week-by-week stack, or month blocks.
• A pace that fits your life: most days, every week, every month, or no target at all.
• An "I showed up today" button for the times you wrote somewhere else.
• A rest mode for when you need a break, with no pressure to come back.
• Optional gentle reminders by email or as a quiet note in the widget.
• A settings page under Posts, with a live preview of your widget.

Everything is private and per person. Each writer sees only their own rhythm, built from their own posts. Nothing is shared, nothing is public, and nothing leaves your site. Blog Rhythm makes no requests to outside services.

Blog Rhythm is a quiet mirror, not a coach.

Installation

1. Upload the blog-rhythm folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install the plugin from the Plugins screen.
2. Activate Blog Rhythm.
3. Open your dashboard and find the Blog Rhythm widget. Choose "Choose your pace" to open the settings page, or find it later under Posts, then Blog Rhythm.

Anyone who can write posts gets their own widget. Each person sets their own pace.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can see my rhythm?

Only you. Blog Rhythm has no admin screen that shows other people's rhythm, and nothing is shown on your public site. The data lives in your user account. Like any plugin that stores data for a user, it's included if a site administrator runs WordPress's personal data export or eraser for your account.

What counts as showing up?

You decide. By default, publishing a post, saving a draft, and logging an idea or outline all count. You can also count updating an older post if you like. Only posts you wrote yourself count, and trashed posts are ignored.

Does going over my pace matter?

No. A day with any activity is a day you showed up, whether you wrote once or ten times.

Can I take a break?

Yes. Turn on rest mode on the settings page and set a date to come back, or leave it open. While you're resting, there are no reminders and nothing to measure.

How do reminders work?

Reminders are optional and off by default. You pick the day and time, and Blog Rhythm sends you a short email, shows a quiet note in your widget, or both. Each email has a link that turns reminders off.

Email reminders need your site to be able to send email. If other emails from your site don't arrive, these won't either. Reminder times are approximate, because they run on WordPress's scheduled tasks and follow your site's time zone.

Does it work on multisite?

Yes. On a multisite network, your Blog Rhythm settings follow your account across sites, while your rhythm comes from each site's own posts.

Can I clear my history?

Yes. The settings page has a button that clears your history, so your rhythm starts fresh from today. Your posts aren't touched.

What happens if I uninstall it?

Deleting the plugin removes your settings, your log, and the reminder schedule. Your posts stay exactly as they are.

Changelog

1.0.0

• See your own writing rhythm on the dashboard: a calendar of dots, a week-by-week stack, or month blocks, matched to the pace you choose.
• Set a pace that suits you (most days, every week, every month, or no target at all) and change it any time without losing anything.
• Choose what counts as showing up: publishing, working on a draft, ideas and outlines you log yourself, and, if you like, updating an older post.
• Log an idea or outline with "I showed up today", and undo it the same day.
• Rest for a while, with an optional return date. Targets and reminders step aside, and past days stay as they were.
• Turn on gentle email reminders, or a quiet note in the widget, on the days and time you pick. Every email has a one-click way to turn them off.
• Export your data as JSON, or clear your history, from the settings page. WordPress's personal data export and erase tools work too.

Upgrade Notice

1.0.0

First release.