I’ve been trying to write a blog for many years. I published my first post back in 2017. By now, I wish I could say I’m a good writer with hundreds of posts behind me. But the reality is different. In this article, I’ll share the mistake I kept repeating — and what I wish I had done differently if I could turn back time. Press enter or click to view image in full size  My first blog. Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20170710170315/http://marcin-kwiatkowski.com/](https://web.archive.org/web/20170710170315/http://marcin-kwiatkowski.com/) ## TL;DR Programmers who want to be writers should focus on writing, not on endlessly rebuilding their blog platforms. If I could turn back time, I’d stop chasing the perfect blog setup and just write. Reinventing the wheel was a great excuse to avoid the hard part: writing. ## My first steps into the trap My first blog was a WordPress site written in Polish — a solid choice to get started. The quality of my content wasn’t great, but I enjoyed it. I felt like I was making progress, and each new post was a little better than the last. ## Chasing performance, losing Purpose A few years later, I worked on a project using React and Next.js — and I was impressed. I thought, _why not build my blog with it and fully customize the experience?_ What could go wrong? I spent weeks crafting my shiny new blog platform. Then more weeks importing posts from WordPress. I even chose Storyblok as a headless CMS. It was a big re-platforming effort, and during that time, I wasn’t writing anything new. I believed that a Next.js blog would be blazing fast and score perfectly in PageSpeed Insights. And it did. But now I know: the most important part of a blog is the content — not whether it gets a score of 100 or 45. Honestly, I never even finished implementing all the features I had planned. After a few months, I realized it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Writing on WordPress was easier. Press enter or click to view image in full size  Blog on NextJS (unfortunatelly CSS doesn’t work in the archive so it looks ugly. Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20210602071506/https://marcin-kwiatkowski.com/](https://web.archive.org/web/20210602071506/https://marcin-kwiatkowski.com/) ## Wordpress again After failing with my custom setup, I decided to go back to WordPress — which meant more weeks spent on yet another migration. This time, I also set up a multilingual platform. I thought I could write in both Polish and English at the same time. It kind of worked. But I quickly realized it wasn’t as easy as I had imagined. Instead of focusing on writing good content, I was spending my energy on translating. (Later, I started using AI for that — but that’s another story.) I should have resisted the hype and shiny new tech — but I didn’t. Every new tool fascinated me, and I kept running away from what truly mattered: improving my writing and actually writing. Instead, I jumped from one technology to another like a man possessed. Press enter or click to view image in full size  New Wordpress blog (also CSS is broken in archive). Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20230606020832/https://marcinkwiatkowski.com/](https://web.archive.org/web/20230606020832/https://marcinkwiatkowski.com/) ## Go away from WordPress again and migrate to Astro Then I met astro.build and I was fascinated. I thought that a static website with Markdown as an engine for content is a good idea (and of course it is). I migrated to Astro. I spent a lot of time because this time I thought that I needed to use this re-platforming opportunity to create a beautiful blog. It was kinda beautiful. Press enter or click to view image in full size  Blog migrated to astro. Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20241005174031/http://marcinkwiatkowski.com/](https://web.archive.org/web/20241005174031/http://marcinkwiatkowski.com/) I was really satisfied with this implementation. I wrote more about this here: [https://medium.com/gitconnected/how-and-why-i-moved-my-blog-from-wordpress-to-astro-and-markdown-3549672d5a86](https://medium.com/gitconnected/how-and-why-i-moved-my-blog-from-wordpress-to-astro-and-markdown-3549672d5a86) Writing in Markdown is perfect. I also started using Obsidian. I could focus more on writing. Anyway, I still used a lot of my time on improving the blog platform, refactoring, adding new features, optimizing, etc. Press enter or click to view image in full size  ## The AHA moment In February, after a 10-year break from engineering studies, I started my master’s degree. During one of the first lectures, something the lecturer said made something click in my head. It was a Saturday, already late — around 6 p.m. We were sitting in a small classroom, everyone visibly tired. The kind of moment where you’d expect nothing meaningful to happen. And yet, that’s exactly when it did. The lecturer was an older professor with a sharp sense of humor. His shirt peeked out from under a worn sweater, and his piercing gaze made you pay attention. There was something about him — calm, thoughtful, quietly commanding. What truly stayed with me was something he said during that lecture. He spoke slowly and clearly about what awaits every student: the master’s thesis. He said something like this (I’m paraphrasing): > _If your master’s thesis is truly good, you can write it by hand with a pen — and your supervisor will copy it himself, because he’ll know it’s worth the effort._ > _But if your work is weak, even if it looks beautiful and polished, no one will care._ This is a very interesting point of view. It may be obvious, but it made me reflect on how I approach writing. I thought, do I really want to be a writer, or am I just pretending? ## Facing the truth about my writing It was hard to face the truth: I hadn’t been focusing on the right thing. At one point, I even asked myself — _maybe writing isn’t for me? Maybe I’m just pretending?_ Still, I gave myself another chance. So… what did I do? Replatformed again. 😅 This time, I ditched the beautiful Astro website and went back to basics. I stuck with Markdown and write in Obsidian. Now, Obsidian is my writing engine. My website is plain — some might even call it ugly. But I don’t care. I’m finally focusing on what matters: **writing**. Press enter or click to view image in full size  My new ugly website. Source: [https://frodigo.com/Garage](https://frodigo.com/Garage) So now I’m writing — and I’ve made a deal with myself: no replatforming for the next year. Just writing. Can I stick to it? We’ll see. --- *Published: 04/05/2025* #blog #writing #BloggingTools #SoftwareEngineering #Productivity #PersonalGrowth