A couple of weeks ago I took a different approach to blogging.
I did less of it.
Every now and again I find myself running low on energy, creative ideas and the ability to form coherent sentences.
If I was a car you’d book me in for a service, change my oil, tune the engine, balance my wheel alignment and adjust my brakes.
Unfortunately getting a ‘service’ as a blogger is not quite that easy.
The pressure of writing well thought out, original and creative ideas day after day mounts up and one day you find yourself staring blankly at your computer screen wondering where your next post will come from?
Most bloggers have reached this point at one time or another – for me it’s a periodic thing and often is accompanied by getting sick a day or so before or after the dreaded bloggers block hits.
So what did I do?
- Blog Break – fortunately for me I had a number of fully (and partly) written posts that I’d already been working on for my main blogs and was able to pull them out, polish them up and publish them. This enabled the blogs to keep rolling on while I got my act together. Here at ProBlogger I decreased my posting frequency and kept my blogging contained to an hour a day. My other blogs I took a complete break from for the week.
- Life – I declared (to V and myself) that the week would be ‘get a life’ week. This meant that I blogged less and ‘lived’ more. Unfortunately as I was unwell this involved a couple of days in bed with the flu. I spent quite a bit of time reading novels but later in the week spent two days in the garden getting our vegetable patch in order. I also did quite a bit of photography (purely for enjoyment and not for the blog), spent a lot of time with young Xavier (he’s 15 weeks old today – time flies) and did some exercise.
It is amazing what a lighter week of blogging can do for your perspective. Without them I’d never be able to sustain myself.
Time to have a ‘Get a Life Week’?
It’s a funny thing about blogging…the weight of clock hangs heavy. It starts ticking as soon as you hit publish and gets louder each hour that no new post appears. Starts to appear as a visible lump for me after about 36 hours.
I’ve learned to be able to just “let go” at this point and know that live will continue even if a couple readers are disappointed.
That dreaded time stamp on the posts, it’s a curse sometimes.
If blogging is one’s job, then it stands to reason that just like any other job a person can get burned out and end up just going through the motions.
I had a similar experience with my blog, which even though I just started I realized quite quickly that trying to have an original post a day was way to much to expect of myself considering I already had a full time job and new family to take care of. I got burned out real quickly and decided that posting 3 times a week was a more realistic expectation and I haven’t gotten burned out nor do I feel like I’m going to. Plus my ideas for original content have gotten better and I find myself following through more.
I think the entire internet community could benefit from a “Get A Life” Week.
Seasonal depression?
I have just started blogging so meltdown is not there yet, but once you have 2 kids then blogging for me is a privilege I’m grateful having.
I can’t write at home because by the time i get to the computer it’s 1 am.
So I write on the commute, or like now at work.
Btw, Thank you for your blog
Abba-Daddy
Let me make a radical suggestion:
Get a life life.
That is, work less, enjoy more. Very few people die wishing they had spent less time with family and friends.
Another answer to the problem is to become a sea-changer – there’s nothing quite like a walk on the beach to clear your head and help you get back into work each day.
And with broadband access available just about everywhere on the coast these days you don’t have to be confined to the city anymore mate :)
I totally agree Darren. Providing dating advice on my blog on a regular basis day after day, certainly drains me.
The only thing that helps, as you noted above, is living life. It refreshes your brain, your imagination, your creativity and defintely helps my dating life.
Keep it up mate.
Whoah! Get a life week would mean a lot of withdrawal bouts for me. I can’t seem to get my face off in front of the PC anymore. :-)
Very nice attitude Darren.
I think people should do it more, just like you did. I am not doing it right now, because i am 24 y old, live with my parents, and have a relatively ‘easy’ life, i blog at home, and stay on the computer some 14 hours per day….
But i “don’t have a life” yet cause i want to dedicate myself really bad into blogging and making money, so that in the future when wife and kids come, i enjoy my life with them…..
I always think that people are more important than things and money….. and it will always be that way….
I’m glad you wrote this post as I’ve been feeling the need to get a life lately. I pretty much spent all summer putting together about 12 blogs and am mentally exhausted even though I take weekends off. Hmm.. perhaps I too will take a blogging break this week…and get a life. Awesome post as always!
I have just started blogger, I mean I have litereally just started today.
What I love about my new bradband connection and my PC. Is I know I can just turn on the PC, and have plenty to do, never board, connected to the universe if you will. Whether I’m googleing, blogger, or gaming, I can escape for an hour, a day..or a week, no complaints from me!
Thanks for the post. I have doing it for 7 months continously. I just missed 2 days until now in the last 7 months.