I posted this on my Google+ account and on Twitter earlier today:
You know you’ve been blogging too long when a family member asks for parenting advice and you write a 10 Point Answer, start brainstorming catchy titles and considering adding images and further reading.
The responses I got were pretty funny from others who had had similar experiences, so I thought it might be a fun one to open up here on the blog.
What have you found yourself doing that makes you think that perhaps you’ve been blogging a little too long?
Here’s a few more from my own experience:
You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you have to pause a conversation with a friend to take notes for a blog post idea.
You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you wake up your wife at 3am to tell her that you worked out a way to double your AdSense income.
You Know You’ve been blogging too long when… you are overheard sleep talking about Brian Clark and Chris Brogan.
Over to you… when did you know you’ve been blogging too long?
You make a game out of optimizing the titles of cable listings with mental keyword research.
…you add meta tags and descriptions in notes to your child’s teacher.
…you fret about the layout of your regular old emails.
…you constantly check your blog from your phone to see if it is properly optimized for mobile.
HA to that first one!
When you hyperlink every 4th word in your emails…
… when your 2.5 y/o says “Mumma get camera, take a photo, I’m being cute, blog it”… true story.
when every time you eat, the other people who see you say ‘aren’t you going to take a picture’? Food blogging? Yes, but not 3 times a day especially just munching my Weetabix or slurping a tea!
When your mother in law says “I mailed you a package. It’ll probably make the blog!”
That’s funny Darren. When I reply to email from my family and I do it in a way that is similar to how I respond to comments on my blog. I am responding to their email like they are a blog reader if that makes any sense.
Some one sends you a link in reply to a question and it turns out to be a blog post you wrote yourself (True story!)
…. when you’re always thinking about what to write on your blog
…. when you need to stop in the middle of the street to write down a new idea for an article just because you saw a bird flying around
…. when you analyze everything and propose something to improve it, make it easier to read or even help others opt-in a form
….when you’re always thinking in how to improve someone else website
You delay painting rooms in your house until you can A/B test the potential themes, then announce that you’re “reskinning the dining room.”
When every thing you purchase is somehow a blogging tool, including a car!
I don’t have these symptoms yet.. maybe it will start in a few years.. LoL..
You know you’ve been blogging “badly” too long when you say “click here” :-)
…when, for every new hobby you enjoy, you wonder if it could turn into a profitable blog.
…when anytime someone in your family buys something, you quickly search to see if the product has an affiliate program.
When you can’t cook a nice meal without taking pictures of the step by step process. Even though I don’t have a cooking blog, I may ‘need to post on a recipe sometime’ and then I will be prepared.
… when everything I do, be it shopping or cleaning my house, ends up with me trying to figure out how to tie it into an upcoming blog post.
If the story can’t be told in 400 words, or less, I just assume it isn’t worth telling
I had to laugh at the comments above, they all hit home. Along the same lines as what Preston said above, you come across a new product, or idea or hobby and you automatically start searching for exact match domain names.
I occasionally notice myself thinking in keyword phrases rather than entire thoughts.
Never saw any of symptoms above as I just started my blog two months ago.
When I spend the day reading other blogs because it is fun to see what others are doing
GrazingKate got my first one. Others …
… you don’t go to your favorite restaurant on date night because you’ve already reviewed it.
… you’re 600 words into writing a post when you realize you don’t know which site it’s for.
… you start practicing your elevator pitch on unsuspecting friends.
… you’ve cleared the junk out of your feed reader three times and you still get sevel article ideas a day.
…when your butt goes flat.
…when you can no longer feel your legs.
…when you are rushed to the hospital with deep-vein thrombosis.
Geesh! Take a break at least once per hour. Stand-up. Move around. Get your blood moving so your brain stays clear and focused.
…….when people greet you with the phrase, “how’s the blog” or something similar! (seriously, I have friends who actually greet me with “how’s the magazine” because it’s all I seem to talk about!)
when… you tell your friends you had a great weekend and they say “oh, were you working on your blog?”.
when… you voluntarily get up at 5am to comment on blogs (ahem) so you can work without distractions later in the day.
You know you’ve been blogging to long when you can turn a tweet into an epic post.
It is very worth to use. its really so funny.thanks!
…when 50% of the apps and software you install in your PC/Smartphone/Tablet is related to monetizing, socializing, monitoring or improving your blog
When your friends tell you you should write/blog about everything that sounds clever or funny, even if it has nothing to do with your topic.
Also, when you’re commenting on a Problogger post at 1:22am. :P Good nite!
when you work in your underwear 90% of the time and haven’t shaved in 5 days…
I love the quotes featured in the article – Great Stuff! Also enjoyed reading through all the comment made by others as well. Thanks for a great read.
… when you start to search a domain name for your future son or daughter
Dzulhelmee wins the internet for today.
My answer is completely goes the opposite to you. I’m a beginner blogger, so I really want to Improve my blog and obviously I know that takes time and therefore, I’m really want to expand the time of my blog and achieve more what I want.
…when you start giving unsolicited advice and/or instructions, and all the while think about putting them in short, easy-to-read paragraphs.
…when you show your appreciation for someone’s thoughts by saying “wow that makes for a blog post!”
and can i add they back at you funny at this point…
You know you’ve been blogging too long when:
1. You have friends commonly referrred to by your husband and kids as mom’s ‘blogging friends.’
2. When you’re driving and every other billboard has something that kicks off an idea for a blog post! Totally true story, it’s dangerous to drive over the Walt Whitmas bridge w/me unless someone else is driving because I keep finding blog ideas I ‘HAVE TO WRITE DOWN’ when I’m uh….supposed to be driving.
3. When you evaluate a product based on how you can use it while you’re blogging. re: Fighting Deskchair Tushitis or Truck Driver’s Tush It’s sad! I can’t even enjoy catalogs anymore!
i am afraid i may too catch it up soon…coz recently whenever i hear any one talking i assume it could be the topic of my next discussion.. i kinda ghet inspired from anything and everything :(
…when your Google Chrome Toolbar is filled with Blogging/Social Tools and not websites…
I can relate and I have actually caught myself doing some of those very things for myself.
… when you keep a notepad next to the bed, just in case something that pops up in a dream is worth writing a blogpost about.
& another
…when your social calendar mostly consists of events that would make good material for posts… unfortunately very true in my case!
… when you notice that ‘blogging help’ books are taking over your book shelves,
… when you ignore the best sellers in the book shop and go straight to the blogging section,
… when you spend all your birthday book tokens on… guess what… yep! I did!
When your husband asks “Can that blog cook dinner too?”
…when have been working all weekend on my post and my 6 yo kid actually think I’m studying for school.
Whenever anything fun happens and your friends say “That HAS to go on the quote blog!”
*When you take your iPad everywhere to snap pictures for future blog ideas
*When you use bullet points for your grocery list
*When you write your do do list with hyperlinks.
*When you realize your posterior has gone numb. ;-)
When your mom starts a blog so you’ll have something to talk about
..when you look ate everything that happens to you as a potential blog post. (I know this is similar to yours, but I could not resist, because it drives my family nuts)
I have the “everything is a blog” post issue, too. Whether it’s a Madonna concert or pumping gas (ever see those TV monitors above the pump?) — and everything in between — it’s all great fodder for a post. I sometimes resist writing about a topic, reminding myself, “Not EVERYTHING needs to be a blog post.”
fantastic!
You know you have been blogging too long when conversations with your spouse have to be scheduled AROUND blog posts!