Via ProBlogger, I saw this great post written by Nate Whitehill about "The Pressures of Blogging Consistently." The one I especially related to was "Catering to a larger audience." Back in Skinny Jeans has grown quite a bit in the 19 months I have been writing here, and it's been both thrilling and nutzoid. Too bad I've given up shots of Jagermeister.
I'd have to say that from a personal growth perspective, blogging is helping me get over my perfectionist ways. You cannot be a present, active, and consistent blogger and be a perfectionist at the same time. Not possible. Comments alone will either break you or strengthen you because perfectionists cannot stand any criticism even if it is good for them, nor can they stand not having everyone liking them. I stopped catering to what I thought would make everyone happy because frankly it makes you boring. Sometimes you just have to put a stake in the ground, and polarize people. Although, in many ways, I have yet to really put my ass out there and say what I really feel about some things ala dooce. I'm working on the courage for that one. Perhaps, I should start downing purple hooters again. Ain't nothing like liquid courage.
One outcome of all this pressure to post on a regular basis is blog burn out especially when you write more than one post a day 5 days a week. In my 19 months, I have written 932 posts (including this one), 5 days a week consistently. That averages out to 49 posts a month or 2.45 posts a day. In 2007, I have been doing 3 posts a day even during my brief stint at Microsoft...Yeah, that's a whole lotta blogging about beauty, models, celebrities, and getting rid of that muffin top. No wonder I've been feeling a Mariah Carey coming on.
Honestly, I've been feeling some, no, actually, lots o' blog burn out lately. I've been feeling tired and stale kind of like John Travolta before Pulp Fiction. There are many, especially those who don't blog who think that blogging is easy work. To one naysayer, I gave him this metaphor. Blogging consistently 5 days a week year after year is like going to the gym 5 days a week year after year. It takes a great deal of dedication, commitment, and discipline to stay at that level over time. Yeah, anyone can go to the gym to workout 5 days a week for a short period of time especially if they are trying to lose weight for a wedding or summer vacation, but how many people do you know are committed to exercise at the 5 day a week level for long stretches of time. Pro athletes do it. Trainers do it. Most Pro level bloggers show up to the game at least 5 days a week.
Sunday night we're blogging for Monday morning launch. Not only do we worry about writing, there's monetizing, and traffic stats. We gotta eat and pay the rent. Then there's dealing with those looks of puzzlement and "crazy" when you try to explain to people what you do. Some folks think that people who spend hours on end on the computer are only looking at porn or eBay deals, which let's be honest, is partly true.
Everyday there is a deadline for tomorrow. If you don't post, the blog starts to get stenchy like that pile of rancid gym clothes you need to throw into the wash. Yeah, I'm the boss of my own blog, and can make up my own deadlines, but A-listers get to the top because they work hard and stay consistent. No one at the top of their field just landed there although it doesn't stop us from wishing we could. They worked harder, took more risks, had more dedication, and more faith than everyone else competing with them. Pros also knew when it was time to take a break, a healthy break, not the fake kind of break that Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan took going to rehab. Pleez, those bitches went to rehab for publicity not for actual healing. If you work tooooo much, you can burn out, or hurt yourself, and that sure ain't no fun.
So folks, I am going to take the rest of this week off before I get thrown into a padded cell with some daily injections of knock-out juice. Actually, that's sounding kinda nice about now. No blogging for me until next week of course unless something major like Brangelina is knocked up again, or Oprah decides to have a casting call for future Oprah.com bloggers. I'd surely put down my Mojito and spa date for that opportunity. In the mean time, enjoy "Give me some food." (thanks to mikkie) Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
