Posts I saw a tweet yesterday asking how people with kids manage to get anything done.
The answer in my case – “with compromise on how I do almost everything and feeling very tired much of the time”.
This is one of the reasons I do not blog every day. Some days – most days – that is about as much as I can come up with in the insightful and/or interesting department.
There is no rule that says that this blogging space needs to be positive and interesting…except…except.. that is how I mainly want it to be.
I spend a lot of time researching most posts, providing links to follow for further information. About twice a month over the last five years I have looked back to my blog to confirm a factette or find the name of some useful tool that I wanted to use. The CoverItLive sessions that I put here have been very useful to me to follow up something that I did not have time to think about at the time of the event. I want this space to be useful in that way.
I want this space to be somewhere that I feel OK revisiting and as a record of my thoughts, much more than a record of how I am feeling or what I am doing generally. I definitely don’t want a whole bunch of posts with a light touch and positive spin that do not really reflect where my mind is at the moment – just for the sake of writing every day.
… And there is the challenge with this #blogjune exercise. I cannot daily write the types of posts that I usually like to write. It takes more time than I have. I feel like I am diluting my usual blogging style and my blog. If I am spending my time feeling tired and like I am pulled in one thousand directions, I don’t really want to write about it here. I already KNOW that this is how it feels for me much of the time. I am sure that most other people do too. Some days though – most days – that’s all I’ve got.
Post number 7 in #blogjune
After this challenge is finished (and is it a little sad that I’m already thinking about what happens afterwards?), I’d like to change it for me so that instead publishing a blog post every day, I do some blogging every day – or thereabouts. This includes reading, drafting, researching, editing as well as publishing. It would be different for you, because I’d think you were already doing. #blogjune is helpful for me because it’s kick-starting my blogging practise – because I certainly wasn’t doing any of these things frequently beforehand. For me it’s been like those creative writing exercises where you have to make yourself write continually for 15 minutes. I’m the last person ever to give advice about frequent blogging or blogging dilution, but have you thought about making a new anonymous blog which could be a place for posts or ideas you don’t think belong here?
Truth be told, I prefer your shorter, lighter posts. I love your insights into librarianship, but love to hear a little bit about you.
I really enjoy your thoughtful, well-researched posts, but I also think the lighter, off the cuff pieces have just as much merit. People who blog do so for different reasons- many find it a means to explore their creativity, others to record their daily thoughts and others for escape. The 30 days IS a challenge, but it is finite
Hi Morgan. I tend to blog when I feel like I have something to say, rather than planning or researching. I thought about having an “overflow” blog – to the extent of registering some domain names that would be useful… but I don’t think I want to splinter off any more identities. I tweet daily from three accounts – as sirexkat (non-public personal professional), libsmatter (the face of this blog) and infoventurer (as Curtin lecturer). This is practical, but sometimes tiresome, and I think that it would make me feel more disconnected and like it was a chore…
Jenny – thanks
It is nice to know that you enjoy those kinds of posts. I suspect that they are kind of enjoyable because they provide some light relief…
Stephanie. I think you are right, and I think that the nature of being part of the #blogjune challenge is that many posts are off the cuff and not thought out. I guess I don’t feel comfortable not having something to say – and then saying it.
I hear you loud and clear, Kathryn, and I think it was probably my tweet that sparked this post. The thing to remember, though, is ‘all you’ve got’ might be a little gem for someone. Having said that, the reason I’m behind on #blogjune is because I’ve not had a lot to say other than “I’m marking”, “I’m tired”, “I need more sleep”, “I’m overwhelmed” or “woe is me!”. This is an *awful* time of year for a month-long anything challenge, when you’re an academic!
The reason I’m such a crap blogger is I, like you, spend a lot of time writing every post. They tend to sit in draft for a while, get edited and rewritten, and fairly extensively researched. That’s not doable on a daily basis. Hell, a lot of time it’s not doable on a monthly basis! So let’s cut ourselves some slack, blog a bit of guff, and be okay with it!