Do You Blog To Live, or Live To Blog?
It’s 1:30am, and in less than an hour, my wife and I will be getting in the car to drive for 7 hours to Adelaide. I had planned it to be a surprise for our second wedding anniversary last week, but at short notice, we had a visitor from Spain staying with us all last week.
As a result of our travels, I have no idea whether I’ll be able to post or not until I return. As I thought about this, and all the posts I read about planning ahead, having posts in reserve, etc, etc, I began to have the idea that there are quite a few bloggers that are probably more serious about blogging than their blog really deserves.
What do I mean?
Well, quite frankly, I think some bloggers must spend too much time blogging. What’s interesting though, only a tiny percentage of such bloggers are really getting paid for the effort.
I’ve read numerous posts about blogging and writting, and the key to productivity. They generally tell us to stay away from checking our emails, feeds, and just start writing first thing in the morning. However, for me, this is the worst thing I could do. If I start blogging in the morning, I’ll never get anything else done. My articles will take forever to write because I think I have heaps of time. The result? A guilt trip, and maybe a dash of panicking to try and get my non-blogging work done (which is far more important to me).
What do I do?
I try to leave blogging as the last thing I do in the evening. Now maybe this works for me because my mind ticks effectively in the evening, but it also works well because I have to stay focused in order to get the article completed before bed-time.
Is blogging your hobby or a job?
The reason I ask is, I want you to evaluate your time, to see what the reality reflects. If your earnings from blogging are part-time ($0-500/month or so), are the hours you spend blogging part-time as well?
Is anything suffering?
Be honest with yourself, as this could be quite serious for some people. Your zealous desire to churn out at least one good article everyday, could be having an adverse effect upon other areas of your life, and
i) you haven’t realised it yet,
ii) you haven’t faced up to it, but you know it to be the case. It could be your work, or (God forbid) your relationship with your spouse and/or children!
My point?
Get real! I have no idea what will come from my blogging. If it leads to success, and an income, so be it. However, I fear most will not face up to the fact that for many, blogging is a passing phase. Imagine your only memory of blogging was that it resulted in you losing your job, or worse, your family. Don’t let it happen people. Live life, and blog when you can (unless of course it is your job). If it’s hindering more important areas of your life, give it the chop — Are a few extra dollars really worth it?
Now I’m off to spend some quality time with my wife for a few days, I’ll see you all on Saturday.
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[…] at iFFECT.NET is one of my favorite blogs of his ilk. Today’s post Do You Blog To Live, or Live To Blog?is a must read for blogging addicts like me. I enjoy his insights into blogging, and the links he […]
For the most part, you should blog because YOU enjoy it, not because you saw someone else make money and think you can copy that.
I meant YOU as a generalization, not you, the author!
Well, in my particular case, I blog because I like it. I love music and I started my blog to share this love with everyone.
Best wishes,
Jon