Hi Everyone! 
I hope your weekend is off to a good start. I am looking forward to a fabulous and beautiful weekend 🙂
I have been thinking a lot about my blog recently. Why I blog, the challenges I face, what I hope to gain from blogging, how I hope to inspire people with my blog, and a whole host of other questions. Last weeks post, Evaluating Goals: Why Do I Blog? Opened a flood gate of ideas on the subject of blogging for me.
The Honeymoon is over. ( Not that this is a bad thing,)
New projects, especially when started around the new year, get me excited. I was nervous about trying my hand at blogging but ready to jump in and give a shot. A whole new area of my life was opening up and I couldn’t wait to see how being a blogger would affect my life. As the months have gone by I have continued to enjoy my blog but I have already had some ups and downs with my desire to keep the blog going. Yes, the honeymoon is over and now I am facing the reality of committing myself to blogging on a regular basis. The reality isn’t bad, but it is reality none the less. If I want to keep blogging, it is a commitment. Commitments take time and energy.
Fantasy Verses Reality
I imagine that most bloggers have similar fantasies of happily blogging away while thousands of people read their post marveling at their wit and brilliant insights. My fantasy writing persona is a combination of Jessica Fletcher ( from Murder,She Wrote) and Carrie Bradshaw ( from Sex in the City). An odd combination, I know. 🙂 Of course, as bloggers we all know the reality, but the fantasy is still there. I knew going into blogging that developing my own blogging style would take a while and followers would find me slowly over time. Developing a signature look for my blog would take even longer, possibly a couple of years since I haven’t quite settled on the look and feel I am going for on the site. I also knew promoting products,e-books, and all the things I see successful bloggers taking part in would be years off for me. I know thousands of new bloggers join the blogging community every day and we are all hoping to get noticed. Even so, I have to admit that developing an online presence and reaching out to a potential audience is much more difficult than I thought. I forget to add fresh content to my Facebook page and I am not a Tweeter by nature. Sometimes I get impatient to see greater results.
Something’s Gotta Give
I have been both blessed a cursed with the desire to learn and try new things in life along with many interests and passions.They all hold a special place in my life.Sometimes forget that if I bring something into my already busy schedule something else is going to have to be cut back or even cut out of my life. I wasn’t quite prepared for the amount of time blogging was going to take out of my day. Evidently, I am somewhat of a slow thinker and writer. This week I realized that I was falling behind on several commitments, not giving 100% to others, and I had some major things to get taken care of before the 1st week of May, both for work and for an organization to which I belong. I could feel the wall caving in on me.
The Decision To Keep On Blogging
Why on earth would I want to commit to several hours of blogging a week with so much on my plate? Because it is a part of who I am at this point in my life. It has a meaning that touches my soul. Yes, I am going to have to re-think some of my priorities, hunker down and get some serious work done, and accept the fact that if I have five activities I love in my life, none of them are going to get as much attention as if I was focused on one activity I love. I am going to have accept this fact without guilt in order to be true to myself. I am going to keep on blogging and treat it as a 2nd career. A career that doesn’t pay at the moment, but a career never the less. That means I am committing myself to blogging on a regular basis, keeping involved in my blogging community, and continuing to learn and grow as a blogger.
Over the next couple of weeks I will share my thoughts specifically about blogging and my journey as a blogger. I hope to share my thoughts once a week. If you are a fellow blogger I would love feedback, as well as you thoughts and experiences on your blogging journey. If you are not a blogger I would still like to hear from you. Each of us sets goals for ourselves and we all have to deal with the reality of our choices after the euphoria of our initial first steps wears off.
The decision to become a blogger has been a great adventure, one that I love and has brought lots of joy into my life. I hope that by sharing my blogging journey I can not only keep my own momentum going but inspire all of you to keep perusing your dreams as well. 🙂
Until next time,
Laura
The Next 50 Years 
Phew, there was a second there in the middle of your “something’s gotta give” part, I got really worried you were going to say you were going to cut out the blogging. Thankfully a couple sentences later, I could start relaxing again! I’m so glad you have decided that your blog is NOT one of the things to go “out-the-door”! I always look forward to reading your posts, you are on my “prioritized” read list. And I for one would get sad if you decided to stop. (No pressure… 🙂 )
I get what you mean though, in no shape or form do I post, well written posts like you! But I to, find it hard to prioritize the blog in between work and everything else going on.
I myself have just recently decided I need to set away dedicated time, so I can get some of the “zillion” posts I want to write, that is still in my head, down on “paper” 🙂
As I said, I’m glad your staying with it, and should you ever need a “nudge”, give me a shout! 😉
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Lol! Yep, I am keeping with it. I didn’t mean to give you a scare:)
Thanks, as always, for the kind words. I always look forward to your blog as well. Yours is one of my favorite must reads too!
It is hard for all of us who try to juggle our lives and work along with blogging. We need to support each other, for sure! Let me know if you ever need a nudge as well.
Good luck with your schedule and I can’t wait to read the ideas you are going to be working on over the next couple of months 🙂
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Firstly I want to say, I’m glad you’ve decided to keep blogging! : ) It’s such a great community and there’s so much value in sharing with others, and your posts are well written and thoughtful, so people will appreciate reading them.
As a fellow blogger who has been writing for just over a year, I would like to share my experience. As you said, it takes time to find your style and the more you write the easier it will be to find it! I learn so much every day and when I look back at my first posts I can see how far I’ve come as a writer! I’m sure you will find that true for you.
The other thing I would say is just be consistent with how often you write. This advice was given to me and I think it’s really important. You don’t need to write every day, you just need to consistent. So if you only write once a week, but you do that regularly every week, that’s better than 5 posts one week and then nothing for the rest of the month. It’s also much better to write something that other people want to read, rather than publishing anything just to have posted something new. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t enjoy blog posts that tell me that the writer has been too busy to actually write anything! Especially not repeat posts like this!
I also take a long time to write so I can relate to your dilemma. I used to write 3 times a week but now I’ve decided to write two posts a week to free up my time for other things. So far it’s working. It may change in the future. I’d love to be able to write every day, but I know that I wouldn’t write well if I did that. Obviously other bloggers can, but we are all different. My blog posts are often quite long, and I’m not sure my readers would want 5 long posts either! Do what feels best for you.
Good luck, and I look forward to seeing how your blog develops and blossoms! Lindsay x
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Thanks so much for the positive feedback, kind words, and advice! Hearing some your experiences is very helpful. 🙂
I was just thinking about be consistent with my writing so your advice comes at a very good time. I did commit to posting every Monday and Thursday morning but the past few weeks I have been experimenting with posting on the weekend. It may be too much so I will have to be careful. Like you, I do not like hearing from bloggers that they have been to busy to write.
I enjoy your blog very much and always look forward to reading it.
Thanks again!
Laura
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