I have let 44 days expire without writing a post and I can offer up a host of excuses of why I was too busy to make it happen (strep throat, the holidays, a 2 week travel stint, paid work, etc.). However, I’d be lying to you (and myself) if I said that busy-ness was why I hadn’t written a post in all this time.
Starting a blog costs almost nothing. There are countless free and easy services which enable the masses to share their unfiltered thoughts with the world. Decide to write a blog about tacos and the first post can be on Tumblr within minutes. Of course, it’s not hard to write that first post while your blog is new and the sky’s the limit. The next few posts will come easy enough as well.
It won’t take too long, however, before the initial creative burst wears off and writing entries begins to feel something like a job — the kind where you’re almost certainly not going to get paid. Soon, it’s been two weeks without an entry and writing the next post feels like an epic task. The internet is littered with abandoned blogs whose authors never got up the motivation to write that next post.
I’ve heard slumping baseball players talk about how each unsuccessful at-bat leads them to press that much harder for their next hit. Whenever their next hit finally comes, the pressure lifts and they’re right back to business as usual. I’m hoping this post can be the “ground ball with eyes” that breaks me out of my current 0-for-44 slump. By next week, It’ll be business as usual.
I’ll grant you that this post must seem a little dramatic for a tiny blog with an even tinier audience (hi, mom). If you’ve read this far, it’s my sincere hope that you’ll take a moment to consider how much time and effort your favorite bloggers have given you — and how little they’ve asked for in return. If you don’t have any favorite bloggers, I’ve offered some suggestions under the rss section of my sidebar.
See you tomorrow.