I’m not sure it’s really a lesson learned, more like a very big reminder of something I already knew. A very big reminder of something I already knew and should be doing but probably won’t.
I should blog more often.
That’s it. That’s the big lesson. The big reminder. It’s not anything new, I say it all of the time. I need more time to blog. I don’t have time to blog. I missed my own damn deadline (no CEs are reading this, right?)
I’m not blogging much and while I miss it, I don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about it or trying to juggle my schedule or my energy so I can do it. It’s not a big deal, nobody is reading my blog anymore anyway. And, I keep contracting great writers on BlogHer so I’m not missed there either.
Except, that damn community keynote on Friday reminded me that I actually have been known to write posts that are important.
When we were reading the zillion entries for the community keynote and I saw Y’s post about body image was one of the submissions, I cringed. I cringed because I knew I’d get all weepy if I read it again. I had a hard time writing my post about Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters. I had a hard time reading Y’s post when she published it and I was right, I had a horrible time reading it again during the selection process. And then listening to her read that post…during the keynote… ack.
That damn keynote.
Emotional subject matter with a little something else thrown in – the reminder that I really should blog more often because I do occasionally write stuff that other people appreciate reading.
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“It’s not a big deal, nobody is reading my blog anymore anyway.”
I do! Hmmm… unless I’m a nobody? You can’t think I’m a nobody, even if I’m new. I refuse to let you think that about me. 🙂
On Thursday you told me, “My blog? BORING!” and I couldn’t agree less. If the person is interesting, the blog is interesting. And you, Ms. Tanton, are interesting. You are super-intelligent. . You have a strong personality. You have lots of thoughts and ideas and opinions. You CARE about things. And you write well.
Time? It’s a matter of priorities, right? You could read less and write more. You could let more emails go unanswered and use that time to write more (yes, people do that all the time. They ignore half the stuff in their inbox and it magically goes away. Unattended issues have a way of solving themselves or disappearing). You could also tweet less and blog more. 😉
I am looking forward to reading more of your blog posts, here and on BlogHer.
“I do occasionally write stuff that other people appreciate reading.”
More than occasionally. I miss reading your frequent musings.
And as Vered said so succinctly, I refuse to let you think I’m a nobody. I read your blog every time it’s updated.
We tend to forget that we can carve out time for what is really important. We just have to sit down every now and then and purge out the stuff that isn’t important to make room for the good stuff again.
I hope the whole moving upheaval settles soon and you can do this again, for yourself, and for the rest of us not-really-nobodies that read your blog.
I’m a nobody? 🙁
Ack. Get a grip folks. Obviously people read my blog – all of you and others who don’t comment.
The post was not about who reads and who doesn’t. It wasn’t about the importance of those of you who do read or to suggest those not reading are some how more important.
This whole fixation going on about “not being a nobody” doesn’t make sense.
The post was about me and the fact that I am not blogging and that I told myself that it wasn’t a big deal and getting the reminder that it might be a big deal when I do blog.
The post was about me – not about y’all. Or about any of the thems.
It was about writing vs not writing.
(shrug)
I am shocked and amazed that someone could write a blog post that isn’t about me.
I read Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters. I read more of your writing. I had the flu a couple of months ago and spent a few days in bed. I used that time to go through the archives of bloggers I was curious about. I read you, Suzanne Reisman, Naomi Dunford and a few others. Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters was good, but you wrote other good articles in the past. There was a great post about Aids, and one about birth control pills for six graders. Another that left an impression on me was an article about healthy aging.
Yes, you used to write great articles about important stuff. You also used to write more about daily stuff and about your family, which is just as important. I recall a post where you said that when you go over your old posts, there are holes – that many events were not documented, and that it makes you sad.
What do you want us to say? We said that we read your blog because you said that no one does anymore. We are trying to help. We might be doing it in a self-centered sort of way, but people are self-centered, in case you haven’t noticed it yet.
May I ask a question? What has changed over the last few months that caused you to stop writing? Why are you so much busier now than you were a year ago? Maybe if you can understand what makes you so busy – too busy to write – you can unload some of it and make more time for writing.
ROFL, she is busy because once again I turned her life upside down. I do that and then well, I am busy. I am sick on top of it. She picks up that slack on top of dealing with everything involved in moving, in running our family, in keeping our bills paid.
Then, there is her job. It grows by the day. She lets it grow because she wants it done well. She wants the company to do what we…all of us…need for it to do.
Shrug. I am jumping in here, even though she will growl. She will even kibbitz with the whys. Mostly the why (imo) is she writes when she feels it…and doesn’t write when she feels it too much. That’s justdenise.
@ TW: You turned her life upside down because your ex turned yours. But the moving mess will soon be behind you and life will return to normal, or semi-normal.
The job issue is between Lisa and Denise, but it might be time for an assistant or something, she can’t be doing the job of 3 people. You can go ahead and tell me it’s none of my business but I’m just saying that Lisa needs to be aware that Denise is under too much work-related stress. If Denise doesn’t tell her, she won’t be aware.
Growling? I don’t mind her growling. I think it’s cute.
“She writes when she feels it…and doesn’t write when she feels it too much.” If this is true, then it’s not really a problem and I’ve been trying to solve a non-problem today. But from Denise’s post, it seemed like she wants to write and misses writing, yet can’t find the time to write.
Nah, finding time isn’t the issue as much as making the time for something it is easy to slough off.
Sort of like not going in for check ups or oil changes because while you know it is important…it may not be at the top of your list for a while…until something reminds you that it is important.
I can so relate to this post. I often told myself that it doesn’t matter if I blog, that I’m not writing anything others want to hear. I also let the negative comments about my blog dominate my thinking. It’s really hard, once you stop writing, or at least wwhen you slow down and blog less, to convince yourself that your blogging makes a difference. That’s where I was this summer, though there was also the fact that I was really feeling horrible physically and mentally/emotionally. I wasn’t at the conference, though I desparately wanted to be, but your post really resonated for me. Please know that I’m reading, and I love whatever you write. Come back to blogging when and how you are ready. I can wait, but I do hope you return soon!