Showing posts with label STYLE Savvy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STYLE Savvy. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Peeking Behind the Blogging Curtain

rawpixel via Pixabay
On Wednesdays, I blog in two places -- here and at Organizing by STYLE -- as well as posting a "STYLE Savvy" post at CatholicMom.com. While deadlines at CatholicMom.com protect me from my procrastination and tendency to overcommit, most Wednesdays I find myself scrambling to create content for both of my other blogs. I mumble and grumble and struggle to find topics, wondering whose great idea this was anyway.

Mine.

I've analyzed my blogging schedule on numerous occasions and I always end up in the same place. Though I don't like the frustration that arises from my last minute-itis, I like my blogging schedule. I especially like having Tuesdays and weekends off from blogging, which means two blogs on some other day of the week, which might as well be Wednesday.

Such is the writer life. We don't punch a clock. We don't collect a paycheck in the traditional sense (or at all sometimes). We're constantly fighting the same prioritizing woes as those who go to regular jobs at regular hours and often with less success because our working hours are flexible and the work that we do is invisible for so long. If a traditionally employed person doesn't show up for work, people notice. If a writer doesn't write, no one knows it except for the writer herself.

Unless she writes blogs. Then her audience notices.

I'm not complaining (well, maybe a little) because the truth is, I can't imagine not blogging. In addition to making me feel as though I'm actually making connections with other people, it has been one of the best writing exercises ever. And, when it's going well, it's fun, too.

One of my goals when I retired was to stop making my blog a hobby and to make it a commitment. The first step? Posting on a regular basis. As a result of this relentless practice for the last five years, I'm able to create larger (paying) pieces more quickly and easily. Because I've gotten into the habit of creating short pieces with fast turnaround on a regular basis, I'm less afraid of creating work that's imperfect. When you write fast on a regular basis, some of the work is going to be imperfect. In fact, when you write at all, some of the work is going to be imperfect. It's the nature of the beast.

So here I am, early on some Wednesdays, late on others, but committed to showing up. After all, that's what writers do.

I hope you enjoy the result.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Saturday Special: Parting Words and Good Stuff from HGTV

freepik.com
I've been writing about time management a lot  lately over at Organizing By STYLE, and at CatholicMom.com. Last Thursday's post in particular, along with the planning that preceded it, nudged me to take a look at my blogging habits. I've done so before, but now, with proof that blogging sometimes overshadows the other writing I want to do, it was time to look at my schedule with an eye toward change.

When I first spun the organization posts off  this blog and onto Organizing By STYLE, these Saturday posts were a great way to continuing sharing my love of organization here, as well as featuring people, places and articles that inspired me. Julie MorgensternMarcia RamslandA Perfect Mess.

Sometimes, though, it's time to focus on that L in STYLE and let it go. I've featured all my inspirations, along with quite a few fun finds I made along the way, which brings the organization- themed Saturday Specials on this blog to a natural conclusion.

So, for the moment, at least, I'm stepping away from Saturday posts. You can still find me here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and at Organizing By STYLE on Wednesdays and (3 Keys) Thursdays. I've been posting a STYLE Savvy feature at CatholicMom.com, as well, also on Wednesdays.

Meanwhile, since HGTV got me inspired to walk down this road in the first place, it's only fitting that I conclude this feature with something from them. Over at CatholicMom.com, I've been writing about containers, and this HGTV feature on organizing mistakes to avoid fits perfectly into the Organizing by STYLE philosophy.

See you Monday.