The Haps On What I Am Going To Do About Posting Every Single Day To Maintain A Streak

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22187 – 754:

Here’s the haps,

I have a lot of people who like/love/adore/tolerate me and that’s really cool and that’s most of the people I know. Honestly, if there are any people who dislike/hate/abhor/disapprove of me, I have learned over the years to just kind of ignore them and they wind up dealing with themselves, so I don’t often know who they are. I do not often care but what I do care about is if someone has negative feelings about me because I did something to them and didn’t realize I was offending or upsetting. Granted, that can happen anyway because I try to be the same person all the time, as much as I can, so it’s probable that what I say and what I stand for can rub people the wrong way, but I try to be civil and diplomatic when possible.

These thoughts came about because, while I had taken off from blogging for a bit the communications I received were kind and thoughtful. I had kind of been thinking about it on and off just a little bit and then about a month ago, 10/03, on the post, Here I Am – Back At It Again, A. J. McGregor over at The Lonely Meatball left me a comment to the effect that I should consider posting less frequently rather than driving myself so hard to post every single day. Then, a few days ago, Jasmine Rose, over at The Bookworm, left me a comment saying that it did her a lot of good to take a few days off from blogging now and then. There were some others but these came to mind as I sat at the keyboard and started to write. What kind of pushed me over the edge was something somebody said the other night.

A few years ago our house became kind of a house of refuge from Halloween. We don’t celebrate Halloween (although we do celebrate cheap chocolate the day after) or support house-to-house begging and legalized extortion. We stay home and leave the driveway and porch lights off and leave the lights off in the front rooms. The thing is that a number of family members have always joined us and it became a sort of anti-tradition tradition. There were a few that stayed late to help my wife clean up the house after the others left, one of them being my sister. I’ve mentioned her before, the classiest person in the whole family with the most brains. Hmmm…I think I should change that to say the one with the most formal education, but by that, I only mean that others in the family are highly intelligent as well. As you may be able to guess, I have a lot of love and respect for her. Anyway, I came in at about 11:50pm while they were cleaning up. My job, especially when I have a later shift, is physically demanding and tiring. My sister took one look at me when I walked in the door and said, “You look exhausted. You know what? Don’t bother putting anything on the blog tonight. Just let it be. Everybody will understand. You don’t have to push it.” And contrary to my perfectionist, CDO nature and contrary to my usual habits, I took some good advice. It took all that, though.

I got to looking at the whole posting daily thing and was not happy. The conflict being that I made a promise to myself and every fan, friend, fiend, foe, foundling, frog, and person named Bruce who follows my blog that I was going to post something every single day, no matter what, even if it was just a sentence or two. The other side of the coin being that a lot of times those posts have just been so much junk. Or re-posts with very little editing or new content. Now there have been exceptions. I really liked the story about Johnny Blankenstern and some of the others but then there are some of the very short ones that are just a couple of whiny whingeing lines about how awful I feel that I really don’t care for.

So, what I am going to try to do, at least for now, is probably do what I have in the last few days. Look in the archives for something worthy to present to you and post it, otherwise, on the hard nights, just skip the blogosphere altogether. Not even make rounds to everybody’s blog until the next day and hope the WP Reader catches what I don’t. I’m not going to make such a stringent schedule so that I can offer you all the best I can give because you all deserve it. I know this may blow my streak if it hasn’t already but when you have an audience as extraordinary as mine, consisting of talented, intelligent people from many different backgrounds you feel obligated to give them a reason to visit. And, as A.J. had said, I think it will also help improve my writing.

37 Comments

  1. I love this idea! That is how I go about posting. I don’t post every day but instead, wait until I actually have something to say or else my post will be the mumbled mess my OCD despises.
    Take it easy and don’t force yourself to blog unless you are on the mood. Your readers will definitely understand. 😁

  2. Hi Herb, I actually find that writing 2 days a week are a perfect amount for me to write. I started my Fun Fri-Yays becuase my kids were coming in town and I was so excited so that took it to 3.. For now, it’s actually working but I always reserve the right to take that out. Everyday would throw me over the edge and I think it’s tough to keep fresh as well. My huge pet peeve is when people post a few times a least a day because I’d love to read them because they’re so great, but I just don’t have time so it’s annoying to me. But hey, some people just love to write so it’s of course their choice. Anyways, that was long winded, but I do hope helpful. And I think everyone needs breaks from blogging.. ❤️ Cindy

    • Thanks so much for the comment. I think some people have more time for writing and of course some people make more time for writing. I’m weighing the balance of everything for now.

      • You’re so welcome Herb!!! I totally understand!!! It’s also a lot of reading and nice to have an interpersonal relationship for me anyway and if I get spread too thin, it’s tough to find balance. Take good care! 💕 Cindy

  3. Awwwww, thank you, brother. I also have a lot of love and respect for you as well and for our amazing family. I am so grateful for you and nephew’s blog which provides so much insight, joy and an escape after a difficult day. I have to say the posts that most inspired, encouraged me or lifted me up, when I was down, were the ones you posted when you were fresh. Also, not every day is difficult. Therefore, reading your occasional posts helps tremendously. I know about meeting obligations, but I have skipped a month from time to time for an obligation. I felt it would be better to release quality to readers instead of things I would throw together while I was overwhelmed with unforeseen challenges.

    Thank you for being a vessel, one that is worthy to be used. You are tremendously appreciated by many people, in many venues.

  4. I’ve been daily blogging for quite a streak. I usually write at approximately the same time each day. When I feel uninspired or in a rut, I write at a different time of day for a day or two. Then I resume the old schedule feeling more fresh.

  5. Just keep those keys a-clacking, and post as often as you feel like it. Even though I publish daily I don’t write every single day either. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

  6. I write 60 or 70 posts in a total splurge, and then take a couple of months off. I find the pressure of having to create a post daily stultifies creativity. So I have splurges – currently I have scheduled posts until December 6th, and I did that mid September!

  7. It’s a good idea. I think you should remember that blogging is primarily supposed to be fun, for you. Even if you’re determined to maintain your streak and fulfill the audience’s expectations, you shouldn’t push beyond what you’re comfortable with. I usually take longer breaks when I’m not feeling, but then again my posts are of a different nature.

    • Thanks for the comment. Our posts are different but I think most people who blog, no matter the topic, all have a couple of things in common, maybe.

  8. You’ve been blogging about once a day now for just over a year, right? That’s about how long I lasted on the once a day thing too – back in the days when WordPress was really encouraging that. Then I quit doing that because I realized I was writing for the wrong reason AND few people really wanted to be reading my once a day wrong reason posts anyway. (I sure didn’t have the time to read posts from other bloggers who wrote once a day either!)

    So now I write when I have something I really want to say; share photos that I really want to share. Sometimes I take a month or more off. I think the important thing for me is that when I push the publish button, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment – that I’ve done the best post that I’ve ever done; and that the time I spent making the post was a really great way to spend that time.

    Hope you can fine tune your ‘best’.

  9. Wow! I’m pretty much in awe of anyone who even attempts to post daily, but I do get the struggle with oneself over maintaining a posting goal. When I occasionally miss my weekly post, even for a very good reason, I struggle to justify it to myself. But I do find that readers are generally still there when I get back and those who are fellow bloggers definitely get it. There are just weeks (or in your case days) when blogging at the level you want to just isn’t going to happen. And that’s ok.

  10. Herb, I’m so glad you’re going to go a little easy on yourself. It’s important. I’ve realized I can’t read everyone’s blog every day and that was making me feel bad, but then I realized I can’t put pressure on myself like that. When I’m teaching, I have to limit myself. It’s all about balance. There are only so many hours in the day. (It was sweet of you to mention The Meatball – typically so!)

  11. Hey Herb, I really like how your feelings shine through the lines! On my blog I am aiming only at 3 a week and even that can be hard to maintain with work and a life. I’m also a mummy and sometimes there is stuff to do offline that I will value for the rest of my life. In a few years from now I will probably have a lot more time but for now it is what it is. I have a dear follower who comments nicely and honestly and he can see exactly when I was lacking time 😉 Don’t run yourself low. Blogging is a hobby and not a shore and it is great to participate in the communtiy. Reading lots of posts can take a lot of time, too. I always find it sad when people quit and it seems it is often because they were aiming for too much. Take a break here and there; find your own balance (which can change at any point anyways). Take care!

  12. Herb, Herb, Herb. Forget the schedule. If you’re here to write, write. Edit. Post when it’s done. Write one good sentence. If that’s all you’ve got, great. Follow it with another good sentence if you have one. Write something you feel is worth reading instead of throwing words at the page because you feel obligated. Here’s a clue from a high school valedictorian who never bothered with any form of social media and got upwards of 400 scholarship offers. When asked why no social media she said (paraphrased) You spend all day doing that, liking to be liked, and you have all these ‘friends’. But at the end of the day what do you really have? A good effort you can be proud of because unless any of these people are neighbors ain’t a one of them gonna come pull your car out of a muddy ditch at 1 in the morning like “friend” would. Write as often as you can write well and the hell with a schedule. Just sayin’.

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