Monday, February 23, 2015

8 Reasons Why I'm a Bad Blogger

This morning as I was driving to work, I started thinking about the fact that I didn't bother to schedule even one post for this week over the weekend.  That's so unlike me.  I usually try to at least get something scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, but this weekend I kept putting it off until suddenly I was out of time.  (Eventually I hope to get an entire week's worth of posts written and scheduled during the weekend, but right now that's just not happening.)

My time management skills have seriously been lacking as of late (though thankfully only when it comes to things outside of work!), and I'm really hoping that next month I can get my shit figured out and stop fucking around.  I had all of these great goals for 2015 (and for the month of February), and instead of being productive and actually completing some of these goals, I'm just wasting a lot of time.

As I was getting annoyed with myself this morning, I realized that my recent lack of focus isn't the only thing that makes me a bad blogger.  So I've decided to list out the reasons why I'm a bad blogger ... The habits I really need to break if I want to continue blogging (and want to gain more followers!).

BadBlogger

1.  Obviously my lack of focus is going to be at the top of the list.  I've been so scattered lately that it takes a ridiculous amount of willpower to actually sit in front of the computer and write for more than a few minutes at a time.  I blame this lack of focus on having too much on my mind lately, but I should be able to clear my head enough to write a few short blog posts.

2.  I run out of ideas for posts often.  This is pretty awful, considering I haven't been blogging for that long.  (Divulge and Indulge isn't my first blogging attempt, as I mentioned in my very first post here, but even if I include my previous blogs, I've probably only been doing this off and on for about 3 years.  Well ... Unless you count writing in a LiveJournal as blogging.  I don't, but that's probably because I was uncomfortably candid about everything.)  I think sometimes I just try to write when I'm too mentally drained to come up with anything interesting, and then I feel like I'm a total failure who can't come up with a simple idea for a blog post.  This is exactly why I need to write more often on the weekends because I'm usually more mentally refreshed when I haven't been at work all day.

3.  I overthink every post.  I always imagine that a lot of bloggers come up with something they'd like to write about, spend some time writing on that topic, give it a quick scan, and then either hit "Publish" or schedule it for later.  I kind of do that, but I read it multiple times and make multiple edits before posting.  I also question whether it's even worth posting at least 50% of the time (if not more), and, if it's a particularly personal post, I spend an absurd amount of time agonizing over whether or not I should even be putting it out there for people to read.  Now that I'm reading this, I realize that maybe this doesn't make me a bad blogger ... Just incredibly neurotic.

4.  I don't take enough pictures.  I've never been the kind of person who takes a ton of pictures at every event, but there have been so many times that I've been like, "That would have been a great picture!" hours after I've done something.  Most bloggers take a lot of pictures to help tell a story, but not me.  I'll usually just slap a random picture of myself (possibly making an awkward face) on a post if I have nothing else to use.

5.  I don't spend enough time on social media.  I never promote any of my posts, and my Pinterest account is just sitting there, naked without any pins.  I actually did make an Instagram account for this blog (you can find me here), but I rarely post anything.  That probably goes back to not taking enough pictures, though.  I haven't even started following anyone on Instagram (mostly because I'm so embarrassed of my pathetic excuse for an account).  I also never use hashtags, but that's mostly because I'm lame and don't really get them.  I'll figure it out ... One day.

6.  I let myself get really behind when it comes to reading posts written by bloggers I follow.  I can guarantee that my Bloglovin' account will tell me I have at least 100 unread posts right now.  I try to catch up on posts whenever I have a few extra minutes, but sometimes I won't check Bloglovin' for a couple of days.  When I return, the amount of unread posts is overwhelming and it feels like it takes forever to even skim through half of them.  (And, if I'm being honest, I usually want to do more than just skim.  I actually like reading other people's posts.  That's why I chose to follow them in the first place.)

7.  When I get behind with the reading, I also get behind with the commenting.  I've been trying to make an effort to comment on blog posts more often, but sometimes I feel stupid and don't know what to say.  (This probably also goes back to my overthinking/neurotic nature.)  I obviously want people to know I'm reading their posts and that I actually care about what they're saying (or find it funny, interesting, thought-provoking, etc.), but sometimes I'll read a bunch of posts all at once during my lunch break at work and then forget to come back later to comment when I actually have some time to think about what I want to say.  Or, like I said earlier, I can't think of anything good to say, so I just say nothing.

8.  I'm horribly inconsistent.  Everything I've ever read on how to be a better blogger says that consistent posting is vital if you want your blog to grow.  It makes sense, of course, but this is so hard for me.  I usually stick with posting a recipe every Tuesday, but the rest of the week is very random.  In a perfect world I'd be posting at least 3-4 times each week (and everything I posted would be amazing, obviously).  In reality, I'm lucky to churn out 3 posts a week, and I'd hardly call everything I post "amazing."  I know it takes time, dedication, and a lot of organization, but sometimes I get really annoyed with myself for not making more of an effort to work on this blog.

I'm sure I could think of more reasons why I'm a bad blogger, but I think this post has gotten long enough.  I'll leave you with a few silly pictures of me from Saturday (since I'm trying to remember to take/post more pictures and all):

Weekend1
If you checked out my Instagram via the link in this post, you probably noticed this picture already.  I participated in Trek Up The Tower on Saturday morning for the third year in a row, and this is me showing off my medal.  (You get one for making it to the top, so it's not quite as awesome as it seems.)  It's definitely a challenge, though, so I'm proud that I've been able to do it for 3 years in a row!


I know that a few cities have a Trek Up The Tower challenge, and while Omaha doesn't have any insanely tall buildings (like Chicago or NYC), I think it's pretty hard.  In Omaha, Trek Up The Tower takes place at the First National Bank Tower downtown.  You're required to go up 40 flights (870 steps) in order to complete the challenge.  That may not sound like a lot to some people, but I think I'm in decent shape since I work out regularly and I was definitely wheezing pretty early on.  (Oh, and my ass and thighs were burning.)

After the race, I asked Eric to take some silly pictures of me jumping around at home.  This is the result:

Weekend2
Yes, I'm a huge dork.  I'm also pretty sure it's obvious that I used to dance based on the picture on the far right.


And now I'm going to go obsess over whether I should have put such embarrassing pictures of myself on the internet for all to see because, well, that's what I do.

2 comments:

  1. Heh, it is great to see this point of view for a change and you are not alone in feeling like this...I think everybody struggles with posting for whatever reason...:D

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  2. I knew I couldn't be the only one! (Well, I hoped not, anyway.) I'm glad you enjoyed my rambling post. :-)

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