I'm not a huge fan of resolutions because I think January is a pretty crummy time of year to make big changes. It's cold out, the days are still quite short, and it's hard enough to re-establish your previous routine after going on vacation over the holidays - let alone make changes to that routine. Let's all agree: it's an uphill battle all the way! Instead of resolutions, I tend to choose a few big goals that I hope to achieve in small doses over the course of the year, gradually, gently. One of these is to slow down, and I expect to accomplish this by making bite-sized changes to various aspects of my life.
So it is with some sadness, but also conviction, that I am announcing an adjustment to my relationship with this blog: at the risk of losing followers who enjoy regular updates, I am going to write posts only when I feel the need to share information and/or opinions about topics that are very important to me. You might be wondering how that differs from what I've been doing so far! Obviously I cared about what I wrote in 2010 and 2011, but too often did I put pressure on myself to keep up the twice weekly pace of updates... for no justifiable reason! In order to write posts every three or four days, I sometimes had to sit down in front of the computer when I didn't really want to, or suffered from writer's block, or worst of all, didn't actually have enough time to commit to the task! Now that a brand new year is upon, I'm being more mindful of how I fill my days, and if I want to reach my goal of slowing down, I have to do away with writing blog posts under pressure, or under some sort of time/pace constraint. I am going to stop doing things because I have to and start doing things because I want to!
When I began thinking about this post, I wondered if I would provide an estimate of how (in)frequently I might be writing in 2012... then I realized that even that would create unnecessary stress for me. So instead I'll say this: I look forward to telling more stories (good and bad), sharing more of my strong opinions, and challenging you to challenge yourselves, and I hope you'll keep reading despite a slow pace of updates.
Photo of new year snowman used under Creative Commons from Ruth Flickr (flickr).
Photo of street art used under Creative Commons from Cubby (Stickerthing blog).
I adore your honesty. I'll look forward to reading your posts whenever you write. Taking care of yourself is always number 1. Happy New Year Andrea!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a wonderful decision. I don't agree with people who insist on an optimal blogging rate. Blog when you have something to say and enjoy it! If our blogs were money making ventures, it might be different, but since they're not, why not do something more enjoyable with your time when you don't have anything new to write? One of my informal resolutions this year is just to spend more time outdoors, so blogging might take a hit.
ReplyDeleteI was appalled to realize this morning that I had never added you to my blogroll. Done.
Lori - Thanks, that's exactly how I feel. I can't very well take care of the planet if I can't take care of myself!
ReplyDeleteJennifer - Don't feel appalled about a silly little oversight like that! So far I can't even tell if blogrolls are all that useful. For some more than others, I guess. As for spending more time outdoors, that's a fantastic goal. Me too!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea... I do, for the record, believe in New Years Resolutions, but mostly because it makes me sit down and try to figure out what I really want to work on for the upcoming year (and it gives me an opportunity to compare to my last year's resolutions and track my progress).
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, I look forward to reading whenever you write!
Marc - Thanks, and good luck with your resolutions. Hopefully you're right on track so far!
ReplyDelete