This week's topic is particularly timely for me since it's coming at a time when I am feeling super overwhelmed by everything that's going on.
Our topic?
Blogger Burnout
1. How many hours a week do you spend blogging? Has that number changed since you started blogging?
I should know the answer to this question, but I have this strange relationship with time where I don't really notice it unless I'm at work or on my way to the airport. So, um, I spend five minutes taking pictures, about half an hour uploading and editing them, and then another half hour to forty-five minutes for the actual writing of the post - so let's call that an hour and ten minutes a day, roughly six times a week - that's seven hours a week plus half an hour for the Friend Friday post... Seven and a half hours. (PS someone should give me a medal for doing that math in my head.)
Now here's the thing: I believe that part of blogging is the community aspect: responding to comments, reading and commenting on other blogs, etc. That takes considerably more time. I'd say I probably spend an hour and a half a day on that so that's another twelve and a half hours to add to the seven and a half above.... Twenty hours a week. Dude, this is my third part time (volunteer) job.
When I first started this blog, I spent considerably less time on this, mostly because I wasn't aware of how many amazing blogs are out there. Amazing, I tell you.
2. There is always more you can do, write, read, comment on... how do you limit your time spent on these tasks?
This is where B. really comes in handy. He's all like, um, "You've been staring at your computer too long." And then I'm like, "Oh, yeah." And then we talk, or go to Target to buy paper towels, or figure out which books we need to get rid of. I try to stagger my blog visits so that I don't get too overwhelmed. It also helps that I have this job that lets me sit in front of the computer while I talk to people on the phone or while I wait for people to come in for their appointments. Loooots of time on my hands here.
3. Have you experienced Blogger burnout yet? How have you dealt with that?
This is a timely question for me because I'm feeling it a bit right now. I'm two weeks away from the date that we leave Philly for our whirlwind tour of family visits and I haven't packed a thing, nor have I gone through my closet to figure out what goes and what stays. Oh, and I've picked up more hours at work and have started subbing. And, and, and. Honestly, I haven't had time to visit most of the blogs I normally visit, and I haven't been too good about responding to comments, and I can just barely get my posts up. So, how have I been dealing with it? I've been telling myself it's okay - in fact, it's important - for me to put my real, every day life first and then worry about the blogs. Is it working? Sometimes. Sometimes not. But I'll get through it.
4. This time of the year is always a lot busier than any other time. Will your blogging change as a result?
See above. It's already starting to change. Also, I'll be spending Christmas week with my in-laws and they have dial up (!), which pretty much means that there will be no posts from me then. Then, while we get settled in Costa Rica in early to mid January, I don't know how much time I'll have for posting until things are in place. I'm thinking of doing a combination of planned posts and guest posts during that time, but we'll see....
5. Could you foresee a moment in which you are not blogging anymore? How would you you identify that it's time to walk away?
I think that I've learned to say "No" over the years, which gives me hope that I'll know when to quit this if it gets to be too much. Right now, I can't see that being the case in the near future. I have a feeling this might be my only creative fashion-y outlet while I'm living up in the mountains of Costa Rica. To be quite honest, I'm the opposite of outdoorsy and I hope that this will be my connection to that kind of life. Living in the middle of nowhere scares me, and for right now, I don't want to let this go because it's a connection to the outside world where people also care about clothes. So, at least for the next three years, I like to think that this will continue. But honestly, who knows? As we say in my family, "Si Dios quiere" (God willing) it'll keep going for at least the next three years....
Check out Modly Chic for more Friend Friday posts.
So what do y'all think? How much time do you put into blogging? Have you experienced blogger burnout? Are you an outdoors person with advice for me?
