Today has been a pretty challenging day. I woke up with a fever at 5am and have been feeling unwell all day. It’s now 9pm, so I have been awake for around 16 hours – making this the perfect time to write THIS blog post.
I can’t write a blog post today, because…
As business owners, parents or people employed in jobs where we work long hours, there are always plenty of reasons not to turn up on our blogs, when people are expecting us:
- We may have a busy day ahead of us (or behind us).
- We might not feel creative.
- We could be feeling less than 100% healthy.
- We may even be feeling a little tired.
I think I am speaking for every successful blogger I know, when I say that if we only published blog posts; when we had nothing to do, were feeling super-creative, were wide awake and in perfect health, we would write very few posts. Yes, there are good reasons most days NOT to bother writing a post, if you look for them.
People notice
There is also one really good reason to turn up and write posts worth reading, when you have great excuses not to: People notice.
- People notice when you are committed to your blog.
- People notice when you regularly dig deep down to find something worth sharing with them, even though you give the information away for free and usually without even a ‘thank you’ from 99% of those who read it.
- People notice when you care enough about the people who read your blog, that you push through the excuses and turn up for them.
In short: We need to understand that people won’t show commitment to our blogs, if we don’t!
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Image: Maria Reyes-McDavis
Agree they dont just see but even observe things we are doing. unless we give them what they want, we want get what we want
Slightly cheesy but as a couple of Olympians recently interviewed said, “It’s not about how you feel today, it’s about how you execute.”
I infer a similar sentiment from this post. It’s quite a liberating approach when you think about it. How you feel is valid, but it must not get in the way of what you need to do.
Hi Ged. One of the most common comments you see on a blog post, where the post explains how to do something, is “it’s not that easy.”
A lot of people are addicted to “easy”. All I suggest here, is that it’s what we do that counts. It’s the decisions we make, when the going is tough.
Thanks for the feedback, sir.
Excellent post Jim.
And an even better example of practicing what you preach.
Hope you get to feeling better.
Thanks, Kevin.
Yep, and it’s in our hands, really. We set the expectations. I’m not sure it’s always about “pushing through” however. If we’re honest and truly do care, people are forgiving.
Hope you’re feeling better.
It’s about caring enough to show up, when it’s easier not to.
Yes, Jim I agree. Being dedicated is a beautiful thing for all concerned. I just wrote a blog today also and to tell you the truth I would have rather played guitar and had some real fun!
Hi Steven. I’d find it hard to show up regularly, if it wasn’t fun. Thanks for the feedback.
Feel better Jim. I wish I could fly over and make you some homemade chicken soup. Suzanne
Thanks, Suzanne. I love chicken soup
I love this list of “reasons” not to write a blog post. It’s so true that we often have reasons not to write — there is indeed always an excuse if we want one.
There’s nothing like the feeling of pushing through and writing when we don’t feel like it, and as you said, if we’re not committed to our blog, why should anyone else be?
Thanks for the feedback, Rebecca. Commitment is essential.
Hey Jim,
I’m pretty sure that powering through a fever puts you right up there in the “Michael Jordans of Blogging” (sorry Utah Jazz fans).
This applies to a lot of things in life. You can always find an excuse not to do something if you look hard enough. Most of the time you don’t have to look very hard.
That’s probably what separates those who succeed and those who don’t. Those who succeed find a way to power through even when they aren’t at the top of their game.
Hope you’re feeling better now!
This makes a strong case for writing and scheduling posts in advance. I try to always have at least posts written and posted, that way I can deal with any emergencies that may crop up.