Decisive Action

blogging, challenge, prompt, , , , , , 25 Comments

Life presents challenges and I stumble to keep up. Chronic illness continues to form the backdrop of my life, so it becomes the baseline for any actions I take. Ric and I made a commitment to our health and our community this year, and that means that I have been more physically active than usual. Since my envelope – capacity for energy – has not increased, I am called to make decisions.

Taking a break over Christmas was part of that process. Still, the emails continue to pile up and the number of unread posts becomes insurmountable. I am seeking a solution that simplifies my life once again. Here is what I’ve decided:

  • Posting less. For now, I am trying to post only once per day, alternating blogs (I have two). Longterm, I would like to achieve a device-free day.
  • Selective reading. Some of you wow me with your prolific creativity, and I try to follow and encourage, but it has become too much. In order to spread my attention across the blogging community, I will limit myself to one or two posts from a single source.
  • Scheduling posts in advance. I love the prompts, as witnessed by my weekly challenge. Keeping up with them all, however, just adds to my current stress. I will participate when possible, but preference will be given to pre-scheduling posts. It’s like buying a bit of security.

This forum for connecting means so much and I want to continue to grow my relationships. Would love to hear how you juggle it all.

Thanks to all who participated this week. I missed your unique insights. Nice to be back.

musingsofanoldfart
Eugi’s Causerie
I Write Her
Reena Saxena
parallax
Sgeoil
Stuff and what if…
CURATING THOUGHTS
HEAVEN’S SUNSHINE
one letter UP
Zebra’s Child
HEAVEN’S SUNSHINE (2)
bushboys world

See you tomorrow for a new challenge!

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Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

25 thoughts on “Decisive Action”

  1. I really like your use of the word envelope – as a capacity for energy. It isn’t limitless, is it. And it deserves prioritizing. I wish you well in simplifying your blogging life. It does seem to take on a life of its own. These same kind of thoughts have been percolating through my mind – perhaps your decisiveness will inspire me as well. (I don’t know how you’ve managed 2! blogs – impressive).

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  2. Good for you V.J.! It’s wonderful that you’re taking the steps you need to take to care for yourself. Who knew blogging would become a full-time job?! I’m glad you’re going to have the opportunity to make your health a priority this year. Sending hugs your way. My husband would like to know if you’d send some snow down this way….. He’s so upset that we’re having a warm winter. I showed him your snow pictures the other day and he was extremely jealous.😁

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  3. I think I’m already out on a limb here because I don’t participate in prompts, challenges, tags etc and tend not to read a lot of them. I understand many people enjoy this way of writing but I prefer to write about the things that come directly to my mind and if there is nothing there I simply don’t write. However, not joining in and actively engaging with the writing community in this way has meant I have received / retained less readers than if I had. I am often disheartened that so few readers engage with my writing but I have to accept this if I’m not prepared to put the time into playing the numbers game of likes, followers, comments, submissions etc. It is time I simply don’t have. Reena rightly mentioned the pitfalls of addiction and obligation. Keeping up is next to impossible, especially over multiple platforms, even when being selective. None of us should feel bad about missing posts from our favourite bloggers and tweeters for a day or two or longer and it’s important also to not feel guilty about so doing or blaming others for doing the same. Finding a balance is tricky and I wish you luck with your juggling – hopefully the pleasure and fulfilment side will return to your creative output in due course. You have given me so much support over the past few years and I cannot thank you enough. Look after yourself and pop by when you can dear VJ 😉

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    1. Thanks so much Colin. The prompt game does help increase numbers and while I was homebound, really helped me. I get out more now, and want to use my energy a bit differently. Your words remind me that is the quality connections I seek, not the numbers – people, like you, who inspire me regularly.

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  4. You can seek solace in the fact that all of us get overwhelmed. We want to have options – writing and reading for hours without intervention, or not being there on the blog for certain days. It gets stressful the moment it becomes an addiction or obligation.

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  5. I totally understand, V.J.! I sometimes feel overwhelmed and remind myself there is life outside of blogging and other social media.

    BrewNSpew was becoming time-consuming thus the reason I combined some of my ideas for the weekly prompt into one post. Then I felt I needed a complete facelift and changed it to Eugi’s Causerie, which streamlined my procedures even more.

    PoetryPalette, my other blog, I don’t use as frequently but I have more fun with it. I refer to it as my “me” blog.

    Being a Barrista for Go Dog Go Cafe is very time-consuming but I love it and plan to stick with it.

    I use my Google calendar for everything. I write posts ahead of time and keep them in abeyance until it’s time to publish.

    Most importantly, take care of yourself, relax and enjoy life.

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  7. I am so glad you are being compassionate and loving yourself V.J.! I know from experience that is not an easy place to grow to with backgrounds like ours to overcome! Much Love, Deborah

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  8. You do what you can but definitely refine your workload otherwise it’s just too stressful! I totally get that. The biggest thing that keeps me on track is my task lists and calendar. I always know what I need to do when and whether it’s home or writing stuff. Keep taking care of yourself! 🙂

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  9. I totally get this. Interestingly, I started the year with the same sentiments. Work keeps me busy so I cannot afford too much time on social media but aiming for a device free day, too. Take care of yourself. I live with pain and know self-care is key to living well.

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