Blogging has been very good for me in terms of mindfulness. It is a state of mind and a way of thinking. When I’m in what I’ve decided to call full blog mode, I experience the world and my surroundings differently; I notice more, absorb more, reflect more, question more and savor more.
I think this is how it works: full blog mode extends natural curiosity, leveraging it into a heightened awareness of the uniqueness of every moment and every experience, whether funny, sad, intriguing, inspiring, beautiful, healing, outrageous or mind-bogglingly bizarre, because I’m looking through the “is this shareable” lens and contemplating how I would capture it.
But I haven’t been in full blog mode in 2023.
I’ve been uber-busy all year, for numerous reasons, many of which are great: both of us at the Glover Gardens empty nest have exciting new jobs and are learning new people and processes, there was a new addition to our family in February (GK#2, a healthy, beautiful and smart baby boy – rejoice!), there’s been lots of business travel, some personal travel and the blessings of family visits and opportunities to babysit and watch our grandboys play and grow.
There have also been some health things that weren’t so great: scary falls and hospital visits for my father-in-law that led to finding a daily caregiver (which was overdue and has been wonderful for him and my mother-in-law), a surprise appendectomy for me that was shoe-horned in between a 3-week business trip and a 12-day 15th anniversary trip for the Grill-Meister and me, and a second COVID case that co-opted Christmas of 2022 and had me starting out in 2023 feeling behind, behind, behind. I still feel behind, and perhaps even a little guilty if I take “me time” to write when there are soooooo many things to do.
Why haven’t I written about all that – isn’t that what a blog is for?
Because full blog mode is a muscle which atrophies quickly, and writer’s block, its mortal enemy, is always ready to sidle in, an uninvited but irritatingly and ever-present hulking beast that lurks, leers and sometimes even lunges if you try to get back into writing. After a period of relative silence, that beast makes it difficult to get back into the see-it-feel-it-share-it cadence that is foundational for bloggers or other writers who create short content frequently. And there’s a soul-killing feeling that you need to produce a masterpiece to make up for the dry spell, a result of the beast’s insidious whispers, which completely kills any inspiration or motivation.
But I know that full blog mode is good for me, and I want to re-embrace that wonderful mindfulness, so today I’m rejecting the must-be-a-masterpiece mindset and killing the writer’s block beast with brusque, intentional keyboard strokes and this short confessional post.
Be gone, beast! You’re not welcome here in Glover Gardens!
Thanks for listening, and look out for my next not-masterpiece soon. 😊
© Glover Gardens, 2023
I hear you – finding time to blog is something that all bloggers struggle with. Whether you are just starting out and blogging as a hobby, blogging as a part-time job while juggling work, home, and social life or even blogging as a full-time business amidst other demands such as up-keeping of social media accounts, responding to comments and emails etc. – finding time to write is a consistent challenge.
What I try to do, when it comes to blogging, is find ways to divide my blogging activities into pieces that can be done in smaller time segments. Plus, I usually sketch out the major points I plan to cover in an article in advance. This means that I don’t show up at the blank screen and it also helps to jump-start my thinking because my brain can work on the idea while I am doing other things. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
I understand what you mean about full blog mode – I am much more observant than I used to be as I look for things to include in my gallivanting posts. However, I’m also way behind with what I want to write. I enjoy it when I do write a post – it’s just finding the time. So the blog limps on and I need to think of a new approach. I don’t want to get less busy just so that I have time for blogging!
You’re so right, Anabel, and I think it’s all about balance. I also think there’s something real in my feeling that, after a long, dry spell, we think we have to be perfect. I am trying to combat that right now, and intend to remain frequent, but imperfect. Your posts actually are perfect, so I wouldn’t change a thing! I love reading your monthly roundups.
Thank you! The monthly roundups are more or less it at the moment – about a year behind in my travel posts.
Or, you could say that you have a years worth of content just ready to be mined. 😊😊😊