Happy New Year and welcome back to MoB! I speak for myself when I tell you that my first week off from blogging in 2 ½ years was enlightening. I hope Jennifer will weigh in as part of her next post or make a comment here, but I suspect she had a similar experience. In some ways, it felt much like when the boys were toddlers and I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I sat down at the end of the day.
I didn’t realize how much energy I expended on every blog post until I stopped blogging.
Actually, that is not exactly true. I knew that each blog post took anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes depending upon how prolific I was feeling. And on those days that I did blog, I spent a good amount of time (while driving, in the shower, walking the dog, etc) pondering a topic before I put my fingers on the keyboard. And I knew that I lacked the emotional energy for any other writing projects like the one I completed over the holiday which appeared in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. (Please check it out. You can add to the hate mail I have been receiving. Really.) Lastly, it was blatantly apparent that I never had time to respond to the comments on my posts. I read and delighted in them all – but hadn’t been able to commit myself to engage further. I knew I didn’t like that but really had no choice.
Without a blog to write last week, I had the chance to chill out, watch TV and think deep thoughts that I wasn’t compelled to write down anywhere. I stepped away from my computer (I was off from my real job as well.) and hung out. It was lovely. But as I began to type today’s post, it felt good – like a run on a clear day after a week’s long rest.
So where is all of this going?
During a high powered lunch meeting before the holiday break, Jennifer and I decided to test a Monday, Wednesday, Friday blogging schedule at MoB beginning in the New Year. I say “test” because the thought of stepping away from our daily commitment still scares us a bit. We don’t want to lose our mojo – we definitely don’t want to lose our readers. So if we are “testing” this – it means we can always return to the daily grind.
If you do the math, readers will miss one post from each us each week. This week you will hear from me on Monday and Friday; Jennifer will post on Wednesday. Next week we will switch. For those of you who only visit a few days each week, you may not even notice.
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to make some significant progress on a book project this year. The new schedule offers me that space I desperately need to fill with writing towards that end. I also hope to publish in some other outlets – and do my best blogging yet here at MoB.
Thank you to our loyal readers for giving us this opportunity – and for sticking with us and the new schedule. You won’t be disappointed.
