The value of fun
I availed myself of some free career counseling recently, offered through my employer. At 37, I'm still not sure what I want to do when I grow up, and I figured I'd get a professional perspective on the situation.
Mr. Counselor didn't have any brilliant ideas, but one of his insights has stuck with me. He encouraged me to pursue career paths and projects that were fun. Rather than thinking about possibilities that would build upon my current skills, or that would be lucrative, he encouraged me to think about what I actually enjoy doing.
Man's got a point.
I've taken his advice to heart with regard to blogging. Recently I was offered a couple of opportunities to write on other Web sites. They seemed like a good idea at the time, but in the end I found myself chafing at the deadlines and external expectations. For me blogging is like having my own newspaper or publishing company. I get to say whatever I want. No one edits me or tells me what or when to write. If I don't feel like it, I don't do it. If I don't have a great idea for a post, I wait until I do.
Reading through the 423 blog feeds I've collected in Google Reader (yes, I'm mentally ill), I often wish other bloggers would do the same. So often you see posts that appear to be posted just for the sake of posting. The same link shows up everywhere. Bloggers thank each other and link to each other in a perpetual love fest. I yawn.
As the RSS/blog thing grows, I think it behooves us all to be a bit more selective in our posts. With RSS time no longer matters. People aren't going to forget about you if you don't post every day. When you've got something to say, your post will show up in my feed aggregator or in a blog search.
Until then, don't apologize for not posting. Don't feature a story that we've all seen several times already. Unless your blog is a personal diary, don't post the mundane details of your life. Wait until inspiration strikes, or you find something really unique to share. We'll be here waiting for you.
It will be more fun that way, don't you think?
2 comments:
I have recently independently come to the same conclusion and have tried in the last few week to aim at posting on a weekly basis.
Absolutely! (Thanks for the link, BTW ;) )
All kidding aside, I am trying to keep my GTD blog clear of links to the other blogs in the GTD index and on the Feedburner network, since those of us already "in" the group are going to get those posts anyway.
(Unless I have something substantial to add, or subtract, that is.) Linking for the sake of linking is a waste, how many times can you read one post on Nobzie?
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