I haven’t given up on blogging

It’s been 9 months since I completed and published my last blog post. Far longer than I ever intended and for numerous reasons.

I’ve had numerous ideas and a handful of unfinished book reviews but I haven’t managed to free up enough time to actually finish the posts. Just about all my blogging momentum went out the window in the process of moving, working to transition well out of one job and the learning curve of a new job. Prior to those changes, my pace of writing had already slowed down. I had agreed to write a few reviews that took me far too long to get to and as a result I kept putting other posts off.

The flagging pace of blogging coincided with a general drop in time spent focused on the ‘digital world’. I’ve spent dramatically less time trying to keep up with the latest articles and posting things on social media.

Blogging and time are inextricably linked to each other. Blogging takes a lot of time. Publishing a post that is relevant — both to myself and to others — requires proper timing. Occasionally, a blog post very nearly writes itself. More often writing a quality post tends to require a large investment of time; researching, distilling thoughts into a clear piece, editing and re-editing and getting feedback until I feel confident enough to publish it.

Life and time are also inextricably linked to each other which unfortunately means that the hours spent crafting a blog post must be taken from some other area of life. Finding that time has been a large challenge. It’s also been a choice. I’ve chosen to invest more time in my family and the people around me. I’ve chosen to spend more time writing code than writing words. I’ve chosen to take better care of myself; reading books, playing squash and learning to slow down.

When the momentum first lagged in my blogging, I felt guilty. Over time I’ve accepted that it is the result of shifting priorities. However, I do miss blogging. I do miss the regular conversations with readers of my blog. And I do have some posts, I really would like to get written.

I can’t promise how often I’ll be able to click publish, but I haven’t given up on blogging; I’ve just slowed down a bit.