Well, we're into the second half of the year and I have to admit that I have neglected this blog so far this year
It might not be obvious at first glance, I mean book reviews are still being posted, I'm semi regular with a posting schedule but that's it. I haven't really shared anything else; there was no '4 years of blogging post', no rant about International Women's Day, no posts about random thoughts – nothing.
I've just stuck to writing about books and being brutally honest, at times that has been a bit of a chore.
I can't say that I've completely fallen out of love with blogging I just seem to have misplaced my motivation, I'm certainly short time and I'm struggling with ideas.
I don't like the fact that this blog has become a bit formulaic.
Looking through, my reviews follow the same pattern, and I can't figure out when I fell into that particular habit.
I think my motivation got up and left towards the end of last year. I know it happens to everyone now and again, it's happened to me plenty of times before, the difference this time is that it shows no signs of returning.
Every time I think "I'll write tonight", my laptop stays firmly in my backpack while I sit watching shite on TV, doom scrolling through twitter and then before you know it, two weeks have passed, and I haven't posted a single thing.
You may think that this may be having an effect on how well this site is performing….it isn't at all.
I'm having my best year for views and visitors – I've already surpassed last year's total. Engagement could be better, but reading other people's posts, that seems to be a common trend.
It's an odd thing to say but the fact that this blog is doing well, is not helping with my motivation problem. I'm putting less in and getting more in return, that's the slackers dream and yes, I am an advocate of working smarter not harder.
The fact it's looking after itself and ticking over without me constantly writing new posts and desperately sharing them on social media isn't pushing me to put more effort in.
So that's my motivation dealt with. My next issue is time…. I just don't seem to have any at all.
I've read nowhere near as much as usual, it's taking me ages to get through books at the moment, despite still commuting by bus most days.
At the moment, there just always seems to be too much other stuff to do. We're basically in the middle of redecorating and are about to make a start on an extension, that's on top of full-time jobs and other general house shit. You can see how that would make anyone a little time poor.
My commute doesn't exactly help, it's turned 7pm by the time I get home. By the time I've eaten and cleaned up, it's going on for 9 and who can be arsed to sit down and write by that point? Certainly not me. I honestly had more time when I worked in Newcastle for three days a week….to be fair my hotel was literally across the road from the office and I had nothing to do but write.
And finally, there's ideas.
The title of this post suggests that I'm all out of ideas…. that's not strictly true. I actually have dozens and dozens of ideas, unfortunately they're all half formed.
I have little crumbs of ideas that start to build in my head, I'll even think of a couple lines or how to start a post and that's as far as it'll go. I know I should make notes, brainstorm a bit or even just start writing but it's not really how I work. I'm quite regimented, I have to do things in order, I can't start another post without finishing the one I'm working on…. it's very irritating.
My time and motivation problems mean these ideas, just stay where they are…. half formed, in my head for months until the time has passed or I've forgotten about it completely.
Even this post has been started on five different occasions, has taken an age to put together and has no real point to it.
I'm not going to finish it and abandon this blog forever or even say I'm off on a hiatus for an unspecified period of time. I haven't written it so people can tell me to keep going. Truth is, I have no idea why I've written it, probably in the hope that I'll find my mojo again. It's worth a bash.
We'll see how the second half of 2024 goes. I know it's going to be a huge, exciting few months for me personally, it's going to be a massive life change and one I can't wait for. It does mean that this blog will remain neglected for a long time to come yet, but I hope you'll stick around to see what I have coming up.
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