Having an update schedule has been good for me: it forces a measure of discipline. I don't hold myself to certain days (though I generally seem to update on Wednesday and Sunday), but I do try to hold to the minimum bi-weekly updates* that I've promised. I think I have missed two over the last few months, one of which was posted Monday of the next week.
This being said, there have also been downsides to the schedule. For one, I don't always have something which I particularly find to be worth posting. If the time comes, I just post something, for better or worse. Secondly, and in a lot of ways this is a subpoint of the first, I feel like I've rather been phoning it in a lot lately.
Let me say from the start that I apologize for this. Furthermore, I do not wish to justify or otherwise excuse this. While several things have led me in this direction, it has entirely been my decision (whether conscious or subconscious) that has brought me here, and I have no one but myself to blame.
While I have been busy, the problem arises in a lack of diligence and an abundance of distraction: there is plenty of extra time to write, but I choose to spend it on other things. Sometimes these things are productive and important. Other times they are Facebook (or now the younger, more attractive Google+). Perhaps I'm rearranging my books and ensuring yet again that they are all catalogued, or perhaps I'm playing air guitar to ZZTop videos on YouTube. And unfortunately this problem manifests in nearly every area of my life. By way of example, I've been in the process of rearranging my tiny apartment for about a month now.
When I sit down to write, I have trouble with ideas. Many of my concepts are too personal, while others are just not interesting, and concepts are never in abundance to begin with. Eventually I pick a topic that is "good enough." I find this very designation to be questionable: as I'm partial to saying, "Good enough is never good enough."
I write, then post. There is a value to occasional rawness, but there is a much greater value to quality revision. As the mantra in Finding Forrester states, "Write with your heart. Re-write with your head." I try to combine the two, to no avail. Often the amount I look over a post is when I'm typing it. The few posts that haven't been written on paper get even less proofreading. Some people can do this. I can't. I need to write on paper and re-write (sometimes again using paper), giving myself time to evaluate and edit, after taking time away from it.
This post was black ink on paper, then red ink on black ink on paper. Now it's digital. It's taken time and effort. I've poured out my heart an striven to be honest as to my shortcomings. I've been resting on my laurels, but now I'm grabbing the laurel and turning over one of the leaves anew.
*This week there should be three updates, including this one. I drafted one earlier this evening, with the concept for another already worked out.
Having an update schedule has been good for me: it forces a measure of discipline. I don't hold myself to certain days (though I generally seem to update on Wednesday and Sunday), but I do try to hold to the minimum bi-weekly updates* that I've promised. I think I have missed two over the last few months, one of which was posted Monday of the next week.
This being said, there have also been downsides to the schedule. For one, I don't always have something which I particularly find to be worth posting. If the time comes, I just post something, for better or worse. Secondly, and in a lot of ways this is a subpoint of the first, I feel like I've rather been phoning it in a lot lately.
Let me say from the start that I apologize for this. Furthermore, I do not wish to justify or otherwise excuse this. While several things have led me in this direction, it has entirely been my decision (whether conscious or subconscious) that has brought me here, and I have no one but myself to blame.
While I have been busy, the problem arises in a lack of diligence and an abundance of distraction: there is plenty of extra time to write, but I choose to spend it on other things. Sometimes these things are productive and important. Other times they are Facebook (or now the younger, more attractive Google+). Perhaps I'm rearranging my books and ensuring yet again that they are all catalogued, or perhaps I'm playing air guitar to ZZTop videos on YouTube. And unfortunately this problem manifests in nearly every area of my life. By way of example, I've been in the process of rearranging my tiny apartment for about a month now.
When I sit down to write, I have trouble with ideas. Many of my concepts are too personal, while others are just not interesting, and concepts are never in abundance to begin with. Eventually I pick a topic that is "good enough." I find this very designation to be questionable: as I'm partial to saying, "Good enough is never good enough."
I write, then post. There is a value to occasional rawness, but there is a much greater value to quality revision. As the mantra in Finding Forrester states, "Write with your heart. Re-write with your head." I try to combine the two, to no avail. Often the amount I look over a post is when I'm typing it. The few posts that haven't been written on paper get even less proofreading. Some people can do this. I can't. I need to write on paper and re-write (sometimes again using paper), giving myself time to evaluate and edit, after taking time away from it.
This post was black ink on paper, then red ink on black ink on paper. Now it's digital. It's taken time and effort. I've poured out my heart an striven to be honest as to my shortcomings. I've been resting on my laurels, but now I'm grabbing the laurel and turning over one of the leaves anew.
*This week there should be three updates, including this one. I drafted one earlier this evening, with the concept for another already worked out.
Ironically, I Really Can Update from My Phone
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