Blogger's Block

I realized the other day that for wanting to post once a week this year, I am desperately behind on my goal. My last post was in March. I think around the time my #SAchat colleagues headed to conferences my own motivation took an extended vacation. I've had different post ideas come to mind over the ensuing weeks since my last update, and a little pressure to force myself to post when I did not necessarily have something ready to write, but overall I've faced various psychological blocks in my attempt to maintain this blog.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. Lisa Endersby, who I have been getting to know virtually over the past few months and who has played a major role in keeping me reading, thinking, learning, and writing, recently suggested a blog "support group." In her latest blog post, she told the story of how this idea came to be. Overall, it's not about getting blog posts churned out. It's about the relationships and the mentorship that is happening in 140 characters (or fewer) on Twitter, and then how that expands to email, blogs, Skype chats, and eventually real-life meetings. But in this post she examines some of the blocks that keep her from posting, and I wanted to engage in a similar exercise. In what ways do I sabotage my own attempts to meet my blogging goals, dragging my blog into oblivion rather than building it up as a dynamic tool to augment my professional development? What are the half-truths I tell myself in my head to stop myself from writing that next post, for no productive reason?

Well, in an attempt to kill those half-truths and outright lies, I am going to post them here. Feel free to comment if you've dealt with similar anti-productive self-talk, and how you dispelled it. Some of what I tell myself:

• I don't want to deal with my slow laptop. (I often use a "recycled" iPhone as essentially an iPod Touch when WiFi is available rather than my 7-year old Dell Inspiron.)




• We're watching tv/a movie/etc tonight and I don't have time.




• I think my post idea is provocative, and I don't want to shy away from controversy, but I don't want to offend. (Which, considering the fact that I've written about how I don't shy away from controversy, is obviously just an excuse.)




• I don't think I've thought through my idea enough. (Could be a good reason, but not to avoid writing about it.)




• I don't know enough about the topic. (I'm too prone to want to write about issues, especially if I have a strong opinion, and not enough of my own reflections or about me.)




• I want to write a personal post, but I'm probably crossing the line between vulnerable and vain. (Isn't the internet a healthy mix of both?)




• This will probably be the post that makes me one of those internet horror stories, that my career will be over as soon as my future employers find it on Google. (Of course it can happen, but some of the ideas that ruminate in my head are incredibly benign and it's only self-doubt that causes me to believe they have the potential to come back and bite.)

I do know one major block has been a signficant occurrence in my personal life that I am not able to share publicly just yet, but has resided in most of my conscious reflection in the time since my last post. Either way, I know I have a lot I'd like to share, and if I can push back against those inner voices which stand in the way of me producing a more active blog, I am confident I can beat my blogger's block.

How do you beat blogger's block?

Bryce