light bulbDo you feel like any more work towards your current goal is about to make you scream? Do you find yourself disgusted, discouraged, and demotivated?

I have felt like this during the past few weeks. Somehow, though, it feels like a cloud is lifting and that I’m starting to get my groove back. Some things have clearly changed, even if I don’t fully understand their impact. However, bit by bit, my mood is lifting and things are looking up.

Let’s examine this and see if there’s any lessons here.

Background

  • Blogging and I are past the honeymoon stage. There are still lots of good times, to be sure, but the annoying parts of blogging, those normally involving work, are starting to come out of the woodwork.
  • I’m writing a weekly newspaper column, one that has extended past my original vision, so now I’m continually having to dream up material. However, there are some advantages to my writing this column so I’m reluctant to give it up.
  • I was spending a lot of time on a mini-project to build up some Digg authority, which took a lot of energy.
  • Oh yeah, I’ve got a family and a full-time job, too.

Plus I was getting discouraged because although my subscriber count is growing, my page views are declining (I’ve been trying to lay off the StumbleUpon juice.)

So, bad mood all around.

What were the problems?

  • My focus on acquiring Digg authority ate into my blogging time, between finding and submitting material, then Digging other people’s stories.
  • I was doing a lot of reading and research about the past five years of blogging and was feeling a bit intimidated by other people’s accomplishments.
  • I was having a few sober second thoughts about social media in general.  My expectations were probably unrealistic.
  • I had neglected Skellie’s rule: write your posts in advance.
  • Meanwhile, I was still posting daily, but rush posts just don’t tend to have the same level of quality as a planned post. I actually forced myself to skip posting for one day, if only to break a cycle.
  • I wasn’t using Sphinn or StumbleUpon very much any longer and I was missing the community and connection building aspects of both.

What changed?

A small series of adjustments seem to have improved things for me.

  • I cut back my Digg time quite significantly. I’m spending less than 20% of the time on Digg that I had been when I was pushing for authority (in other words, increasing the number of popular stories that I submitted.)
  • I touched base with other contacts who I hadn’t talked to for awhile - I felt like I’d been a bit neglectful.
  • I made some new contacts through Twitter and some other blogs.
  • I thought about social media some more and I readjusted my approach and thinking. I’m less awed over it, but at the same time I still realize the potential of interactive media.
  • I was asked to write a guest post. It was flattering to be asked and fun to write! I’ve got two or three more guest posts lined up over the next few weeks, so it’ll be even more fun.
  • A lot of snow melted around my home and neighbourhood. We might even have spring after all! It’s wonderful for lifting one’s mood.
  • Most importantly, I’m picking up some ideas on how to improve this blog and I look forward to writing new content and making changes.

Onward and upward

I think a recent conversation with one of my contacts helped to put things in perspective. He suggested that while there may be a lot of people writing about the various aspects of social media today, it’s likely that most of them will just fall by the wayside over time for one reason or another. In other words, the rewards are usually there for people who continue to grind it out and produce good, useful content over the long term.

I also think that it’s good to occasionally add some variety to our routines and schedules, especially if you can get similar benefits or results from different activities. Guest posting is proving to be a nice mental change for me.

However, if you’re spending a lot of time on something that might not help you acheive your long term goals, you should examine the impact that it’s having on your work and determine whether or not it’s a wise use of your time.

Things are looking up.  I’ve got some new wind in my sails; let’s see where it takes me!

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