I know I’ve been unusually quiet here over the past several weeks. This morning I stopped to consider how it could have been nearly a month since I last published a post to my personal blog. I made a few observations.
When I write something—and it could be anything: a blog post, an email, a handwritten letter—the three things I need in ample supply are availability, creativity, and momentum. I can usually make myself available if I say no when I ought to. It’s the other two that are often more difficult to conjure up. I’m envious of some of my friends who seem to have an endless supply of remarkable creativity. But even when I have a great idea that I’d like to explore I often find that overcoming the inertia in my soul brought on by life’s busyness and challenges is more than I can handle. This is where I’ve been this past month.
I find that on Monday evenings when I normally record an episode of my podcast I’m completely exhausted from the day. When it comes to writing I’ve been turning to Twitter (and more recently to App.net) to send out a quick thought to the world rather than taking the time to come up with a full blog post. Writing something of substance that meets my own lofty expectations has seemed daunting.
Back in August I wrote a post on the five ways I was planning to improve my personal system. It sounded great; it still does, actually. But I’ve not always done a good job following through. I’ve not been diligent to guard my writing time (or podcasting time). As I pursue bigger goals I seem to take two steps forward and one step back. I’ve done a better job saying no, but I wonder if I’ve given enough time to resting and refreshing my heart. And keeping God first is the same struggle it always is.
I know I didn’t owe you an explanation but I felt I owed one to myself. I acknowledge publicly the discrepancy between my intentions and my direction. It’s something I’m working on.
Can you relate to what I’m talking about? If this sounds like something you’ve dealt with, how have you faced challenges like these effectively? I’d be interested to hear your perspective.
