Thursday, 22 August 2013

Updates and Schedules - Yes or No?

If any of you have seen my Google plus profile, you’ll see a few days ago I posted about how I would be updating tonight. I’m unsure if any of you saw that or not, but if not, that’s okay. If you did…then I apologise that I didn’t update right away, but perhaps this will explain a few things.

So, why didn’t I update? Did I forget? Did something horrible happen to get in the way? Was I just so unbelievably busy I completely lost track of time? It’s a no to all of those. I didn’t forget. When I posted that I would be updating that day, I knew I wouldn’t. I did it on purpose. I’ve followed blogs and YouTube channels before. I’ve seen how they say “I’ll be posting a new video every Friday!”

I’ve also seen how we have waited days or even weeks for those new videos and posts to arrive.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine and I decided creating a blog would be a good idea, one where we would post about all the issues in this world. The idea fell flat pretty fast, partly because most of it was his idea I didn’t feel that I was needed, but mostly because we planned the most insane update schedule – videos on Sundays, posts on Thursdays, pictures on Mondays…it was truly insane and rather unreachable for two people that have lives.
And that’s what this comes down to. I do believe it’s good to have a guideline about what you do. It is good to be able to say, “hey, I’ll be updating this on a regular basis!” But I don’t believe it’s good to say, “I’m going to do this on Fridays and this on Wednesdays and I may update this then…”

Why?

Stress…and life.

We encounter stress in just about every aspect of our lives. Whether you’re a student, you work, or you just lay around at home because you either don’t have a job or are unable to work, you will encounter stress. Some friendships are stressful. Relationships can be stressful and I’m pretty sure we all know that family can sometimes make us want to rip out our hair. So why, with these stressors in our life, do we add one more?

I can’t provide a definite answer for that, but I have a theory – that we, as bloggers and up-loaders, don’t want to let down our audience. And I understand that, I really do. I’ve only just started blogging and already I don’t want to let people down…if I have readers, which I’m still not sure about! But the thing is…why would I – why should I – put that more stress on myself, just for the sake of others having something to read before they go to bed?
I wouldn’t. Because while it warms my heart to think that someone out there wants to read my stuff, my health comes first, always.

Life can be busy. We have to deal with family, friendships, appointments, sickness, work, study…and so much more. Imagine you have an assignment you need to do – is the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep at night, “oh, I just want to sleep and ignore the world for a few hours,” or is it, “I must work on my blog so I don’t upset others”?

It should be the second one. If sleep is ignored in favour of writing a post like this, complications can occur – such as sleep deprivation and, of course, stress. And that can just lead to anxiety and depression, which are not enjoyable. These issues will then impact every moment of our lives.
Most of us do things like this for fun. If you get paid to, then that’s a whole different story. But I do this for my own enjoyment and to possibly help others out there that are wondering. Why would I give something I enjoy a deadline?

I wouldn’t. Deadlines are for work, not for enjoyment. So I won’t ever say “I’ll be posting on this particular day!” I will post on a regular basis but I don’t know exactly when I will be. I suppose when the inspiration strikes.

I don’t hate on those that stick to those schedules. In fact, I have respect for them, because it’s something I could never do. But I just want you to think about it. Why give yourself additional stress for something you should do for fun?

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