Confessions of a Serial Blog Starter

It’s not just the distractions, but it’s mostly the distractions.

This isn’t just a blog. It’s a blog about blogs, in fact many blogs that sit unfinished in a drafts folder on my hard drive. Actually, they are in the cloud, but hard drive just seems to sound better here. You see, I am what you might call a serial blog starter. Yes, that’s right, I start blogs that I never finish. I have not one, not two, but 10 half-written blogs just hanging out in my draft folder gathering digital dust.

So, why don’t I just finish them and stop whining about it? Oh, if it were only that easy. There are many reasons why the blog might be unfinished. But the big reason is the number of distractions I have. Let’s face it. Penning a blog that doesn’t make money isn’t the highest priority on my to-do list. But this is deeper than procrastination or simply wanting to do more important things.

For one, there have been other things on my mind the past few months. Both parents have been sick and so have I; my divorce was final in April; and the company I work for is changing hands. These events and a few more have taken my physical energy, but my creative energy has drained with it. I must be creative for work; it’s what I do for a living. So, if I get low on creative energy, then this blog is the first thing to take a back seat.

Why Can’t I Just Do It?

It also turns out that this is normal. In fact, after some precursory research on the topic to help me get started (and finished) with this one, I’ve discovered that most bloggers occasionally struggle with finishing their blogs. Here’s another blog about this topic, and there are more. Many of the reasons I discovered ring true to me, so I’m going to share a few of them with you.

• Shiny Object Syndrome: Just as I’m making headway on one blog, another idea comes along and steals my attention. So, I start a new blog on the new idea and never get back to yesterday’s news.
• Perfectionism Paralysis: I’m a stickler for things being “perfect.” That means every sentence must say exactly what I want and be flawless in grammar and style. Images must convey the story. Page design should be a minimal form that follows function. If even one of those things seems out of place, I don’t publish. Mistakes still get through, of course. I am only human.
• Time Warp: Even today, I’m writing this blog among chores. My cats are also constantly calling for my attention, and my mind quickly wanders to other tasks that I feel like I should be doing instead.

I’ll Get to It Tomorrow

Then, there’s good old procrastination. Despite my best intentions, I find myself easily persuaded into putting something off until later. That’s not just for blogs. If I can postpone doing something in exchange for not doing anything at all, I’ll do it. In fact, I have to push myself to keep going on just about any project. That’s why I’m a serial blog starter, but a bad blog finisher.

Besides, what if I write about something I shouldn’t? Anxiety might be one of the last excuses on this list, but it’s hardly the last thing that derails my blogging. I’ve become more careful about what I write and post online. The problem is that I overthink everything now and I second-guess my own judgment.

And finally, there are so many distractions. Facebook messages, my cats scratching the couch again, the sudden realization that I haven’t vacuumed the spare bedroom this week. In fact, just about everything I have written so far could be considered a distraction. They all beg for my attention just when my creativity kicks in. My writing efforts become derailed, and many blogs never get going again.

Nevertheless, there are some good stories hiding in my drafts folder. Maybe I’ll try to dust one of them off. Next week, for sure.