Weekly Lists #96: Reasons not to Blog (And That’s Okay!)

Here’s a fun fact: this is the second time I’m writing this post. And then, about 10 minutes after hitting “publish”? My server crashed. While I was abroad, hardly any internet. So I’m rewriting this, and I’m adding a sixth point. Because, obviously: a crashed server? Sounds like pretty good reasons not to blog!

1. Holiday

Sure, you can anticipate on going on a holiday. You can write ahead of time. But sometimes that’s just not an option. For example: because the second point already took up all that time.

Maybe you’re just not the kind of person that really writes ahead of time, and you just want to enjoy the holiday while you’re there. Maybe you just need a bit of a break from blogging and all that comes with it? Maybe you just want to go on your holiday. And that’s okay!

2. Work / school

This is basically why I had to take a little break this spring. Because some part of me thought it would be a good idea to do two full years of college pushed together in one. Only that meant I had two years’ worth of internships, deadlines, papers and exams. And somehow I was meant to juggle all that ànd have some free time, ànd maintain something resembling a social life, ànd keep up my relationships with family and friends, ànd….

Sometimes you’ve just got to drop one ball. And if blogging’s not what’s making you money? Than it might just have to be blogging.

3. Don’t want to

I mean, nobody really wants to say this, I feel like. Nobody wants to admit that blogging is ever anything but the giggles and laughs of a sort of eternal divine inspiration. Guess what? It’s not.

Blogging can be a lot of work sometimes. You don’t just write a post – you also have to check things, reread, get pics, promote, plan out when to post it… And sometimes that’s honestly just too much. Or maybe you really just don’t want to blog. For whatever reason. And that’s okay too!

4. Family / Friends

As a general rule, for me, family and friends come before everything. Because no matter what, they’re the people that get you through everything else. Work, school, holiday, emotions. If there’s a crisis, a need, or a joyous occasion? They come first.

5. Writer’s block

Sure, there are days when you sit down and you know what you want to write, or even just what you want to write about.

Other days, there’s nothing. Just a gaping hole of “not knowing what to write about” and/or a blank cursor where your words should be.

6. Technical difficulties

I mean, I just told you, didn’t I? There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to blog, but not being able to. Or having a couple of blogs written and then your blog crashes and you realise your last backup was, like, 3 weeks ago. And you don’t even want to blog anymore, because, well, honestly… All that lost effort!

Here’s the basic line: unless you’re writing for someone else who sets your deadlines? Blogging is something that, for most people at least, is suppposed to be fun. So if, for some reason, you can’t blog? That’s okay. (Now, please, forgive me for not blogging this last week? 🙂 )

-Saar