Another great post by Drtanya at Salted Caramel, who asked ‘what is the cost (not financial) of blogging to your personal life?’
# Cost of Blogging — Questions
- Does it infringe upon your leisure time? Unfortunately, yes. I was an avid reader and now I can’t remember the last time I picked up my kindle. Sometimes my partner has to drag me away, kicking and screaming from my laptop. I’ve only started blogging recently and now I’ve got the bug. There’s so many great blog posts to read (such as this one from Drtanya) and I have so much I want to say, so much that I want people to know about mental health, my time as a mental health ward manager…….. I could go on
- Worse still, does it distract you from your work/studies ? Unfortunately I am now disabled and unable to work but fortunately, it’s given me time to spend studying online and more time to spend reading good blogs and blogging.
- Is it taking a toll on your personal relationships ? Hhmm, well kind of, but not really. My partner and I both have laptops and we both spend a lot of time on them. Him watching or listening to the news and the latest politics and me – well blogging, of course. I suppose that means we spend a lot of time in silence (apart from him who has the tv on constantly too). He often says “Here, listen to this.” Me, eyes rolling “ah ha.” and I listen to his boring facts or figures until he see my eyes glaze over and grunts “Shall I just say nothing then?” We both smile and return to what we were doing.
- ‘Has your health suffered? Not really but, I suppose because I have Transverse Myelitis which has its own aches and pains, my back often hurts, my arms and shoulder too, probably from sitting in the same position blogging for long periods. My sleep pattern is disturbed by my illness anyway and I can have days where I don’t sleep at all then I start to hallucinate or days when I sleep forever and just get up to go to the loo. This means that when I’m awake for days I can continue blogging – until I start hearing voices, which distract me. So it’s a bit of a conundrum really – does blogging impact on my health or is it the other way round? That all said, perhaps I now have an addiction 😜
- Have you gained weight ? Ha, that’s a good one. Of course when I’m blogging I drink endless cups of coffee and I love biscuits. I love crisps, chocolate, sweets and……….. it would probably be quicker to give a list of what I don’t like or snack on. So I suppose I probably do put weight on, particularly as it’s known that we lose weight during sleep. Because of my sleep pattern, on and off for days, it probably balances itself out. I’ve only been blogging for two months and I can’t say I’ve put on weight because of it.
- Do you ever get writer’s block? Not yet, because I’ve just started. However, I do lose my train of thought easily. For example, when him interrupts me with his inane utterances or if I stop to take a telephone call.
- Have you ever suffered from blog related stress or blogger burn out? Maybe? Not sure if it’s stress but I found it really difficult at first when I was receiving so many emails with blogging post, 180 one day. Then I learned how to deal with this, courtesy of another fantastic blogger. Perhaps, because I don’t really have many other commitments i.e the boys have flown the nest and I don’t work, it’s a bit easier for me. I only have to stop for Dr’s, dental, hospital appointments or when him suggests we eat then I go help him cook 😂
Thank you once again to Drtanya at Salted Caramel # Cost of Blogging. We’d both be interested in your answers to the above questions. You can answer on Drtanya’s blog post or if you do a separate post, please link back to Drtanya and don’t forget # Cost of Blogging.
This is a fun post! I see some similarities I must admit. My arms and joints are uncomfortable sometimes due to the same position for a long time. I don’t hear voices when reading/blogging too much but my brain ‘zaps’, I forget words, I start to write in another language (very weird this one!) and I struggle with commenting and so on. Now I am curious how you manage your ‘reader’, I would like to know as mine is confusing for me.
Haha! Go into your reader, manage followed sites and from there, you can click on each followers settings to decide which ones you want to receive emails from etc. Or now, when I do get emails, I go to the bottom of their post and unsubscribe from receiving emails. Does this make any sense? Caz x
Yes! Thank you, I’ll get to it.
This is a great post thank you
Glad you like it and thank you for your support. Caz x
Is this for real, or some kind of satire! I’m genuinely not sure?
Robert.
It’s for real Robert. Caz x
Cheers, Caz. Sorry if I caused offence with my naivety. 🙂
Don’t be daft Robert. C x
I like that word. Daft is something I grew up hearing and and saying. As in ‘I might be daft, but I’m bit stupid!’ 🙂 Sheffield is surely the cradle of humanity. 😀
Although I’ve been in London for many years, I still pronounce daft with a Scottish accent.
I can just imagine how that sounds! 😀
I am experiencing similar symptoms. In conversation or something that an other blogger posted or a comment will spark inspiration for my next blog post. Six months into blogging, I find myself increasingly immersed (and obsessed) in my blog. As a result, I find myself thinking about it at times that my focus should be on something else. I may clearly be demonstrating symptoms of blogging addiction. When I’m not posting a blog post I’m devouring other blogs. I realized I needed to be social on here, cultivate blogging relationships and see how those before became successful. Each one of us blog for different reasons. Some blog because it’s an outlet, others do it to network. Still others do it to break away from the mundane of life. There are many reasons why people blog.
Lol, it’s crazy sometimes. I was away for a few days and all I could think about was my next blog. I’m obsessed! Thanks for your comments, which probably ring true for a lot us!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
EVEN FREE BLOGS COST! EIME, ETC.