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This Blawg Thang

We all struggle with it.  The big T-Word.  Time.  Or rather, time management.  Otherwise known as, Why did I just spend an hour perusing blogs when there are dishes in the sink, laundry to be folded, and then there’s that minor matter of those children I’m supposed to be raising?

So yeah, I’m blogging about blogging.  Which is five kinds of pathetic, I know.  See, I started blogging quite impulsively, as I do most things.  I jumped in with both feet without really knowing what it was all about or how time consuming it could be.

I had heard of blogs.  My friend Jordana was blogging long before I ever gave it a second thought.  But I never paid much attention to them until I started my own.  And I don’t think I really expected anyone to ever actually read it.

But then they did!  And once people started commenting, I started reading their blogs and commenting back.  And from their blogrolls, I found even more fun blogs to read.  And soon I discovered Bloglines.

Now I am up to 80 feeds on my Bloglines subscription, and it’s still growing.  I’m a very social person by nature, and that carries over into blogging.  But some days I feel like my socializing on the computer is infringing on my socializing with the people in real life that I love the most.  And I realize that I need to scale back.

I don’t want blogging to ever feel like more of an obligation than a fun diversion.  But it was getting dangerously close to that point, so I’ve had to do something to keep it from getting out of hand.  Some of my blogging buddies have talked of giving up their Bloglines completely, but instead of that, I have begun to make use of that nifty feature, the “mark all read” button.  It’s very liberating!  Kind of like getting all of those outgrown clothes out of my closet!  (Not that I’m likening your thoughtful posts to old clothes, but you get the drift.)

I also have to remind myself that it’s okay not to comment on every single post that I read.  What can I say, I like to know when people are reading my blog, so I figure they like to know when I’m reading theirs.  So if you haven’t seen me around in your comments so much lately, I’m still around, just not as often as I’d like.

My husband likes to say of me, “She has two speeds — stop and go.”  And that pretty much sums me up, right there.  I’m hoping I can find some sort of moderation with this blawg thang, so that I can continue to enjoy it without letting it infringe upon my “real life”.  ‘Cause my real life, it’s pretty sweet.  I don’t want to miss out on it.

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8 Responses

  1. I completely relate. My bloglines got way out of hand at one point and I went thru a massive purge. Now, the “mark all read” option and I are good buddies too!

    Take Care!!!

  2. It’s interesting how blogging can become…overwhelming. It surprises me. But like you said, I know I’m reading theirs, I just have to trust that others are reading mine. I simply am not far enough along in my blogging-addiction to get rid of bloglines! Instead of “mark all as read”, I’ve really got mine separated into folders by kind. So, sometimes I just read one folder a day (or 2). You know, hit all the mommy blogs one day, my crafty blogs another, etc. And I have one folder of just bloggy friends that I read & (try) to comment every day. *WHEW* Speaking of needing a life outside the blog…I’ve got to stop this comment NOW!

    🙂

  3. That’s really cool and honest of you and brave to admit that you need to devote more time to your house and kids. Not a lot of women want to admit that they aren’t being super-mom. Some blogs I’ve read (and since unsubscribed to) talk about all these great things that the y know how to do…cook, knit, sew, be politically active, always have energy for sex, read the latest everything, on and on. I used to talk about them to my husband and tell him how depressed it made me cause I didn’t have time for all of that, but then I decided I was spending more time with my kids than they were (ok…maybe that’s not actually true, but it made me feel better). So, anyway, I applaud you for this “confession.” But I still hope you’ll look at my blog on occasion. 😛

  4. I hear ya.. I dont have the time to be blogging this summer but there is so much I want to post about then i feel guilty for making new post but not reading other bloggers blogs.. ~sigh~ but life comes 1st.

  5. I know just what you mean. I really enjoyed it when I took a break for a few weeks. Now it doesn’t feel like a chore.

    For me it helps that our computer is in the basement so it’s not staring at me throughout the day, beckoning to me. 🙂 I love that you post regularly, I always find them interesting but I also know that it is a lot of work (never mind staying caught up with the blogs of others) so I don’t blame you one bit for stepping back a little.