As a full time blogger, I always feel like I am behind. When I start my day, I feel like I am working on things that should have been done two days ago, and at the end of my day, I don’t feel a sense of fulfillment, just more stress regarding starting work the next day.

There are always a million things to do, and it feels like I only chip away at a few items a day. There is never that sense of fulfillment that normal people get when completing work, and if you add in the highs and lows of the traffic and comment interaction received on the actual blog posts, you have a recipe for a career that doesn’t feel great. At least when you are working towards meeting other people’s expectations.

From Jeff’s post on the subject:

This feeling of always being behind sucks as it takes its toll on the human mind/emotions. After awhile, blogging isn’t fun anymore at least blogging for others. Now, I should make the point that writing for others is not that bad when you are writing about your passion and working with great people but as an individual, when you are spread out amongst 3-5 websites, the quality of writing suffers, it’s not fun anymore, and I feel as if I gain nothing by subjecting myself to that kind of lifestyle on the web.

I have experienced this throughout my four years of working online, and will probably continue to experience this feeling in the future. It is nice to know that I am not alone, and I hope that others that are experiencing this will all come together and find ways to help each other out.

Blogging as a job isn’t the dream that people make it sound like when they try and sell you that e-book. Understand what you are getting into before you leap in with both feet, and make choices towards employment that you’ll enjoy with the express understanding that you will no doubt enjoy it less once you make it a job.

I have to admit, I am envious of Jeff and his WPTavern idea. I hope it goes well for him, and I hope once he reaches the point where he can work solely for himself that he feels that sense of enjoyment that he currently lacks.

Originally posted on November 23, 2010 @ 5:27 pm