As a network backed blogger, I am under constant pressure to perform well beyond the average blogger, and especially because of my more technical background, I find myself as the only person able to step up with regard to certain tasks, which doubles my to-do list. The hardest problem I have is living up to the promises I make people.

With so much on the go, it seems like my list of things to do is never ending, and add to that my inability sometimes to properly prioritize, and you have a situation where I constantly am setting myself up to underperform in the eyes of someone.

Recently, a friend of mine questioned me on why I had time for “project x” and not his “project y”? Another person asked me why I hadn’t made any progress on another project. And I always find myself feeling like I am starting my week behind with regards to how much work I want to get done versus how much work I accomplish.

What I am quickly realizing is that I have to stop adding new projects to my plate, and I have to stop promising to get this, that and the other thing done for people. Between my full time job with Splashpress (that usually ends up being more than “full time”), this blog, and my wife, I really don’t have much time to enjoy myself.

If you are looking to become a full time blogger, my new advice which I will be shouting from the rooftops is to never promise more than you can deliver. In fact, take a lesson from Scotty from Star Trek. Always under promise and over deliver. Or more simply, give yourself extra breathing room, so you look amazing when you deliver before your own cut-off deadline.

I can’t tell you what it is like to constantly feel over worked, under appreciated and scatterbrained, living minute to minute on information overload and having some wonderful physical signs (chest pains) reminding you to slow down.

Originally posted on February 6, 2008 @ 3:11 pm