Know Your Limit

You are blogging, networking, staring at the screen for nine hours straight, ignoring your thirst, hunger and the need to pee because you are in the zone (you think), feeling productive, tweeting, updating your status, writing (what you believe are) the greatest posts and…

…later…

You realize you were wrong.  Your posts were mediocre at best, your tweets were annoying (and far too frequent!) and your updates weren’t fit for your best friend to read, let alone the world at large.

This is a problem I run into with blogging.  Judging from other blogs, tweets, etc., other people encounter this as well – All or Nothing Syndrome (ANS).  Although the ‘Nothing’ side of ANS is troublesome, the ‘All’ side can be just as, if not more, hazardous and damaging to the quality of your work.

It can be a tricky path to navigate – you should write when inspiration strikes. You don’t have to post every day.  Life fluctuates, so can your blog.  You want to be dynamic!  You don’t want to become stale or static…

Tread carefully, however!  The highs of blogging and feeling uber productive might lead to a tweet you regret, a post that lacks quality and thoughts that are anything but cohesive or compelling to read.  We’ve all been there, have we not?

Sometimes, you write a post in haste and think “I’ll edit it later…” and never actually get back to it.

Other times you think “but I have to get this done…” and it is apparent that your post was a chore and not a passion.

I could go on, but I shan’t because I know my limit…just think about these words and consider if you’ve been in this position before, then, try to notice it the next time you enter the ‘All’ phase and be extra careful to focus on the quality of your work, whether it is writing, networking or anything else related to your blog.

Know Your Limit – it will Better Your Blog.

Have you encountered ANS?  How do you counter it?  Do you have safeguards to prevent lackluster posting, bad tweets or irrelevant updates? Do you struggle more with the ‘All’ or the ‘Nothing’ of ANS? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Happy blogging!