A drowning dilemma
Help!! Can you see where the pleas to be rescued are coming from?
Way down here buried beneath a pile of article deadlines, blogposts, photo editing, bookwork, video creation and social media.
I’m here just finding it hard to surface at the moment. I’ve taken far too much on. It would have all been okay if I had not been on so many press trips lately. They have killed my productivity and forced a complete change in our blogging approach and strategy.
It’s called lying low and hiding from the airport for awhile. We do have a lot of travel still ahead to fulfil our new writing and content creation contracts, but it will be local and involving the whole family! Yes! no more being separated.
Source: mariovittone.com via Liesl on Pinterest
And for Mojito Mother, I have been pulling my hair out lately working out what to do.
I have so many posts I want to write, but just can’t get to, as I am overwhelmed with other tasks taking over, namely giveaways. I really do love giving away products etc to my community. It’s a way of saying thanks, but I am left feeling lately as if I am doing too much and it is hijacking my blog.
Giveaways take an incredible amount of admin work to getor ganized and to run. So my dilemma is to let them keep going and not get much content of my own published or slow them down and not get much free stuff out to you?
What do I do?
I would love for you to tell me what you would like to see? Do you like the giveaways? Would you like to continue to see more? Or would you prefer to just have me write the content I usually write? (I do have a couple more to come just while I am sorting this out)
I would so appreciate your thoughts. And in the meantime I’ll go back to finding a way out to the surface. I think it’s called “there’s plenty of time for sleeping when your dead.”
Comments
Denyse Whelan.Education Specialist
“throwing life line to drowning Caz”
I am asking you these questions as I struggle to get you to the surface…
1. When will you ever have this time of your young girls’ lives again?
2. Why is it important to have a separate blog from ytravel right now?
3. What would it mean for you to give up the idea of a separate blog for a while?
4. Can you imagine having less paper & on-line assignments pressure and how that might feel?
I have brought you to the surface. What say you, Caz??? Love Denyse xx
Caz
Thank you Denyse, you are so sweet. These are questions I have thought long and hard about for some time and I thought some more about it today and I am very confident that I don’t want to give up either blogs. I received a phone call this morning booking me in for a day of teaching on Friday. I feel sick and am already dreading waking up that morning. Despite all the work for both blogs that is a feeling that never comes my way. I cannot live a life where I wake up feeling sick and like I want the day to disappear. I think I can handle the overwhelm now. It’s worth it.
Unfortunately, if I didn’t have the jobs I would have to teach,or work a job I don’t like full time. When I thought about that I realized just how much worse off everyone in my family would be. I would be miserable and depressed which helps no one, especially my girls. I would be away from them every day and, as you know,all the extra time that goes into teaching, I’d end up having far less time with them than I do now. At least working on my blogs I can work around the girls and do most of the work at night when they are asleep.
I had two events to go today for this blog and Savannah came with me. We had such a lovely day together and its so great that she can come to work with me.
I’m not going to give up this blog, but I am going to slow it down for a bit. Just until I get on top of things again. Most of my backlog at the moment is due to all the press trips Ive been on the last few months. Now that is something I have decided to cut out for awhile. I don’t want to be separated from the girls anymore and it just kills my productivity. We’re planning on just family travel for the next few months which is awesome.
Thanks for giving me so much to think about today Denyse, it really helped me a LOT!!
Denyse
OK…I feel that you “have” what you want, but perhaps in writing it down, it got it “out” and you can see the future more freely. Excellent. I know you aren’t looking forward to a return to classroom…although I think your class would have a great time with such a well-travelled person as their teacher for the day..
Knowing where your heart is…and with a little bit of head talk too…you will be OK. I know it.
Love D
Kim
Hi Caz, it’s 6am, I’m working too. I turned the computer off at 11 last night. The dining room chair where I eat, work, bond with my daughter and dream of taking a break, using my passport, having a mortgage and a hunky boyfriend is only 10 steps of well worn carpet, but sometimes it feels like Everest.
I live in Sydney. I’m a single mum and work close to 60 hrs a week. I’m not hugely paid but I work in a job that I’m passionate about. It took me nearly 2 decades of completely changing my previous life to get this kind of job. That part wasn’t hard, because it’s what I wanted. You know I really, really wanted it. I didn’t fit into my previous life. Growing up i felt like an alien. There were plenty of mistakes made along the way, but I thank my stars every day when I get to work in an environment that I absolutely am. I have the best job in the world….for me. I look at your to do list and feel your pain. But also welcome you to it sister.
If you say you want something, set about to make that happen, then actually get it, are you drowning, or swimming in all of its glory. Everyone that’s going after what they want in life, seems to me, to be going hard. You have to.
I’m new to your blog. I’ve read about 6 posts. Congrats, your in a changing place too. Please dont turn this blog into a place of being overwhelmed.
I think you’ve got the wrong photo up.
Caz
Aren’t you an angel? Thank you so much for this. I absolutely LOVE this perspective. I was thinking a lot about it today and I realized that it is a good thing to be so busy with my blogs at the moment because it means that I am having success and I am doing what I love every day so it makes it worth it and so bearable. I am going to work at the school for a day on Friday and I already feel sick thinking about it. That is a feeling I never have with my blogs, despite the overwhelming workload. Such an inspiring comment Kimberley, thank you so much!!
Vanessa
Giveaways are great. But the reason both of your blogs are so successful is that you have loyal readers – so I don’t think anyone will be scared off by slight changes of pace.
And if the giveaways & corporate deals are supporting your family then isn’t that one of your goals in having these blogs?
Plus, there are always guest posts if you want more ‘writing’ on the blog, but don’t have the time do actually write for a little while.
Always other options 🙂