The Cobbler’s Children Have No Shoes
No shoes for you!
Sigh. Don’t you hate it when people say, “Do as I say, not as I do”?
Well.
That is the advice I’ve been forced to give my clients lately, due to the disastrous state of my blog (or lack thereof). There’s a sad irony to a content strategist making money for others by creating killer content and content plans — yet keeping the cupboard oh-so-bare on her own site.
The cobbler’s children have no shoes, the pot calling the kettle black, fill in your own cliche here.
And not a day goes by when I don’t feel guilty about not blogging. But the thing is, I think I often do in my professional life what I do in my personal: put others first. Which is awesome for my clients — when I stay up until midnight fine-tuning their brand voice, they’re thrilled.
But it used to be that I would stay up until midnight thinking, writing, noodling, and maybe even creating a blog post. That’s one downside to success, I guess; when a lot of people are asking for (and paying for) your time, it seems hard to carve out a few minutes for yourself. (Cue sad violin playing and crocodile tears here. I know.)
And then an acquaintance mentioned that she’d found my blog and I instantly began cringing at the cobweb-ridden state of same. Which is when it occurred to me that I could just take the same advice I give my clients:
- Don’t wait to blog until you’ve got something earth-shattering to say (which, frankly, could be never)
- Think of your blog as a place to share and comment, not necessary teach or educate. As a former journalist, I feel an almost Catholic guilt about writing anything that doesn’t serve a greater good. But once in a while, posting about a tiny breakthrough that made my life easier (hello, Lower function in Excel!) is just fine.
- Blog in bits. Start an idea in the morning, sketch it out a little at lunch, add a few lines after dinner, and voila! The cake is baked. Doesn’t have to be a 5-course, sit-down dinner every time.
So I’m resolving, starting now, to get back on that blogging horse. Just do it. A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. And so on.
And now that they’re all out of my system (whew, pent up pressure!), I’m also resolving to keep future cliches to a minimum.
See you soon!
I mean it this time.
(image courtesy natalia & gabriel via Flickr)
C.C. Holland 