This is hard work
Writing a blog is no picnic
- It takes research; I have to read to get new ideas
- It is tedious; how do you get a single idea down to a clear concise point?
- It is boring; editing, editing and re-editing — particularly with my penchant for typos
Ideas don’t suddenly materialise on the page, they take time to bash out, time that could be spent riding a bike or reading a book. Time that could be spent playing with children or doing jobs around the house.
Writing a blog is hard work.
So what do I get in return?
Why do I bother when I could be watching the telly instead?
- Writing makes me think — I know, it is hard to believe
- I get to call the shots, I’m the one who decides what the topic will be, where this blog is going
- I feel like I am achieving something. It gives me a sense of purpose
- Slowly my readership numbers climb. I can see progress
- I feel like I am contributing. There is no point learning something unless you share it
- Every now and again somebody drops me an e-mail to say thank you.
I do not write this blog for the money, I write it because it is fun.
It is adult fun
No I’m not talking about slap and tickle — though the chance would be a fine thing, please drop me a line.
Adult fun is challenging, it makes you think, you can see what you are achieving, it plays to your strengths and you can get into the flow.
Adult fun is not taking your team to play laser quest or spending the day on a booze cruise around the canals of Amsterdam.
Adult fun is about achieving something.
So if you want your team to have fun at work…
Give them something challenging to do and let them get on with it.
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Image by Jenniferschwalm
I like your bullets about why you blog. Matches my list pretty closely.
I would add that while we like to achieve something, we also like to be recognized for it. We get a feeling of self-accomplishment, but employee recognition is an important part of the employee engagement.
Annette :-)
A very interesting thought Annette, I definitely started whilst craving recognition, but now I am not so sure.
James,
I love the discipline of blogging and, like you, it helps me think out loud about, hopefully, useful questions and ideas.
The best way I have ever come up with describing my blog is this:
“My blog is my public, thinking, digital notepad”
Adrian
Anything that makes me think — rather than shout my mouth off — has to be a good thing