Skipping A Post Is OK - Just Don’t Make It a Habit

I advocate consistency because we’ve seen the results, particularly from maintaining the weekly #Strella blog. But, sometimes it’s not always realistic. I passed over creating a post, last week, due to lack of time. I let my team know so they weren’t expecting a post on Monday morning. Upon receipt of the news, our internet marketing partner, John Webster, emailed and texted some quick ideas for a post.  I appreciated his thoughts, but I explained that developing the content is just one piece of the blogging equation. The post would still need proofread, tagged, published and promoted in about a dozen online social media and distribution sites. The promotions, alone, can take 45 to 60 minutes.

I asked him if there is a reason this is important to him. Having seen the results of my blog the past few years, he was concerned about how a missed post would affect my rankings.  He also said that he knows I have a close following and people notice these things.

I told him not to worry because my ezine will launch on Tuesday and my audience will know everything is OK. I reiterated that I usually miss a post or two a year, at busy times. I also explained that I had a busy weekend and something had to give, so I made the strategic decision to forfeit the blog for the week.

He replied with, “It’s actually quite refreshing to admit you can’t just get it all done sometimes.  It’s the first step in workaholics anonymous.”

I laughed, but honestly, I was glad he was ‘letting me off the hook’ because he did cause me to worry a little, as I started thinking maybe I can cram a post in my day, somehow.

But, then I remembered, perfectionism is a problem for me. It’s a problem for many business owners, which is why some struggle to accept excellence – and why some are hesitant to enter the social sphere, altogether. I’ve been working on this the past year, with the big ‘ah ha’ in October when I got over myself.

Last weekend was busy, and that’s putting it mildly. There were three projects that carried over from the week, we had our quarterly leadership meeting, and I was diligently working on responses to a piece for possible inclusion in Forbes.

Weekends are usually a time for me to catch up on work because I have quiet time to focus, but I also need to re-charge my batteries. My goal was to finish working and sit outside on the deck to enjoy the warmer weather by 6:30 pm Sunday. If I would have decided to pursue even a bare bones blog post, I wouldn’t have made it outside until 7:45 pm, at the earliest. After a working weekend, I needed to unwind with my husband.

What good would I have been if I was fried by the end of the weekend? I’ll tell you because I’ve done it (too many times) and the short answer is that I would have been no good. I would wake up the following day, tired and grumpy, and start the mouse wheel all over again.  My productivity would be low and my creativity non-existent.

There are two lessons for any business owner who is a perfectionist (like me). 1. It’s all about prioritizing. 2. Skipping a post or an update is OK, if you don’t make it a habit. It’s that simple. I prioritized what needed done and I decided to give myself a pass because I know that it’s infrequent that I forego a post.

It’s Spring. For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic, it’s a welcome time of year. Let’s get outside and enjoy it with the people who support our business-owning lifestyle, because we all know that it’s not easy.