Blog No. 301
My 300th post got less fanfare than I thought it would. I know I don’t have a ton of readers, but even the people who like the facebook posts where I share this blog every week didn’t show up. It was a dud. But I have no time to linger on that too much. (Just enough to possibly figure out where I missed the mark). I have way too much to do (as always). I’m way behind in writing, again. Flags and High Fives (also behind) is slowly lurching forward. Construction at my brother’s place (where I live, in the basement like a mole person, shunning the light) is ongoing, but my room should be done soon. (P.S. it looks amazing!). The next ChiSeries is coming at the end of the month (mostly planned, but there is still much to do). Also, I’m overdue for a social media / profile overhaul thing. I need to take a closer look at where I’m dropping the ball and pick up that ball, driving it passed some kind of goal line. To top it all off, I haven’t worked out in somewhere around a month, and I’m feeling like a lump of lethargic lard for it.
I fall into routines so easily that I often don’t recognize it when it happens. I live on routine, I strive on routine. It’s from routine that doing something different feels special. Consequently, the lack of routine causes me to spiral. I loose all sense of what’s going on outside my immediate periphery and things get lost in the quagmire. Another issue arrises when a temporary change in routine lasts long enough for me to lock onto it like a lifeline, eschewing all responsibility for comfort (the comfort of the routine). It’s a weakness I recognize and have been able to rail against, but it can also be used as a strength when I can manufacture a positive schedule and slip into it like a pilot into a cockpit. Currently, I am not in a positive routine. Constant change at the day job mixed with the construction at home (which I could have been helping along more than I have, if I’m being honest) have put me into a bad routine where getting the minimum weekly tasks has been a struggle.
The cherry on top was the mess that is Season Two of Flags and High Fives. Arvin and I bit off much more than we could chew and our busy schedules has led us to put off work on the podcast time and time again. The scope of the season was challenging to start with, but when we got to the episode about writing a song, we stumbled. I don’t want to give too much away because the episode is forthcoming (hopefully in a couple weeks or so) but conflicting points of view, a mountainous challenge, and other things on the plate led us to hit a pretty big wall. Several times we would set ourselves tasks to do for the next scheduled meeting and neither of us would do them (sometimes trying and failing, sometimes just not getting around to it). The crux of it is that for several weeks work on the podcast was spotty or abandoned, giving me time to get events planned (and attended) and do other work that was piling up.
I’m no where near where I should be. Like I said, writing has been at a standstill for maybe the longest time since I started writing. I promised myself that this year I would’t have a summer slump. I have every year (since that 2013 start). There is something about the time of year and the lack of routine. I haven’t totally dissected it yet, but I know I’m not the only one who struggles. One aspect is the increase of other tasks (goals, jobs, etc). There is always a big project that’s waiting for the warmer weather. Maybe the weather itself plays a role? 
I can say for certain, the day job schedule gets messy in the middle of the year. Technically it should lead to more free time, but that never seems to happen. This year, the construction on the basement was the biggest factor. It’s something that has to be done and living in my brother’s house gives me a certain responsibility to help out (and not complain about being temporarily moved especially when it will result in a nice finished space for me. It’s not the only factor, but it’s an obvious one.
I’ve spent more than enough time complaining. I should get back to some writing (and finishing episode three of Flags). My next event is the third ChiSeries Windsor of the year, Wed September 26th at Phog Lounge, from 8pm to 9:30pm. The lineup is set and the facebook event page posted. I want to see a huge crowd this time, so I even asked Christian to turn his awesome header into a poster. Look for it around the city.
Ben Van Dongen 
It’s tough when it feels like you’re posting to a void when you’re trying to get some visibility and momentum going. The best I can recommend is assessing what you’re doing (as you said you intend to), but also to keep going. I’m tweaking things all the time on my social media, and maintaining it has become a routine.
Good suggestions. I wish I cared more about social media. It would make doing the work so much easier.
If it helps, look at it as means to achieve goals you care more about… like reaching readers with your stories. That helps me. I also enjoy strategy games, and oddly viewing success in social media as a challenge and test of my strategic abilities has helped make it work I can burden for the greater good of my authorly goals.
That’s a good way of looking at it. May as well make it interesting if you have to do it anyway.
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