May 9 - Daily Posts to the Journal
Since April 2nd, the day we left Rockport and began this current travel leg of our RV Sabbatical, I've been posting an update to the online journal (our blog) every day. It's the first extended period of daily posting I've done in the 5 years the RV Sabbatical Journal has existed.
In the past I've said, and written, that I don't want to be forced into a daily schedule... which implies a deadline... and a routine... which are exactly the kind of things we're trying to get away from by simplifying our life.
But, for the sake of the experience, I wanted to give daily posting a try. I wanted to learn how I'd handle it, how I'd feel, how it affected my life.
So how did it go? Not so fast... first, a little background: The main intended audience for this journal is (in this order) 1) us, Dar and me, as a record of our travels and experiences during this chapter of our life, 2) family and friends who may want see where we are and what we're up to, and 3) curious others who might get something from reading it (but it's a mystery to me what that might be).
I don't want to generalize, but I believe many people would be better off by living their own life than by reading about us living ours. It might be better to read a book instead of trying to get something out of the mumblings of this stumblebum writer. Go for a walk... or just a drive... see something new... find a piece of history in your neighborhood or town and dig into it a little further... learn to play the 5-string banjo (ouch, now that's getting personal!)... visit a museum... ponder the mysteries of the universe. Do neat things that will improve your mind, your body, and the depth of your life.
Back to the topic at hand... daily posting. Here's what I think after doing it for a month and a half. For me, daily posts are taking too much of my time, my meager mental energy, and giving me an easy excuse for sitting inside, feet up with the PC on my lap. It's taking time away from being outside or reading or learning or pondering the big issues of my day. I want more of my own time (out of the little I have left) to live for today.
So I'm going back to my old haphazard schedule of posting... best summed up by the banner on our "About" page...
Starting next week, we'll be in "sitting mode" for about a month, and the updates would naturally drop off anyway. But my experiment with daily posting is over at the end of this week, and I'm going to try my best to put that extra time toward doing something neat.
In the past I've said, and written, that I don't want to be forced into a daily schedule... which implies a deadline... and a routine... which are exactly the kind of things we're trying to get away from by simplifying our life.
But, for the sake of the experience, I wanted to give daily posting a try. I wanted to learn how I'd handle it, how I'd feel, how it affected my life.
So how did it go? Not so fast... first, a little background: The main intended audience for this journal is (in this order) 1) us, Dar and me, as a record of our travels and experiences during this chapter of our life, 2) family and friends who may want see where we are and what we're up to, and 3) curious others who might get something from reading it (but it's a mystery to me what that might be).
I don't want to generalize, but I believe many people would be better off by living their own life than by reading about us living ours. It might be better to read a book instead of trying to get something out of the mumblings of this stumblebum writer. Go for a walk... or just a drive... see something new... find a piece of history in your neighborhood or town and dig into it a little further... learn to play the 5-string banjo (ouch, now that's getting personal!)... visit a museum... ponder the mysteries of the universe. Do neat things that will improve your mind, your body, and the depth of your life.
Back to the topic at hand... daily posting. Here's what I think after doing it for a month and a half. For me, daily posts are taking too much of my time, my meager mental energy, and giving me an easy excuse for sitting inside, feet up with the PC on my lap. It's taking time away from being outside or reading or learning or pondering the big issues of my day. I want more of my own time (out of the little I have left) to live for today.
So I'm going back to my old haphazard schedule of posting... best summed up by the banner on our "About" page...
"New posts to
The RV Sabbatical Journal are
published punctually, precisely on-time,
whenever I get around to it... unless something comes up."
published punctually, precisely on-time,
whenever I get around to it... unless something comes up."
Starting next week, we'll be in "sitting mode" for about a month, and the updates would naturally drop off anyway. But my experiment with daily posting is over at the end of this week, and I'm going to try my best to put that extra time toward doing something neat.
