It all started with an innocent tongue in cheek remark by Rory. I know he didn’t mean anything by it although he did know I had been struggling with staying on track in my quest for real self-discipline. Then it was accentuated by Mark when he made this comment:
Maybe it was just a trick. To ruin your productivity!
He was of course referring to his thought about having only one decent sized goal everyday. But then the paranoia started to set in.
Was I starting to get sidetracked?
I mean really… what does it take to successfully run a blog? I now have a regular routine of checking out the important blogs. Or at least those that I deem important. Thanks to this little firefox hint, I can now have all these blogs loaded in my browser window at one time.
And then there is the actual reading of blogs. There is just sooo much great content out there. As a newbie blogger I want to know how to avoid all the mistakes that others have made. I want to find my feet in blogging and then how do I get the word out about my blog? Which will then require that I keep in mind what my readers want.
Of course once I start reading the blogs it’s only proper etiquette to comment once in a while. You know, make a contribution to the blogging community. But then I have to check back, refresh my browser window because I know the host of said blog will politely reply or at least acknowledge my comment. We might even start a conversation. I can also get involved in charitable and philanthropic causes.
Do I really need to check my feedburner stats seven times a day to see if one more person has subscribed or visited my blog?
Does technorati change their ratings throughout the day? They don’t seem to and I’ve checked them six times today.
I think I forgot something. Oh that’s right I need to write a quality post that someone might be interested in. Done!!
After all of that I have managed to complete exactly one (that’s right, one) item on my todo list for the day. It wasn’t the most important item or the highest priority.
Here’s the problem, once I enter the blogosphere something happens. I get disoriented and undisciplined. I lose my focus.
But boy did I have fun today! And I’m getting to know some really great people. That’s got to count for something. 
How do blogging and blogs affect your ability to get things done? Tell me in the comments.
SUBSCRIBE
Sadly, this describes me to a T.
Nice post btw
Posted by Maclintok on March 29th, 2007.
This is a great post, Dave. Really…linky
Like Maclintok, it does sum up my situation, too. Well, it all ends tomorrow! (As if.)
Posted by Rory on March 29th, 2007.
Rory, Just trying to keep up with all the great stuff you keep posting on your site.
Posted by Dave on March 29th, 2007.
Maclintok, thanks. I wish it wasn’t me, but tomorrow’s another day. Actually it’s almost tomorrow now and I’m still checking out blogs.
Posted by Dave on March 29th, 2007.
This post is kinda funny. Btw, here is a tip, don’t check feedburner seven times a day, it only updates once a day to give you your previous days subscriber count
Posted by Alex Shalman on March 30th, 2007.
But Alex… the visitor count just went up by one
Posted by Dave on March 30th, 2007.
Posted by Robyn McMaster on March 30th, 2007.
Robyn, thanks for stopping in. I would have replied sooner but for some reason Akismet flagged your comment as spam and I just caught it now. I hope you find something worthwhile stopping in for.
Posted by Dave on March 31st, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes: Final List on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Finglish! » Blog Archive » 48 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid! on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes, Part Deux | Middle Zone Musings on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] – Delete Your First Blog Post by Mark Alves – Don’t Forget to Use Blog Carnivals by Andrea – Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave – Careful on How You Tag your Posts by Shankar – Should’ve Gone WP Yesterday! by Jimbo – [...]
Posted by Bloggers Share Their Blogging Mistakes at Gauravonomics on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes To Avoid on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by 48 Fehler von Top-Bloggern, die jeder vermeiden sollte/48 mistakes from Top Bloggers everyone should avoid » ProBloggerWorld » Blog Archive on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by DailyBlogTips.com Project: 48 Experiences of Blogging Mistakes at Clever Dude on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes–The Complete List | reading is my superpower on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by TechTraction » Blog Archive » Blogging Mistakes: 48 Personal Experiences on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes Group Project Results on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by JDsBlog » Blog Archive » Blogging Mistakes on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Customerservant.com » Blogging Mistakes Final List on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] check them out especially the one from Thilak, Green Llama, Daniel, Madhur, inspirationbit, George,Dave, Maki, Philip and [...]
Posted by RobertoAlamos.com - The place to learn how to make money online » Blog Archive » Blogging Mistakes Project: The definitive list on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs And Blogging Will Ruin Your Self Discipline [...]
Posted by 48 Blogging Mistakes : To Make Money Online on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] by Robert, the Mr. Frisky post by Rory, the importance of saving for rainy days by Vivien, and the dangers of blogging by [...]
Posted by qarambol » What not to do with your blog on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Group Project: Blogging Mistakes Outcome on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by 48 Blogging Mistakes to learn from at Madhur Kapoor’s Blog on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] 23. Don’t get sidetracked Blogging takes time and commitment. Getting sidetracked is easy, but its important not to let it happen. Read more… [...]
Posted by Dfinitive Blog » Blog Archive » 32 Common Mistakes That Can Kill Your Blog on April 2nd, 2007.
I found out that my dishes and laundry stack ever higher when I go on a blogging frenzy (or stats frenzy).
Posted by Ronald Huereca on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] * Delete Your First Blog Post by Mark Alves * Don’t Forget to Use Blog Carnivals by Andrea * Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave * Careful on How You Tag your Posts by Shankar * Should’ve Gone WP Yesterday! by Jimbo * [...]
Posted by ViralVoice.net | Find Marketing Answers Fast » Blog Archive 48 Great Blogging Tips » on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Bloggers Make Mistakes Too » Reader Appreciaton Project on April 2nd, 2007.
Posted by Dave on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes | David Paul Robinson on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Increase your Blog Traffic | Delete Your First Blog Post | Don’t Forget to Use Blog Carnivals | Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline | Careful on How You Tag your Posts | Should’ve Gone WP Yesterday! | Don’t Make the Mistake of [...]
Posted by Blogging Together: Common Mistakes in the Blogosphere on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blog Mistakes on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blog N Tips » Blog Archive » Group Writing Projects Bring Links on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] by George Delete Your First Blog Post by Mark Alves Don’t Forget to Use Blog Carnivals by Andrea Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave Careful on How You Tag your Posts by Shankar Should’ve Gone WP Yesterday! by Jimbo [...]
Posted by thepaperbull.com » improve your blog - learn from the errors of 48 others on April 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by WalletRehab - Ways to save money » Blog Archive » Blogging Mistakes! Don’t let this happen to you! on April 3rd, 2007.
Dave – I understand completely how you feel entering the blogosphere, getting disoriented and unproductive. It happened to me at the outset as well – still does from time to time – but eventually, if you stick with it, focus on great content and connecting with people, you’ll get into the Blogger Mindset.
The time you spend surfing, reading, commenting and thinking about blogging won’t feel unproductive any longer, or disorienting – it will become much more natural, and you’ll start thinking about how integrated blogging is as part of your daily activity and your success overall. It’s an interesting shift, and it will happen…
Posted by Ben Yoskovitz on April 3rd, 2007.
Ben, I appreciate the comment, especially coming from you. I’m hoping it becomes ‘integrated’ soon because if it doesn’t I’ll be looking for a new job…
Posted by Dave on April 3rd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by 48 Blogging Mistakes from the Blogosphere | www.mapelli.info on April 3rd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by 48 Common blogging mistakes to avoid by reading these articles | Left Blank on April 4th, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Everyone Else’s Blogging Mistakes | Fighting to Stay Awake on April 4th, 2007.
[...] Don’t let Blogs and Blogging to Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by From One Blogger to Another - 48 Things To Do or Not To Do » Inspiration Bit on April 4th, 2007.
Great tip! It’s something I have been struggling with lately. Where does the time go?
I think in this world of information overload, it’s especially hard to not get caught up in it when you are a blogger.
Posted by George on April 5th, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave Do I really need to check my feedburner stats seven times a day to see if one more person has subscribed or visited my blog? Does technorati change their ratings throughout the day? They don’t seem to and I’ve checked them six times today. I think I forgot something. Oh that’s right I need to write a quality post that someone might be interested in. Done!! [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes Project Roundup: A Checklist of Important Things to Avoid on April 8th, 2007.
[...] a light on in the window At some ungodly hour, It’s Dave, he’s checking his feed reader And it’s draining all his power. He’s got those [...]
Posted by hamelife » The Great Big Blogging Mistake Blues Album - 25 Heart-Breaking Tracks on April 11th, 2007.
Hoo boy! Looks like a lot of people are in this same boat. Count me in, too. I just started blogging this week. Just started reading blogs. Just started commenting. And already I’ve guest blogged for someone and have another two posts on the way! Whoa!
The thing I get lost in is people link to 10 different items in a single post (and you can never read just one post) that I want to read and then those link and link and, and… before I know it, I don’t even know how I got to where I am or why it’s 3 hours past lunch when I started reading when I got in. And I do think networking counts for something, especially when you are reading blogs that relate to the industry you work in. There’s a lot of knowledge and learning from others’ experiences that goes on, and that’s important, too.
I don’t even want to know what will happen to me (or my work) if I ever start my own blog!
Posted by LaurenMarie on May 17th, 2007.
LaurenMarie… now you know why I had to take a few days off just to realign my priorities. It’s not just the networking though… it’s all the great people you get to know.
Posted by DaveOlson on May 17th, 2007.
Oh, I didn’t mean networking to be for only business related gain. I meant meeting new people and enjoying the conversations with them, too! The thing I really like about becoming part of a blog network (network meaning the people who seem to congregate in certain circles and interact with the same blogs, like you, InspirationBit, Graphic Design Blog, Ronalfy, Randa Clay, Simmone, Dawude, etc), is that I feel like part of a community. We are drawn to blogs on topics we enjoy and we find people very similar to ourselves there, too, drawn by the same or similar things. It’s neat!
Posted by LaurenMarie on May 17th, 2007.
LaurenMarie… you got it! That’s what I love about this place.
Posted by DaveOlson on May 17th, 2007.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, this article is just so true! Ever since I started blogging my day job peformance is really taking a toll. Sometimes I think it is almost like an addiciton
Posted by Cin77 (15 Minute Dating Blog) on June 2nd, 2007.
Cin77… Thanks for stopping by. Just keep at it and you’ll get some balance. And you will be glad you did
Posted by DaveOlson on June 2nd, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by DailyBlogTips.com Project: 48 Experiences of Blogging Mistakes at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money on June 8th, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Avoid these Blogging mistakes by eTechBuzz.com on July 13th, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Check Out These Blogging Mistakes « Legal Andrew on October 6th, 2007.
[...] Why Blogs and Blogging Will Ruin your Self Discipline by Dave [...]
Posted by Blogging Mistakes: Final List » All Tips and Tricks on November 5th, 2007.