I owe my Hive friends an apology. I've hardly done anything on Hive this week, either curation or replying to comments. Bad of me, I know.
But I really hit the wall this week.
Image by railyaal from Pixabay
I've been posting on Hive every day so far this year, really upping my game in terms of consistency. Then last Thursday I blew it. I should have staked BBHO and written a BPUD post. Instead, I finished work, had supper, and then thought I'd chill out while the food went down by sitting on the sofa and watching television for a few minutes before posting.
Instead, I fell asleep on the sofa and when I woke up, it was the next day. Well, 3am the next day. It still counts !
It made me take stock and do some thinking. I've had quiet a few things stressing me out and taking up space in my head for the last little while. Mostly non-Hive things; a lot of pressure adapting my business to the latest changes in Google's search algorithms, time that needed to be spent working on the bike, getting kit ready for the re-enactment season that starts soon, and a few family issues.
What I realised is that subconsciously, Hive had become another source of psychological pressure. Don't misunderstand me; I'm still a big believer in Hive, and I'm not going anywhere.
But the thought in the back of my mind that I needed to post every day, to work through all the notifications curating and responding, it all started to feel like an obligation.
I love writing posts, and supporting the friends I've made here. But blowing the daily posting streak may actually have done me good.
It means I can post when I want to and not worry about getting a Hivebuzz Yearly Author badge. I don't have to worry that I'm writing rubbish just to tick a daily box, although I suspect that's part of what was putting the pressure on - I've always been determined to create reasonably good posts, even if they are in niche communities that don't generate huge rewards. Even when I was aiming for a long posting streak, that didn't change.
So now, I can come back after a couple of days off and I've found that without the hidden pressure, I've got more ideas for posts and ideas that I can allow to sit in my head for a bit rather than feeling like I needed to post them before they were really fully cooked.
If I get writers block for a day or two, I don't have to worry about it, and without that worry I'm less likely to get writer's block in the first place.
Hitting the wall was tough. But I reckon it did me good in the long run.