Just keep blogging, just keep blogging

This was the week it was supposed to happen. The week that I finally started blogging ‘properly’.

Time to spend some quality time with the keyboard.

Last week, I did the prep work. I read other bloggers’ posts about their weekly/daily routines – and even took notes.

(Two of the best posts I found came from YouBabyMeMummy – Blogging, a full-time job? and Top tips for better blogging – they were full of really useful advice, and not the standard “understand your audience” and  “write what you know” type of info that you usually get.

I also brainstormed topic ideas, I found a template that actually works for my needs and I worked on starting to build my Twitter following.

All of this needs a bit of work still. For example, I don’t like my header image, I need to find a Twitter management app that lets me do things like schedule Tweets, and I need to do things like create an About Me page, organise widgets, set-up navigation menus and get involved with some mummy blogger networks.

My current header image is my old logo from a previous, more corporate-y template. I want to make it more friendly

But those are just housekeeping issues. I’ve been a commercial writer for nine years now (and before that, I was an English student and creative writer) I know that the most important part of blogging (and writing in general) is putting fingers to keyboard and start typing. 

I was ready to begin in earnest. I’d start out slow, I told myself. Five posts a week to begin with. That would give me two days off – plenty of time for other things.

But then Sunday happened. Baby learned to turn herself over! She mastered the technique in a couple hours. However, she must enjoy the sensation of flipping over her world, but not the actual result of seeing it from her tummy. She cried nearly every time she spun around and had to be turned back, often with a bit of comforting too.

Then, mid-afternoon, Hubby discovered the reason for the odd red spots that had appeared up on his and my legs. This is so gross. We have *gag* bedbugs. (more on that in another post)

Sunday afternoon was a flurry of taking EVERYTHING out of the room, hoovering, steam cleaning, spraying, itching and feeling disgusted. All of this in between caring for a grumpy baby who didn’t understand why Mummy and Daddy weren’t giving her the attention she is accustomed to. 

It’s amazing what removing everything from the bedroom, taking apart the bed, vacuuming and steaming everything, then spraying all surfaces with tea tree oil can do to a room.

No blogging got done on Sunday. But our bedroom is cleaner than it’s ever been.

Monday, the attempt to get the house bug-free continued. But baby was feeling clingy and I felt guilty for not giving her enough attention the day before. Since every time I put her down, she started crying, we spent a good portion of the day on the sofa. Then when Hubby got home from work, he took care of her and I spent the next several hours with the vacuum and steam cleaner.

My new best friends – Mr Dyson and Mrs H20 X5

No blogging on Monday either. The good news was that baby slept through the night for the first time in weeks.

Those keeping track will now realise that my two free days are gone already – and it’s only Tuesday. That means five days straight of blogging if I want to meet my goal.

So today, after the first full-night’s sleep we’ve had in weeks, I decided that I would do my writing during nap time.
When you adjust things slowly and gradually, curing the impotence in cheap viagra for sale men. The various tadalafil online mastercard types are A, B, C, D, and E. Let us work together, as we are all united under one, and in combining our sildenafil bulk efforts, we can make a difference. There tadalafil india pharmacy are many medications that one can use in order to identify some of the common causes of impotence induct nerve diseases, psychological conditions and diseases that affect both, the valves and arteries are called cardiovascular diseases.

Pumpkin decided she needed to ‘help’ me with computer work.

Baby had other thoughts. She decided that she didn’t need a nap this morning. But I also realised something: there’s always going to be an excuse. Life is always going to get in the way. If I want this blogging thing to happen – which I do – I’m going to have to deal with the setbacks and find ways to get the writing done no matter what.

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” — Neil Gaiman

So, since Pumpkin wouldn’t let me type at home, I strapped her into her pram and we went for a walk. We went to the shops to buy a birthday card for her uncle and then went to the post office.

A view of the industrial end of the Thames

We walked along the river and watched the birds on the mudflats. We looked at the various debris that was sinking into the mud and we went to the park to look at the flowers in the new memorial garden and watched a fat Labrador play fetch with a tennis ball.

The new riverside memorial garden

When Pumpkin finally fell asleep, I found a bench in the shade, broke out my phone and started writing in the notepad app. That’s where I am now. No, it’s not ideal, but I will be publishing a blog post some time today, so I consider it a success overall. Plus, I got to take some pictures and enjoy some fresh air at the same time.

A poppy from the memorial garden. I bet they were impressive a week or so ago.

Hopefully, over the next few weeks, writing will get easier become more of a habit. I’ll learn to write in the time available and find ways to make time even when life gets in the way. No more excuses.

What do you do when writing becomes difficult, or it just feels like you don’t have any time to do something you really want to do? Any suggestions or time management tips would be appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by!

(You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Bloglovin.)