Personalized Blogging

I've taken the last few weeks off from blogging, and I think it was a great decision.  I had previously been adamant about keeping a rigid posting schedule (3 times a week) and I got burnt out.  I became focused on meeting my self-imposed deadlines, and the quality of the blog posts often suffered.  So after taking a little breather, I think I'm ready to start writing about things that I care about, and hopefully that will translate into a more enjoyable experience for me as well as for those that read this blog.

It looks like it will be a busy fall for me, and there should be plenty to write about.  Next week I start my final term for my MBA program, and the schedule should be pretty challenging.  I also will be taking on some new responsibilities at work, which will give me an opportunity to expand my base of knowledge.

I'll try to write at least one post each week, but I don't plan to force it into my schedule when it just doesn't fit.  More than anything, I just want to make sure that my blogging experience feels authentic and worthwhile.  Anything else is a waste of your time and mine.

Gone Fishing

When I started blogging at the beginning of the year my goal was to post 3 times a week, no exceptions.  Well, last week I posted on Monday, and that's it.  When it came time to write posts for Wednesday and Friday I just didn't have it in me.  I felt like I had nothing at all to say, and I didn't want to write a boring, meaningless post just to stick to an arbitrary schedule.

I've written before about some of the difficulty I've had keeping up with my blogging schedule, and until now I've always maintained that blogging on a regular schedule was important enough to me that I would continue, even when I didn't really feel like blogging.  The difference now is that the quality of my blog posts have been going down (in my opinion, anyway), and that means it's time for me to take a step back and rethink my approach.

I need to rethink a few things about how I approach blogging.  For now I expect to post on an ad-hoc basis, most likely once a week.  Hopefully a few tweaks can help me feel a little less burnt out.

You Can't Fake Enthusiasm

Well, maybe you can fake enthusiasm, but probably not very well.  And not for very long either.

I had lunch today at a local seafood restaurant and our waitress was great: she was engaging, attentive, and genuinely enthusiastic.  The food was great too, but that's beside the point.  Even if the food had been just okay I would still have rated the lunch as excellent just based on the great service. 

Many customer service experiences lack enthusiasm, which is a shame.  Showing some enthusiasm can be an easy and meaningful way for a customer service rep, sales person, or really anyone to delight their customer.