Between August 10th and September 1st, I did not post a single written word to this blog. I wasn’t boycotting it, nor was I burned out from more than 100 posts to an “experiment” suggested by our public relations staff over a year ago. I just didn’t have the time.
My time off from the blog occurred because my wife had knee replacement surgery, and I no longer had the luxury of writing a piece or two in the evenings after the evening rush hour in our house had settled down. I gained an appreciation for the things that my wife did for us when I had to take those over too.
In thinking about the chores that I took over, it really wasn’t the work that I minded at all. In fact, I never once said to myself that I shouldn’t be doing the additional work because I knew that my wife would have done the same thing for me. But, I missed the time that I had previously dedicated to either writing pieces for this blog or reading.
Giving up sleep to find more time in the day wasn’t an option. Taking vacation wasn’t an option, particularly since I promised my wife we would take a family vacation once she had recovered from the surgery. So, I gave up my writing, and my reading (mostly). I have a gap in my postings, but I think I emerged much more refreshed. I haven’t returned to my previous pace of three postings a week, but I hope to reach that milestone soon.
With the advance of technology allowing all of us to be connected through cell phones, blackberries, pda’s, or the internet, the pace has quickened and the separation between professional and personal time has narrowed. In my case, I created a couple of hours every night to write and read and that kept the gap from narrowing further. I’m glad to say that I’m working the gap back into my schedule.
