The questions for this week's Friend Friday post particularly interested me because I occasionally feel a bit of blogger burnout and a couple of times have even considered stepping away from Fashionable Academics. So far I have always decided not to do so, but I must admit that I'm planning on taking a winter vacation from Style Nation this year.
1. How many hours a week do you spend blogging? Has that number changed since you started blogging?
To be honest, the time I spend blogging varies greatly from week to week. It depends on whether or not I have other deadlines, lots of papers to grade, and what's going on on the blog. Since I have co-bloggers, I don't feel compelled to write posts every day by any stretch of the imagination, but doing challenges like Kendi's 30x30 or compiling links and pictures for CFP's can greatly increase the amount of time I spend blogging. The first couple of months FA existed I only posted a couple of times a week and I only commented on a few other blogs. In general, the amount of time has definitely increased so that I probably average about 8-10 hours a week spent taking photos, writing posts, and commenting on the blogs of others.
2. There is always more you can do, write, read comment on... how do you limit your time spent on these tasks?
I'm sure for everyone it's different, but the biggest way I've found to limit the time that I spend reading and commenting is to comment mostly only on the blogs of those who comment on our blog. When I check out a new blog, I leave a comment, if the comment gets returned, I go back and if/when I rapport develops, I add the blog to my reader and comment regularly. I know that not everyone has time or inclination to return comments on a daily basis, but since the dialogue and community aspect is so important to me I prefer to read the posts of bloggers who make an effort to return comments at least once or twice a week. I know some bloggers don't comment or almost never do other than on a select few blogs, and while I certainly think that's within their rights as bloggers, it makes me a lot less likely to spend much time in their corner of Style Nation. I do still read a few of those kinds of blogs, but I tend to skim them more quickly or only visit them once every couple of weeks. I'm sure there is a lot of great content that I'm missing out on because this method isn't perfect, but it keeps the amount of time I spend blogging to a reasonable level.
3. Have you experienced Blogger burnout yet? How have you dealt with that?
I have experienced some burnout. The biggest issue for me is that sometimes I feel frustrated that even though our readership has grown a lot over the past few months, we don't seem to be getting many more comments on posts. In fact, I'd say the number of comments has stayed the same or even decreased since January to March of last year. I try not to let this bother me, but sometimes it does. And when I start to obsess about the number of comments we get on posts that's what seems to trigger feelings of burnout more than any other aspect of blogging does.
4. This time of year is always a lot busier than any other time. Will your blogging change as a result?
As I mentioned above, I plan on taking some time off this year. I will be taking a 3-4 day break from blogging next week as I frantically grade final papers and exams. I won't be posting, and I probably won't be reading or commenting on other blogs for that period. I also intend to take about a week off later in the month. I will be spending the holidays with family and getting some work done on some academic projects that I don't have much time to devote to during the semester because of my teaching load.
5. Could you foresee a moment in which you are not blogging anymore? How would you identify that it's time to walk away?
Yes. I can imagine a future in which I would stop blogging at FA. I hate to say it but with the academic job market being what it is, there is a possibility that I might not end up permanently in academia. I hate to think about that because I love what I do. It can be demoralizing, but I cannot make the percentage of tenure track jobs in my field increase. While obviously style outside of the professartorial interests me, I'm not sure if I would continue to be a style blogger without the particular context that I've been writing in for the past year and a half. I would also consider walking away from blogging if it no longer gave me a creative outlet and if it no longer felt like a hobby.
Now on to outfit #25. For my next to last day of teaching this term, I wanted an extra layer of warmth so I wore a dress as a blouse underneath a skirt. With the addition of tights, a slip, and my favorite new cardi, I managed to stay warm when I had to dodge between buildings and while in my slightly drafty office for office hours.
30x30 Items: 5. Patterned Red Dress - Nine West + 11. Black A-Line Skirt - Sandro + Sub 2. Melon Ruffle Cardi - New York & Co. + 26. Bondgirls - John Fluevog
Accessories: Tights - Top Shop (remixed), Boleyn Necklace - Wendy Brandes (remixed)
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