Putting myself on a time out.
August 28th, 2009 | Author: Beth Harte
I wrote a really verbose post, but a good friend told me that what I had written didn’t sound like me (you know who you are…thank you again!). So, here’s take two.
This past year has been truly exceptional and while I love blogging, I am not a writer. So from that regard, I struggle. I know this is *my* blog and I can do with it what I’d like, but I also don’t want to produce crap content. I have SO many thoughts rattling around in my head but the pressure to make them perfect stops me from writing them down. And the time to make them perfect doesn’t exist…so, again, nothing gets written.
My other issue is that I can no longer scale. Trust me, I have really tried. I have been up to all hours of the morning just trying to keep up. But now I need to have time for my family, my home, my life. That means I don’t have 6 hours to write a post (yes, posts take me anywhere from 4-6 hours to write each one. Pathetic, right?!).
As well, I know social media is quid pro quo and while I try my best to keep up with other blogs (reading and commenting), comments on my blog, etc. I am falling WAY short and for that I am terribly sorry. I would completely understand if people stopped commenting/tweeting my stuff.
Thanks for all of your support through the past year; it has meant the world to me.
I am not saying that I won’t be blogging anymore… I just don’t know when. I need to step back and re-think how I want to approach blogging because where I am now is not working for me.
P.S. I’ll definitely be blogging at the Daily Fix because, lucky for me, it’s part of my job. 
But here at THoM, I am raising the white flag.
Tags: 41 Responses to “Putting myself on a time out.”
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Beth -
It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one that can’t wear a superwoman cape! So glad you are a human and not a fembot!
If I know anything about you – you’ll continue to surprise us with thought-provoking, solid content. Thanks for not over promising and always over delivering.
Keep doing an awesome job with the Fix… and thanks for continuing to be open-kimono about balance, work and life.
- L
Leigh Durst´s last blog ..The Portable Network & Social Media Loyalty
I’m going to say this and I don’t mean it condescendingly, but with love and awe:
I am so proud of you.
Beth, your voice is so important to people. But we have our limitations, all of us, and knowing what those are is often as important as knowing our potential.
I know you’ll be here, through all kinds of different mechanisms, for us to find and share with you. And never, ever doubt the support and loyalty of the people that are lucky enough to call ourselves your friends and colleagues. You’v earned every bit of it.
Now. Go do your thing. We’ll see you very soon.
Much love and respect,
Amber
Amber Naslund´s last blog ..Keep Your Eye on The Ball
I am so glad I am not the only one, and its nice to know others feel like they are trying to be “Superwoman” as well
I am also proud of you – its tough to take a break – even when it eventually makes you stronger!
Hannah´s last blog ..Photography gift registry & new payment plans…
Admittedly? I’m not the best writer either. However, I still have way to much junk in my head not to write down. I’m still going to listen to you Beth whatever the medium…grammar be damned
.
Stuart Foster´s last blog ..The Steam and Echo
Oh dear.
But the thing is, life is more important, and that’s the toughest thing to admit – so hat’s off to you for doing that.
I really look forward to your blog coming into my reader, Beth, and will miss it if the white flag changes to red. But I’ll always find you.
Shonali Burke, ABC´s last blog ..Mirror, Mirror, On My Mind
Having struggled in own way with blogging, and with nowhere near the same amount of responsibilities as you (in life and work), I completely understand your desire and need to step away. Take your time! Regroup. Come back when you’re ready and when you just can’t hold back from speaking up.
As long as I can talk to you somewhere around here I’ll be happy.
Have a fantastic break! I hope removing that pressure from yourself helps free up your mind and heart.
Teresa Basich´s last blog ..If You Don’t Want to Lead, Get Off the Front Lines
I’ll admit that I was kinda surprised reading this. I think many of us think of you as that superwoman who’s able to do a multitude of things without feeling the pressure of life. But kudos to you for stepping up and telling us how it is.
No one can fault you for it, as we all have felt overwhelmed at one point or another. I’m sure we’ll continue to see your face and hear your voice in this space – but your thoughts here will be missed.
All the best, Beth.
Sonny Gill´s last blog ..SXSW PanelPicker or PanelPimping?
Beth – So very gracious of you to offer an apologize when none is needed. Your voice has become an important force in this emerging industry and I’m happy that we’ll find you on Daily Fix. Along with your other fans I wish you a lovely holiday from The Harte of Marketing but look forward to when you open the doors again.
Toby´s last blog ..For Susan
Beth
Although I am newer to your blog I have found it to be one of the best ones out there. I admire you and your decision to relieve yourself of the pressure as instead of going on and continuing to be all to everyone and everything you realized that you needed to but the brakes on.
You will be missed by many but I am sure that we will all still be here when you do post.
I AM a writer and I still struggle to come up with quality content. I definitely can’t do it daily!
I will miss seeing your posts come into my Inbox (yours is one of the half-dozen or so I subscribe to by email, because I want to make sure not to miss them). You have written some immeasurably helpful things, and I will subscribe to Daily Fix (I know, how can I not have already!) to see more.
Thanks for all you’ve done, and for all you continue to do, and most of all for your honesty on this.
Christa M. Miller´s last blog ..Case study: Researching community in Arcadia, Calif.
As I often say…I believe apologies should be reserved for when you *really* mess up. Being human does not count. I’m looking forward to meeting face to face soon. Your voice, wisdom and passion come out in many other areas. I’ll still check in here once in awhile…
Please promise me you’ll continue to rock it?
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
DJ Waldow´s last blog ..Why Face to Face Always Wins
I certainly understand. We’ll watch for you at Daily Fix.
David Reich´s last blog ..Rules of Thumb
Hey ya, Beth !
Time outs can be such a good thing ! I wish you inspiration and easy finding your voice again
I’ve been there done that as well, I think it’s awesome that you recognized it (or had a good friend point it out *smirk)….. I lost my voice when I started concentrating on SEO, I think I’m slowly gaining it back – hope to see you again soon !
I’ll miss ya !
Kim Wood´s last blog ..Downingtown East High School Football Schedule 2009
Beth,
You are an inspiration. I have really been struggling with this myself as I redesign my site. I feel ashamed that as a marketing and social media professional, I don’t have a thought provoking and insightful blog to reflect my insights and p.o.v. However as a single mom and being busy with clients, I too cannot scale. Thanks for throwing up a flag and raising the issue of scalability in this 24/7 social media cycle. Wishing you and all of us the ability to enjoy the (professional & personal) journey.
Dear Beth,
While you may not know me, I read your blog… often.
I can accept the time out for your family, etc., but I very much enjoy your blog and insights. In fact, you are part of the reason why I blog at all!!
I admire your authenticity and commitment to your causes in all your posts and your writing style.
I am officially starting a protest of your decision. All for selfish reasons.
I hope you understand…
75 % Sincerely and 25 % kidding around,
alex beattie
Alex Beattie´s last blog ..Egads! The hyperlink
Well that figures… Another party winds down shortly after I show up…
Seriously, do what keeps the flame alive, Beth. We’re not going anywhere.
Beth,
I identify with your need to do it all and do it well, and respect your decision to pull back on what you do rather than allow less-than-your-best to be out there.
Just know we are always harder on ourselves than others are. I often feel the same… that expertly handling client work (they pay me to be excellent, not just do the job), being a great wife and mom (sorry, honey, I know you usually end up on the shorter end of that stick), and also working on my own blog, site, business development, personal reading (what?!?), etc., is just not possible.
I’ve accepted that it is not… at least, not all at once.
I wish you the best as you sort out your next steps and will miss your voice hear until you’re ready to have it heard again.
Mandy Vavrinak´s last blog ..Mandy_Vavrinak: @BethHarte agreed. I am an "agency" but work very, very hard to avoid all slime. All the time.
Enjoy your timeout Beth. It’s basically impossible for anyone to keep up with everything that’s going on, so good for you for knowing when to say when.
On a related note, we’ve all got overflowing RSS readers that we can never keep up with, so I love it when bloggers take the approach of “Say more, less often.”
Adam Sherk´s last blog ..5 Ways to Deal with Seasonal Dips in Search Engine Traffic
Beth! Thank you so much for being honest, and addressing an issue that I face too (and I see many others do as well now). It’s overwhelming to try to scale the mass amount of information that’s given to us daily via SM. Somedays I just want to give up. When did answering a Facebook message on my BlackBerry become more important than listening to my son tell me about his day? Gah! I write a lot because I love it, but I do write crap sometimes that just isn’t providing value. Part is practice. Maybe part is needing to step back and evaluate whether the ether needs to be spammed with my thoughts. Lol. Good luck with your break! Your voice is important. Relax, get passionate again, and I’m sure you’ll come back stronger than ever. Your real friends will be here when you get back.
Bryna´s last blog ..Lost in Translation?
EXCELLENT post, beth. i think that the biggest lie of social media is that if you’re not doing it all the time, you’re not doing it right.
social media is a waste if your family, your home and your life are in want of you.
i commend your decision
tyler´s last blog ..thehilker: @chicken_lovers thanks for the auto-spam. i mean, cooking tip.
Glad you’re going to give yourself some time to breathe. Here’s the thing – we think we’re going to lose “standing” with folks if we don’t produce content. When, in fact, we love Beth for Beth.
Take your time. No-one who matters will think less of you for it.
As odd as it may seem you may be getting me blogging again with this post.
Jakob´s last blog ..My Favourite Nokia E71 Apps – 27/6 update
[...] read today how blogging friend Beth Harte feels a need to suspend writing on her excellent blog, The Harte of Marketing, for a season. As part of her post, she says [...]
Dear Beth – thank you so much for this post. If my blog hero is taking a breather once in a while, then there’s still hope for me… struggling along with my blog.
Your posts are inspiring, your work with MarketingProfs is really taking off, and your influence on newbies like me is much appreciated.
Thanks for all of it – and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Beth
I was not sure how you lasted this long. Any words of wisdom now and then would be great. In the meantime good luck as you move forward. If nothing else every once in awhile let us know what is going on in your life – not 4 -6 hours of prep just short notes will be fine – thanks again.
@Everyone, thank you SO much for the wonderful comments…I truly appreciate it! And have no fear, I WILL be blogging again…what can I say, I talk too much and have TOO many thoughts in this ol’ brain of mine. Maybe late-September. If not then, it’ll be early November. October is just madness already! It depends on how long it takes me to get my thoughts, next steps, etc. straightened out. See…time outs don’t need to be very long to be effective — just ask any 5 year old!
The biggest thing I am struggling with is perfection and competition (with myself!). Any tips on overcoming that would be great!
@AlexBeattie, of course I know who you are, silly!
@RickSimmons, why have you gone and buried me? I am not dead…just taking a break.
Beth!
As far as your comment…
“The biggest thing I am struggling with is perfection and competition (with myself!). Any tips on overcoming that would be great!”
…happy to hear I’m not alone.
Please continue rocking.
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
We
DJ Waldow´s last blog ..Why Face to Face Always Wins
I’m totally with you Beth! I too take hours to write a post and can’t always focus on it because my client work has to take preference. Your post is liberating many of us who feel “bad” for not posting regularly.
All the best as you move forward. I’ll be looking forward to your posts at the DailyFix.
Debra Murphy´s last blog ..Law of Attraction in Marketing
Beth,
Thank you for reminding people that it is ok to be human. I’m like you in that writing requires focused time. Time that is not always easy to come by. I am continually impressed by your honesty and this case is no different.
You make an interesting point about time outs re: 5 year olds. My little princess is 5 and does not like ‘time-outs’ and I suspect you will be back sooner than you are letting on just b/c you have so much to share and/or comment on.
Like many others, I have come to look forward to your posts and will look forward to your eventual return.
Take care and good luck with the business of life.
@vedo
Richie Escovedo´s last blog ..The foundation of a communications condo
@RichieEscovedo, ah, you know me too well! I am already itching to blog…but will focus my efforts on the Daily Fix for now.
Sometimes it takes perfectly written song lyrics to express feelings. I found these from Anna Nalick:
“If I get it all down on paper, it’s no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I’m naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you’ll use them, however you want to”
That sums up how I feel… I wonder if other bloggers feel that close to what they are writing?
Beth,
One of the things that I’ve learned that has helped me think differently over that past few years is that “The target is continuous improvement not perfection.” We are all flawed. Whether it be writing skills, having a big ego, poor time management skills, whatever; we all have a core issue or two that we need to constantly be working on to improve. If we think we can perfect it, well, we are just wrong and our ego is bigger than we are admitting. It won’t happen today, tomorrow, or the next day -we will never be perfect. All we can do is be willing to commit to working as hard today as tomorrow at improving ourselves. How could you ask more of yourself than that?
So maybe if you reset your bar from perfection to improvement – you’ll feel less stress. I know I did when I reset my bar. And you know what, it really helped me find more of a work/life balance. I stopped thinking SO MUCH about how to be perfect, how to get ahead, etc and just let myself be committed to building a better me and let the rest take care of itself.
I was always so fearful of being *wrong* or a *failure* that my perfectionism was crippling me. But as I have learned more about both my strengths and weaknesses *yes admitting there is a problem is the first step* I focused on making gains each day rather than solving everything at once.
Like the rest of the commenters, I admire your honesty and wish you continued success.
Beth,
I’ve learnt so much from your posts. Thank you!
Enjoy your time. You deserve it! Needless to say, i look forward to your posts whenever you are back.
Gabriel
I am working with marketing in Denmark and is searching for inspiration in the digital world. Thanks for inspiration
Beth, I’m sorry to see the Harte of Marketing blog go but I follow you on Twitter and MarketingProfs so I’ll still read you.
I have to say that I find I can’t even keep up with my Google Reader much less think about writing more than the twice monthly posts for my job (BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas), so I completely understand.
Thanks for all your past and future posts!
@TressaRobbins, have no fear, I am not going anywhere… Just taking some time off to re-think the next phase of my blog.
Hey Girlfriend, Good luck with your strategy remodel. I’m excited to see what comes of this refocus!
Long ago I came to the realization that this blogging thing was a marathon and not a sprint. I just don’t sweat ot too much if I miss a week. Of couse that means my overall stats suffer, but my little secreat is that I went from checking them hourly in the early days (2006) to now checking them about once a month to see what really moved people.
And as you can see (two weeks later I get to this post), I also can’t keep up to the minute with my reader. My recommendation is to do as much as keeps your important relationships in tune and drop all of the blog-star ambitions which require a nearluy full-time commitment. Just my 2 cents anyway.
I know we will be hearing from you across the board, you are an itegral part of the community.
Beth, what I admire most about you is how candid you are and stay true to yourself (more than you realize.) Nobody is perfect or else life would be pretty boring.
Good for you to take a stand with your priorities and listening to your instincts. I always know where to find you and look forward to seeing the amazing things you will be doing at MarketingProfs! Take care and keep in touch!!
Anna Barcelos´s last blog ..Five Tweets to a Job (Five Tips For You)
@Maria, thanks! Still not sure…but we’ll see.
@Kami, thank you for the wise advice, I can always count on you for a reality check.
@Anna, thanks! Your assessment of me means a lot. And yes, you know where to find me, call me, email me… LOL!
I agree with your decision. its good for you to give priorities to your inherent aptitude.
[...] month Beth Harte wrote how she’s waving a white flag and reevaluating her blogging habit. She said, “I have SO many [...]