I’m Still Alive
How time flies. I just about dropped off the face of the earth for a while… I’ve neglected various blogs (including this one), my Squidoo lenses, etc. I lost my motivation somewhere between “real life” stuff and tackling too many online projects at once.
What happens then? In my case, you end up looking at this big neglected pile of projects, and you don’t even want to LOOK at it anymore. You push it aside, take walks, learn a new job, read books… then you get yourself a computer virus, which is always embarrassing. Fortunately I had backups of most of the things I cared about.
I think I’m ready to try again, though. And despite the neglect, some of my projects have continued to work behind the scenes. I got my highest payment from Squidoo, I’ll finally get a check from Google AdSense, and I’m still getting occasional Clickbank commissions. People have even sent very nice comments about how my lenses and blogs have helped or inspired them, which I really appreciate.
I feel like I’ve cleared my head some and am ready to start digging in again. 
Just need to decide on priorities, come up with a more decisive plan of action, and avoid too many distractions along the way.
10 Comments »
poddys said :
August 13, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Welcome back
We all need a break at times - I got fairly burnt out working for Giant Squid status. I’m only on my 4th new lens since the beginning of July right now!
Sorry about the virus - messy things… Hope you didn’t lose anything. Backups are very handy - and a 2nd computer is really handy, since if your main one is down, you still have a computer to research your problems and to download software to fix them.
Congratulations on getting the Adsense payment. I’m holding mine off for now, but it’s well over $100 - I’m earning about $25 a month and hoping it will go higher this month.
victorianeely said :
August 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi Poddys - Oh yeah, a backup computer is always useful. I need to give the other one a bit of a tune-up as well, since it runs like a slug.
Cool, glad you’re having success with Adsense as well. I’m hoping my earnings increase too, even though I won’t depend on it…
I have about 130 lenses right now. I really slowed to a crawl after I hit my goal of 100 lenses a few months ago, and switched to almost pure updating mode.
So, yeah, easy to burn out.
Brenda Little said :
August 13, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Yes, I missed your helpful notes but wondered about the time and effort involved…I have appreciated them but wish you luck while you are trying to “decide on priorities, come up with a more decisive plan of action and avoid too many distractions along the way.” Those all seem to be fairly frequent subjects of discussion here on Squidoo!
Brenda
victorianeely said :
August 14, 2008 at 12:28 am
Hi Brenda - I’m glad you enjoyed them. But yeah, after a while I found myself running out of ideas.
I’ll keep doing it, but the tips will probably be somewhat more spaced out to help prevent future burn-out.
Susan Villas Lewis said :
August 14, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Nice reminder for me. I’ve had “backup lenses” on my list for a while now. Guess that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend between other projects.
(Glad to see you again!!)
John Dilbeck said :
August 14, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Welcome back!
I know all about burnout. Maybe one of these days I’ll learn how to balance things better instead of working until I can’t go any more.
Hopefully, you’ll do it, too.
I love reading your tips, but I’m happy to wait until you’re ready to post another one.
Act on your dream!
JD
victorianeely said :
August 14, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Hey Susan - Thanks, and it’s good to be back! I need to backup my lenses more often too. I know, I’m baaad.
Hi John - I was pleasantly surprised to see all the comments you left on some of my older tips while I was away. That kind of thing helps get my motivation back.
I’ll keep on postin’… just maybe at a slower pace.
biggirlblue said :
August 23, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I’m glad I didn’t miss anything. I really enjoy your posts.
biggirlblue said :
August 23, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Oh, welcome back.
victorianeely said :
August 24, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Thanks, biggirlblue
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