I've already failed #1 in my Resolve to Rock goals.
A month has already gone by and I have written a total of 2 posts - and both are about storytime plans. So much for trying to write about "other stuff".
But I got to thinking -- WHY haven't I written about other stuff? Why don't I write awesome, thought-provoking posts that generate tons of discussion, and are more than just here's-what-I-did-this-week?
The answer I've come up with: because I'm still a newbie. I haven't even been working in a library for two whole years yet. I'm still learning everything from the rest of YOU. I don't have any new insights to add to the discussions already going on out there.
So for now I guess I'll just keep plugging away with what-I-did-this-week type of posts. And the displays and bulletin boards I've done. Just a record of my library life.
Maybe it's the mid-winter blues. Maybe I'm missing my own kids during the day a lot more than I used to. Maybe I'm ticked at the junior high kids who are trying to play hide and seek amongst the stacks. But I'm in a bit of a low spot in my attitude toward library life right now.
Anyone have any words of pick-me-up? How do you overcome the blahs this time of year?
Hey, it's okay to not meet your writing goals all the time. And to be honest programming posts are super-useful to librarians everywhere; so if that's what you're about right now, blog the shizz out of it!
ReplyDeleteI've only had a few posts shared really widely, and even the two that ended up in AL Direct were the result of thinking about something in the shower or staying up all night formulating thoughts about that trends that bug me. And sometimes those posts are a double-edged sword, with people publicly disagreeing with you and THOSE posts being shared widely, too (I speak from experience-- I once wrote a post for a craft beer blog that was systematically torn apart and mocked in an online version of a widely read newspaper by a guy who was on Man Vs Food in a slider-eating competition. A highlight of my career, if there ever was one).
ANYWAY, those posts will come to you, the posts that beg to be written and you're not sure how they'll be taken but your brain just HAS to write it anyway. And in the meantime, your posts have value as they are.
My colleague Brooke came up with an ingenious idea to help with the winter blues-- don't display any books with snow on the cover. It just makes it worse :)
Thanks SO much for your reply!! Your story made me LOL. It's people like you that give me hope. I'll get there. And I love Brooke's idea -- though my desk overlooks a snowy river (which is beautiful). Maybe I'll pull out a display of beach-y books, I'll bet others would appreciate the change of pace too. :)
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