The Friday Gathering for 9/4/2008
By glblguy
Ever take on a little too much? I seem to have done so over the past few months. The problem is I have all of these ideas and things I want to do, but not enough time to do them, at least not without sacrificing things that are more important to me.
I write here on Gather Little by Little which is my primary blog. I’ve committed to myself that regardless of what I have going on or sign up to do that this blog will take priority over any other projects I have going on. I also write on my saltwater aquarium blog when I get time, which isn’t near as often as I would like. I run 2 niche affiliate marking sites (no, I won’t share what those are), and have 3 others that are in progress but not done yet. I have at least 5 ideas for articles to write for Blogthority and frankly been promising Pinyo I’d write for him at Blogthority for months now, but haven’t. Lynnae, Paidtwice, and I are also working on a project together and I haven’t even got beyond the thinking about it stage right now.
To make matters worse, I also agreed to do a website for a local business. This actually really excites me as I’ve been wanting to do this type of work for a while and I just haven’t found the right opportunity until now. This will become a priority for me, even if the other items above have to wait a little longer.
Add to this my normal responsibilities of being a manager at my “real job”, being an involved father to 6 kids, and a husband that tries his best to pay attention to and spend time with his wife, my schedule is pretty full. Add to that us trying to sell our home and buy another…well, you get the picture.
It’s quit frustrating really, as I have so much I’d like to do and honestly feel like I can be successful with all of them if I only had the time.
I have this sincere interest in running my own company that has a diversified income from blogs, affiliate marketing sites, web development and consulting. Mrs. Micah recently launched a similar effort and from what I hear is doing really well at it. She inspires me and motivates me.
It would seem I have two options 1) Sacrifice on things that are important to me (the large rocks as Stephen Covey puts it) or 2) Drop some things. I considered finding more time, but honestly I’m already cutting it pretty close on not getting enough sleep and I am probably guilty of not spending enough time with my family as it is. Given that, #1 just isn’t an option which leaves me with #2, drop a few things.
I think for now, I’m going to stop writing on SaltwaterBlogger.net for a while and pick it up again later when I get a few other projects out of the way. I’m also going to hold off developing the additional niche stores I have in the queue. This will cost me some revenue in the short-term, but nothing I couldn’t make up for later. I also think writing for Blogthority and working with Lynnae and Paidtwice on our little project is going to have to go on hold as well (sorry guys!).
My focus is going to have to be on Gather Little by Little and doing this new web development project I’m engaged with. That project will not only generate some short term income for me, but will also begin establishing me some credibility in the web development space.
One other option I have considered is hiring writers for the blogs I’d like to start or don’t have time to write on. Any thoughts on this? Anybody interested in writing about saltwater aquariums? I don’t even have a clue of how much to pay and whether the cost per article could be recovered from the advertising and affiliate relationships.
Would really appreciate your thoughts and input on all of this. Do you see some options I haven’t considered? You experienced bloggers, any feedback on hiring writers?
The gathering
Here are my favorite articles from the M-Network and other pf blogs this week:
- avoiding shopping temptation? from plonkee money
- When it Comes to Emergency Funds, Size Does Matter from Frugal Dad
- DirectTV Bait & Switch – They Change Prices Once Your System is Installed. from My Two Dollars – I’m really glad David wrote about this as I had planned to use DirectTV out our new place. Will be looking at other options now!
- Slight Misunderstanding of Marginal Tax Brackets from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity – I’ll confess, I didn’t know this either. Good thing Jim provides this great explanation.
- 20 Ways to Save Time and Money in the Kitchen from Cash, Money, Life
- A Six Figure Salary And NO Investment Plans? Are You Kidding Me? from The Wisdom Journal
- A Look in the Mirror: Are You a Borrower, a Consumer, or a Keeper from Borrow from None – What are you? I’m a mixture of Consumer and Keeper, but drifting more and more towards Keeper each day.
- How to Easily Open a CD Ladder at ING Direct from Mrs. Micah – This is a great read on the CD ladder concept. I was familiar with it, but her article really simplifies and explains it well.
- A Peek into a Millionaire’s Account Structure from Million Dollar Journey – Very interesting read…now if I only had a million dollars…
- 50 Ways to Make Money Blogging from The Dough Roller – DR has an excellent and thorough article here. If you have a blog or are considering starting one, this is a must read.
- Pricing from Quest for Four Pillars – I have the problem of how much to charge right now with the website I’m building. I recently experienced a similar “pricing scam” when faxing using local business services companies. They charge you $2.50 to fax the first page, then like .70 cents for each subsequent page. What a rip-off.
Photo by: Stéfan
September 5th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Guest writers might work on Saltwaterblogger, but I always find it a little disappointing when a blog goes from a single voice to a multiple voice thing. But that’s me speaking as a reader of GLBL.
What about cutting back at the day job? ;)
September 5th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Thanks for the mention and a great post. I too have similar time/demand issues and I only have a mere 2 kids!
I always tell my wife that if you try to do too many things at once you’ll end up getting nothing done!
I’d focus on this blog and the house search – once the house stuff is resolved you can add in other things.
You are young – plenty of time! :)
Mike
September 5th, 2008 at 7:36 am
@plonkee – I agree, I like a single voice too, at least for most of the articles. I have considered cutting back on the day job, but the income from my side projects just isn’t enough right now to cover for the hit I’d take from cutting back.
@Mike – Very true, I always say “I’m doing lots of things and none of them well”. Thanks for the advice and I sure wish I was young! ;-)
September 5th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Except for the 6 kids part, I can relate to your dilemma really really well. I have 5 blogs and one social media site. I am also planning to scale back on the blogs and focus more on Moolanomy. Coincidentally, I have been thinking about changing Moolanomy into a group blog to expand the depth and breadth of content there.
Don’t worry about writing for Blogthority, your plate looks too full. :-)
September 5th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Thanks for the mention GLBL! I feel your pain, I’m also a little short time these days with a young child, regular job, and multiple side projects. Key is to keep your eye on the big picture and on what’s most important.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Thanks for the mention. I “feel your pain.” One of my Achilles heels is that I have too many ideas and not enough time to put them in motion. I already manage 16 stores, have a wife and three kids, am in the process of starting a PCA Church, teach Sunday School and a weekly Bible study, have my primary blog at The Wisdom Journal and another blog that I’m not very diligent with, ideas for 2 others, and I’m wanting to start a few affiliate sites. Add to that my boss is a newbie and I’m having to “train” him the way I want him :) and he doesn’t have a clue on 75% of what he’s doing (so guess who has to bring him up to speed).
Cloning is starting to look pretty good but I think another me would quit from too much work.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Great list of articles this week–thanks for including me. Well, with a wife, a job, two blogs and two kids I can related to at least one third of your story! Of course, I’ve had my share of life distractions over the last few weeks, too.
One thing that has help to put it all in perspective for me is that blogging is voluntary. Sure, I love my readers, and apppreciate that they want fresh content, but no one is forcing me to write. Take things at your own pace, and we (your readers) will follow.
My friend and coworker has a sign on his desk at work that reads, “I know God won’t give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much!”
September 5th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Sounds like you need a few more projects to keep you busy this fall and winter. What else could you find? ;-) Thanks for the mention…
September 5th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I’m in the same boat – two blogs with another in development, trying to form a network for my military money site, and I’m working on creating an affiliate site (which would probably lead to several more). I still focus on Cash Money Life because that is where my passion is. No kids yet, but when we have them, I’m sure my priorities will change! Thanks for the mention. :)
September 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
The analogy I use to balance life is that you have 5 fingers on your hand so you can only be involved in 5 things at once. God is my thumb, family is my pointer finger, weekend volunteer work is middle man, officer in non-profit group is ring man, and church is pinky finger. I separate church from God b/c I need a one-on-one relationship with Him to cope with life. My church is small so I end up participating on 3 of the 4 committees so it gets its own finger. With a young child at home, family takes more time right now so I cut back on volunteer work to keep the balance on my hand.
Since your blogs are diverse and take time it might be hard to put them on “one finger”. I echo Frugal Dad … if you cut back on some of your blogs your readers will follow. Maybe you could take Sunday off from GLBL to fit in family time and organize thoughts for the week.
Thanks for being honest with us! We know you are human but it helps knowing we are not alone in our need to find balance. You don’t feel so alone when you know someone else like us has ideas for great things and a busy life to balance.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I can’t imagine doing what I do with even 1 kid, let alone 6. A SAHS would certainly help, but still. It sounds like you’re taking the right steps in sorting out your priorities. Micah’s my sounding board for this kind of thing.
For instance, my church just asked me to serve on their Service Committee, which would be awesome. He helped me come up with circumstances under which I will or won’t accept the offer and they’ve agreed to wait a couple months. We’ll see how things are then (with my offline job situation).
September 5th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I totally feel your pain. I think you’re doing the right thing. At least you’re managing to keep up with GLBL. It’s frustrating to me that I’m not even writing for my own blog right now, though I do plane to sit down this weekend and hash out some posts for next week.
Eventually, if you keep your goals in mind, things will balance out, and you will be able to get back to your other projects. Until then, you do what you have to do.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Well, it certainly seems that most bloggers don’t have a problem coming up with ideas – just with finding the time to implement them! It makes me feel a little better that a lot of other people seem to have the same issue – though I only have 3 kids, so I’m nowhere near where you are. I do think you have the right plan of focusing first on GLBL and your new web dev project. Good luck!
BTW, I’ve found your list of articles very useful – thanks for including me!
September 8th, 2008 at 12:53 am
I hear you, and I don’t have ANY children, nor do I own a house. Between work, school, spending time with my husband, homework, the dog, and day-to-day life stuff, it’s often hard to find time to blog. I have all sorts of ideas for posts, I just don’t find the time to be able to research and write them.
I’d write for your salt water blog, but my fish knowledge lies in fresh water, so I probably wouldn’t be of much help there.
Your plan sounds good to me. I couldn’t come up with anything better. Someone else commented and mentioned taking Sundays off from blogging – that might free up a bit of time for you. If I remember correctly, you do a lyrics post on Sundays, so if you still wanted posts to show up on Sundays, those might be fairly quick/easy ones to write ahead of time and schedule to post. Good luck with all your projects!