Explaining Slow Newsletter-ing
The Dog Ate My Homework
I’ve been writing, nearly daily, for almost twenty years. Blog posts, newsletters, articles, social media — my words appear on the screen. After all this time, it’s effortless and a bit obsessive. When I’m jogging through the nature preserve in the morning, I’m writing in my head. My family knows to avoid my office when I’m in the writing zone, because of the “Death to Interrupters” policy.
However, I’ve been a lousy newsletter writer this summer. I wanted to increase newsletter production until the election, because elections are fun. Instead, there have been long, unexplained, unforgivable gaps in newsletter writing this summer. What’s going on?
Well, I spent the beginning of the summer working on an autism book. I finished seven out of eleven chapters, so that’s good. When I started this project at the end of May, I imagined that with a few long nights, I could pump out an entire draft by the end of June. Yeah, not realistic. Then the deadline got pushed to the end of August. The new deadline is November 1. Still, I’m proud of what I have so far. Progress has been made.
Then we went away for nine days to Spain, which was pretty damn awesome. If you add in time for trip preparation (laundry, packing, mani-pedi, paperwork), trip recovery (jet lag, laundry, bills, email backlog) and the residual lazy vacation feeling, our vacation occupied three weeks of August. The vacation may not have been good for productivity or my waistline, but it was excellent for mental health.
Also distracting me from writing time are my two fledgling businesses. I’ve got a private autism consulting business, which is chugging along quite nicely. And I’m going to be a director of a new autism nonprofit in New Jersey. It’s all good stuff, and I’ll share more info at another time.
Tangent. Here are all the (paid and unpaid) apps that I’m using to set up these businesses: Zoom, Canva, LinkedIn, Calendly, Facebook, WordPress, Eventbrite, and Mailchimp. Occasionally, Instagram and TikTok. Soon, I’ll set up a Quickbooks account. I’m getting my own office outside the house soon, but in the meantime, my computer has replaced the need for office staff and space.
I’m rapidly building my autism projects by doing evening webinars. If you have an expertise in a niche area, don’t get stuck in a local rut. Do webinars and newsletters, and then sell a book or an online class. It’s a better business model, and it’s super fun.
After dipping my toe into local politics last year, I became much involved in local activities. As part of the local civics committee, I’m helping organize a panel about alternative tracks for higher education. Last night, I did laps around the track with the Masters running group. (I got my PR for the one mile = 8:42!) I’m getting roped into campaign fundraisers, and I’m continuing to support the schools in various ways. It’s all good stuff, but it does take me away from the computer.
My kids, who are my usual excuse for a lack of productivity, are on auto-pilot now. Various work and college stuff are happening, and I hope to have very little involvement in any of that. We might not be empty nesters yet, but I’ll settle for the auto-pilot zone.
There’s always a need to find a balance between writing and having a life. The best things that I’ve written have come out of conversations and from experiences out there in the world. But unless I get some uninterrupted time in front of the computer, it’s all lost.
So, I just wrote about 700 words about not writing. Ha. Navel gazing, I know. I’m working on something about higher education, but it’s not ready yet. So, I’ll pass along some good things to read elsewhere.
LINKS
Jeremy Ney on Food Deserts. Why there’s an overlap between obesity and inadequate supermarkets. Great maps, as always. Related: My piece for The Atlantic, Hidden Hunger on College Campuses.
Dan Drezner has good things to say about Kamala Harris’ foreign policy experience.
The states continue to make progress in improving the reading curriculum, even in states like New Jersey.
I continue to be obsessed with Scott Gallaway’s media empire. Last night, I had insomnia and was watching his Instagram reels at 2am.
Watching: KAOS, The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, Deadpool and Wolverine
Cooking: Duck Sauce Chicken on the BBQ and Tuscan Chicken Recipe. Our garden is overflowing with basil, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and yellow squash. Using a recipe from a late 90s William Sonoma cookbook, I froze trays of pesto and popped them into freezer bags for the future. I’m doing lots of cold salads with the cucumbers. Makes great lunches. I’m so excited to get my new office, I bought a new salad lunch box.
Photos: Top Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash. And my cellphone pictures of Peniscola, Spain.