photo credit: rthakrar – cc

I don’t know if it’s one thing or a combination of factors, but when it comes to writing about WordPress, I’m really struggling to get my groove back. Things felt so much easier back in 2009-2011 when I  was publishing multiple stories per day without breaking a sweat. Today, it’s tough for me to get 1-2 articles written let alone three or four.

If I think back to the environment I was in during that time, I worked the late night shift at the store. I would come home, maybe write an article or two or get up late, and write some more. I was in tune with most of what was going on in the WordPress ecosystem. I’d read my FeedReader and interact with people throughout the day via Twitter. Each day felt like I was one step closer to accomplishing something which at the time, was turning the site into my full-time job.

I was focused, lived with my parents, and spent most of my time in my room and just wrote about whatever interested me regarding WordPress. I’m trying to figure out what happened to that Jeffro. If you find him, can you tell him to go home as he’s late for dinner?

Today, I spend a lot of time sitting in this chair, TRYING to write about whatever interests me in WordPress and it’s not working. My reading to writing ratio is way off. I spend a lot more time writing than I do reading, I’m almost certain it’s one of the factors plaguing me. I rarely look at my FeedReader and when I do read, I’m skimming to hurry up and write a post. Posts which have in my opinion, been total crap. I feel like that guy who had a good thing going, retired, came out of retirement and could never repeat the success that made him who he is.

Here are a couple of instances where I’ve had good days.

• I wake up with post ideas already in mind, I have my day set and all I need to do is write about those topics instead of finding things to write about.
• I work remotely at my favorite spot. When I work from the MacbookPro, I’m forced to stay focused on the task at hand since I only have one screen. It takes longer to write the content but I’m generally more focused.
• I’m able to get my work done and spend time with my wife.
• Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are my best days

Things I definitely need to change.

• I need to get a membership to the local rec center and actually perform physical activity. I keep telling myself that not only will this give me the opportunity to work out, but I’ll be able to listen to podcasts again, something I’ve missed since quitting my previous job.
• I need to lose weight. The pounds keep piling on and I’ve done little to stop the madness.
• I need to cut down my beer and pop intake, two things which I know are significant contributors to the decline of my health.

Things I’m still struggling with being a full-time distributed worker.

• Knowing how or when to end the work day. I’m spending a lot of time on the computer but not having a lot to show for it. It doesn’t help that on days where I’ve had a hard time producing content, it almost forces me to keep working until I do.
• Discipline.
• The quality of the output I’m producing needs to be better.
• Getting at least one if not two good posts published every day. WHY IS THIS SO HARD NOW?
• Thursdays and Fridays are my worst days of the week. I’m almost certain I know why and I’m going to change it.

No one needs to tell me I’m doing a bad job, I’m pretty good at discovering that on my own. Besides, as a distributed employee, I’m my own boss and my own worst critic. What I need is encouragement for when I’ve done a good job. Hell, I don’t even know what constitutes a good job. It’s something I’ve made up rarely achieve.

Just like iteration is the continuous improvement of something, I need to keep iterating my process, routine, and attitude. Changes need to happen because I certainly don’t have the winning combination right now.