I’ve Got a Problem and The Solution Isn’t More Cowbell

I’m struggling with my day job. I recently completed a week of vacation in which I discovered that I want to write about WordPress when I’m not required to write about it. Go figure! Returning from staycation, I’ve had a difficult time finding things that inspire me to write about WordPress. More often than not, my FeedReader is filled with items that make me go Meh at best.

Since my job is to write about WordPress on a daily basis, this is not good. My FeedReader is filled with tutorials, questions, crap, and other things dealing with WordPress that don’t create that spark of creative writing.

When I initially applied for the job, I said that all I wanted was for someone to pay me to sit on my ass all day and write about WordPress. I have what I wanted but I’m not happy. Things have changed and no matter how hard I try to replicate the environment which generated success 4 years ago, it doesn’t seem to show up.

With WordPress powering over 23% of the web, you’d think it would be easy to find something to write about. Well, it’s not as easy as you might think. A lot has to do with my interests and whether I see something that readers may find interesting or helpful. For the most part, it has to interest me first before I start writing about it.

There’s a part of me that feels like WordPress has passed me up. It’s like everyone is using or developing WordPress in ways that go way over my head. I have no interest in learning what Sass or Less is yet, there is definitely a crowd yearning for that knowledge.

After nearly a decade of writing about WordPress, I’ve almost reached a point where I don’t want to be a journalist anymore and instead, just want to mingle in the community. I’ve thought about this a lot and if I could start over with a WordPress centric site, I’d make the whole thing a forum. Forums are a great way to archive things and have discussions about sites or articles that don’t need a front page mention.

A forum is a great way to establish a community and an identify. It’s a way to feel like you belong somewhere. I’m passionate, enthusiastic, and have a knack of connecting the dots for people. This is why I think I’d be able to successfully build and maintain a rocking WordPress forum. I’m a down to earth, no bullshit kind of guy that is able to listen to people, no matter what their status is in the community.

That’s not to say every now and then, I wouldn’t want to write a long, thoughtful post on a particular subject. But doing it everyday even when paid is a pain in the ass, especially when you can’t find anything to write about. Funny how when I’m put into a position I thought I’d be happy in, the opposite is true.

I think a lot of people would love to be in the position I’m in and yes, I do realize the position I’m in. It’s just that, the things you think would make you happy sometimes don’t and you don’t realize it until you’re in the thick of things. I’m working towards putting myself into a work environment and situation that makes me happy but until then, I’ll need to buckle down, trudge through the tough creative times, and gitter done.