When we begin new projects we always believe that we are creating something unique and memorable. And yet we base much of our approach on things that already exist, our inspirations. It doesn't make sense. We can't have it both ways.
I've barely started with this site and already, I've considered knocking it on the head at least twice. You may notice that this is the first post in a few days. I've been busy with my new family and, encouragingly, paid work. I've wanted to publish here too, but life hasn't given me the chance.
And so I started thinking, if this is how it's going to be, if I can't guarantee at least one or two posts a day, should I bother at all? If I'm going to write about the web and technology, can I really take three days off to do other things, even if they're important and unavoidable?
Yesterday, I was ready to pull the plug before I'd even really begun. Today, I had a moment of clarity.
I only think that I should publish daily because that's what writers with sites like this do. Come rain or shine, they publish something. Anything. They always turn up and their sites, their projects, they always appear to move forward.
But this is not their site and it is not their project. It is mine. Every single word. And if I skip a couple of days because my twins have an appointment at the hospital, or because I'm working to a deadline, then so be it. What does it matter? Who does it really affect? No one. No one at all.
On the web and especially the blogging circuit, we put too much emphasis on simply appearing to be there. Whether we want to or not, we publish daily, be it blog posts, status updates or tweets, because we feel obliged to make an appearance. Because we feel that it's expected.
I don't buy it. Consistency is important, but we should define it on our own terms. If next week I go another couple of days without posting, that will be consistent with my previous posting schedule. And if you read regularly, you'll know that it's because I've got things going on that I need to attend to. I expect you to be okay with that. I don't know why you wouldn't be.
So I continue. I shall tread my own path. I will never post for the sake of posting, or because I feel I should. Instead I shall concentrate on what I think is important, and that's writing well and telling a wider story.
And there, a second epiphany. It would seem that, when you're tired and busy but have something to share with the world, you can achieve more than you think on an iPhone at midnight. Onwards.