Why Blogging May Be the Death of Me

Blogging may be the death of me. The struggle to find new and interesting things to write and the stress of a deadline that, at least for me, doesn't really exist in real terms but in my OCD-riddled mind, contribute to a type-A+ lifestyle.

I won't even claim to being a blip on the blogging radar. I must admit that my (unpaid) stint as Editor-in-Chief at Alice Hill's RealTechNews has brought me a few kudos, some requests for reviews or articles, and even a chance to write for the New York Times, but it's certainly not making me rich.

My wife would say since I have a full-time job as well as blogging, that it's basically reduced my free time to zero. Do I feel stressed? Sure, I do.

Today the New York Times has a story that I most likely want to keep my wife from reading. Titled "In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop" the article speaks of the very real stress of trying to get a story out and how it might affect the health of bloggers.

The stress of beating others to the punch is very real; as the article states:

Speed can be of the essence. If a blogger is beaten by a millisecond, someone else’s post on the subject will bring in the audience, the links and the bigger share of the ad revenue.

And no less than three bloggers have suffered heart attacks in the past view months, with two deaths. A funeral was held two weeks ago for technology blogger Russell Shaw, who died at 60 of a heart attack. Another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, 50, died of a massive heart attack in December, while a third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

My wife would point to these statistics, as meager as they are, and say, uh huh.

For me, exercise has hit a low, and with my one-man operation, spare time has hit a low, too. And with a thoughts of a child, that doesn't go over so well with my spouse.

The article goes on to note something I've found to be true as well: there's no time when I'm not worried about missing a story, even when sleeping, and that means a pretty much on the PC all the time existence, and little time for anything else.

Do I agree with the article? I'm not sure that in and of itself it's hurting the health of bloggers, but the stress and lack of spare time certainly doesn't help many of us who are already living a sedentary lifestyle.

Is it worth it? When I started it was fun, and also a way to while away the time when I was laid off from a full-time job. Now, employed as I am, and with the additional stress, I'm not so sure. My wife would say blogging will be the death of me someday, and while that not be true, certainly making it more fun and less work would be a good move, not just for me but for all bloggers who haven't really "made it."

(Photo above from a ThinkGeek product page).