When things don't go according to plan
What do you do when things don’t go according to plan? Do you try and will it to be the way you thought it would be, the way you hoped it would be? Or do you lean in to what is?
I had hopes this summer heading into fall to slowly get ahead of your reading with my writing. You see, for the past several months, I have gotten up early and written on Saturday mornings. When I first started, I experimented with different days and times (including evenings) but soon found that I came to cherish my quiet Saturday mornings with you.
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While this isn’t a breaking news publication, I have appreciated the freedom that writing live enables to sometimes go off script and focus on something that just happened as I did when Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X, the Pac-12 imploded, and Jimmy Buffett died.
Nevertheless, I had some upcoming travel this fall and, as I saw it, I had three options: I could pre-write issues to publish while I was traveling, I could solicit guest posts, or I could take a pause. I decided I would try and pre-write as many issues as I could before I left with a fallback plan of taking a pause.
What actually happened?
I was only able to complete two of the four issues I had hoped to write before I left. I accidentally published the first scheduled issue, September, early. The second one, Graceland, was published on schedule. And then … silence. I was traveling. I was off the grid. And then I caught COVID, got better, and then tested positive again.
I feel like I’ve let you down — and myself. I’ve strived for consistency and have published every week this year until this pause.
I had noted in a recent issue:
I may take September off and start a new season of Bryce's Blog in October. I haven’t decided but want you to know that is a possibility. If I do, it will be because I want to ensure I can deliver for you and me.
I recently posted this in the Chat:
commented: “I look forward to reading your work again.”And I look forward to writing again. I’ve got lots of ideas in my mind and can’t wait to see how this next season unfolds. Thanks for your grace and your patience.
Be well,
-Bryce
PS: I may switch to publishing on Sundays for a bit. We’ll see. Feedback is always welcome. :)
You didn't let anyone down, including yourself, Bryce. You're human! Hopefully, you were enjoying your travels and being present in the moment. Your health is the highest of priorities. I hope you're fully on the mend. I pre-load my posts (6-8 weeks in advance...shhhh, don't tell), because I know my schedule is unpredictable, I want my weekends peaceful, and I know my history of burnout. If you love your Saturdays writing, keep them. Post old material when you need a break/are away. But this should be a pleasure, not a chore. Ever. xo
At the time of writing this, I'm a week behind with my latest newsletter! And while I'm allowing myself to beat myself up about it for self-motivating purposes...as someone wise said elsewhere, I think the MAIN reason people tune out is because something lands in their Inbox and it isn't that good: like, it sounds as if the author didn't care about they were writing about. This is the main reason people fall out of love with a newsletter. Not because it doesn't arrive perfectly on time every time, but because when it DOES arrive, it isn't a proper banger of a thing.
So I'm always happier going a bit over schedule, as long as I end up writing something that's trying to be good.
NOTE: I'm saying all this while feeling almost none of it, because my newsletter is late and I am absolutely sure that in a matter of hours everyone will march online to tell the world what a disappointment I am. Yes. Ghagh.