Good to know I’m not the only one wondering how to find balance when you’re a blogger. Your responses were enlightening and heartfelt.
I am blessed to have most days to do as I wish at this point in my life. I marvel at so many of you that hold jobs, go to school, are raising young families, deal with aging parents, and still manage to post, create, take photos, keep in touch, surf, have etsy shops, and the list goes on and on. When I was raising my children, blogging wasn’t even a blip on my radar. But I get it, I really do. Blogging feeds the soul in so many ways. It is an outlet, an amazing world I feel privileged to be a part of. And don’t get me started on the friendships that come from it. I don’t have the words.
What I have found myself doing, is returning to my blog throughout the day, responding to new comments or posts that show up in my email or Google Reader from morning to night. Between that and playing Words with Friends on my Ipad, I feel other creative endeavors and healthy hobbies have fallen by the wayside. I need to decide when I am going to nurture my blogging garden and do my best to stick to it.
All this triggered a thought about a post I had published shortly after I started my blog almost two years ago. I went back and found it. It made me smile. Here it is. Thank you again for your support and friendship. 
NI QUID NIMIS! WHAT?????
It means “all things in moderation”. In my heart of hearts, I’ve always believed it is the key to living life. Enjoy it all, just in moderation. Michael and I found a beautiful metal plaque bearing this inscription years ago, just before our son headed off to college. His sister followed two years later. We bought it and hung it in the house they shared during their college years.
I must remember this “pearl” as I delve into the world of blogging. My mind is running rampant with thoughts I want to share. We are the same in so many ways. We live different lives, but have many common threads. It is my hope that I am able to weave those common threads into the world’s largest tapestry. Help me make it happen! Hugs, Margie
LATEBLOOMERBUDS 
WOW. This and your previous post & comments have thoughts that I have recently felt myself. And now I know I am NOT alone! 🙂 What with the added recent holiday planning and preparation, on top of working 5-6 days a week in my own business, keeping up with my new grandson, my mom’s illness, etc., I have felt an inbalance of keeping up with life in general and with the things I love to do. I tend to want to do everything and must always make decisions on what I can and what I cannot (for now). I had no idea year & half ago I would have a love of blogging about nature around me, and then the joy of meeting new friends along the way that I wouldn’t have otherwise, what a bonus! Yes, sometimes I feel pressure that ‘it’s time to blog again’ when I have no time, so I have to fit it in late at night to make it happen. But when that post is complete and pressed, I always go to bed with a great sense of satisfaction and happiness as I drift off to sleep!
So glad you got your two cents in Donna. The feedback has been helpful to many I think. I love your last sentence. It is so true. When you love blogging and you watch it grow and evolve, it is such a feeling of accomplishment. Each time we publish we DO get great satisfaction, and yes, it is nice to go to bed with a smile on your face.
It seems that something always has to fall by the waistside and that’s a hard pill to swallow when you want to do it all and do it all well. Keep hanging in there. You are not alone.
All of us are on the same page, especially when you read the discussions that went on over this post.
Balance is the key for sure, but it’s hard to find the right balance. Reading new posts, receiving more and more comments make it hard to keep up sometimes. My house is being neglected, as is my garden (which I love), as well as my personal life – because of blogging!
So I am trying to discipline myself to working in my garden, housework, socializing and the computer. Will let you know if I achieve a fine balance! 😉
I hear you Barb. I think reading everyone’s thoughts on this was good for all of us. We have to learn to pull back a bit and tweak our routines if necessary. I think we should all get back to each other through the comments here so we know whether whatever anyone is trying to do is working and leading to a more balanced blogging life. We are in this together!
Reading the comments on this has been such an eye opener Margie!
We can all learn from each other, and I think it’s a brilliant idea for us all to get back to each other through the comments here to see what’s working for each of us!
I’m in Barb. I have already been thinking of ways to manage the blogs I follow. It is a very diverse crowd, many of which I have not had a chance to add to my blog roll yet, but they definitely fall into different categories. I am thinking I can go through my list and schedule when I will visit the “type” throughout the week. There would be nothing wrong with catching up with a particular group once or twice a week instead of several times per week. Some of them don’t blog as regularly as others either, which makes a difference. Just throwing this out there. I love my blogging buds to pieces and each brings a different gift to me. I want room to add more buds as I find them. Again, I think it is all about tweaking.
I wonder about this more and more these days. I’ll be going back to a fuller, more “normal” schedule in January. I love my blog and how it has connected me to so many wonderful people (you) and I love the creative outlet it provides. I’m also one of those techno-geeks and will probably be posting more things on-the-go from my phone.
and I loved your older post. I’m a firm believer in moderation. how else can I balance cheese and cocktails? oatmeal and veggies- it’s all a balancing act- blogging and living 😉
Amen Sista!
Yes this surely is a balancing act especially when you have work commitments. But blogging is relaxing too. Cheers.
It is. I think it is easy to put pressure on yourself as a blogger. Too many expectations sometimes. You are right, it is relaxing too Dilip and a lot of fun!
yes, i can relate to letting other things fall by the wayside. i have all but given up reading newspapers and doing crossword puzzles (2 things i used to enjoy). however, like you, i have the time right now to spend my days as i wish. i have found the drive to fit exercise back into things. i have forced myself to draw something as a giveaway each month. blogging is a give an take world, too. 🙂
Great points T. So true. I think this whole discussion has been helpful to everyone and certainly to me.
I’m still trying to develop a good practice when it comes to blogging. I’m trying to do a post a day and have to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be perfect, but since I’m a writer, that is hard to swallow sometimes.
Blessings!
Lovely post that I can relate to, it is indeed not easy to get to do everything, but if only get something done, I think it is fine.;) And yes, all in moderation is a very wise proverb.;))
I used to respond to all comments before, now not so much – something that weights heavy on my heart, but I hope all my blog buddies know that I appreciate all their comments and I rather visit their lovely places and tell them so there.;)
xoxo
Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, as the comments grow, it gets harder and harder to keep up. Believe me we all understand that. You are wonderful about letting all your readers know they are appreciated. It is in your words my friend.
hi margie, i love your “everything in moderation” quote. need it. try to live it. the trick is to pull myself away from the magnetic field of the computer so i can live in the real world. it’s hard because there is always “one more thing to do” or an idea to check, a friend’s blog to stop and visit. i work to balance our lives. must go wake the kids for school! have a wonderful day.
And oh what a magnetic field it is! We can all do it!
Hmmm…food for thought. Friends are still friends without the binding thread of seductive word games. Have a blessed Christmas with your darling family!
Haha, but oh how I love them and YOU!
Margie I am one of those headless chickens with too much to do! I’m a fairly new blogger and I love it but at times feel pressured to respond to comments which on a posting day can take hours. So I can spend more time doing that than writing. I start a new OU modul in February which is going to be hard so I’m hoping I’ll be able to keep up. Thanks for this post, makes me feel better. Happy days!
You know Gilly, your readers are understanding folks. Some of my blogger friends get so many comments, it would be impossible to respond to each. I haven’t quite gotten to that place yet, but if I do, and it takes too much time away from the other components of authoring my blog, I will stop responding to each one as I do now. I know they will understand. So keep that in mind my friend. It is comforting to know we are all in the same boat isn’t it?