I have been posting on this blog every day for over 5 years now. Pretty impressive right?? Huh, huh!!! Ok, it’s no great accomplishment but it was something that kept me grounded and I was a bit proud of my perseverance.
I’m sure long-time readers have noticed that I have gone on an extended reposting break. I’ve been using my extensive archives to give me a little vacation from writing and formatting posts. Not gonna lie, it’s been a welcome break.
You see, I’ve been really struggling to find balance lately. My home life is in a bit of an upheaval. I find myself at a Crossroads with regard to my job. I’ve put a great deal of time and effort into my professional life and this uncertainty is unusually stressful for me. It’s not all bad but I think I’m going to have to make some choices with no right answer and until I do, the prospect is draining my focus.
It’s also a bit exhausting. I’m sure I have been a pain to be around these past few weeks. Thankfully I have amazing friends.
On that note, I have also had some changes in my personal life that mean I have a bit less time for anime. Not no time for anime mind you, it’s a medium I really love, and I will always make time for it. However, right now, it’s not my priority which means that I also have less to write about.
So what does this mean for my blog? For you dear readers, I hope it won’t change much at all really.
I have been kicking around the idea of cutting down on my posting schedule for a while now. And I think it’s time I experiment with it a little. I haven’t actually landed on a clear plan yet so for the next few months I will be trying a few things out.
First of all, I’m not going to double up on posts anymore. I currently post two episode reviews each Saturday and Sunday. And that’s too much. Episode reviews are not that difficult, I might still do 4 shows next season, especially if I can rope someone into doing collaborations with me once again. Something I am fully intending to do.
Next season is the return of Demon Slayer and if Crow will have me I would love to continue our collab on that…As well as Dr. Stone (cough cough). I’m really excited about those shows you guys. Like way more excited than I thought I would be when I started writing this post. That’s how much of an otaku I am! I have also been eyeing Jigokuraku. Mappa’s instincts have been pretty good lately and I’m intrigued by what they will do next. The premise of Oshi no Ko caught my eye, I enjoyed the Mashle manga so the anime is intriguing, I have been literally waiting for Insomnia to be adapted for over a year, Ranking of Kings season 2 is something I can’t miss and My Home Hero is likely to be a unique and intense experience. What I’m saying is that once again it’s going to be a great season of anime and I want to be there for it. Just one review a day is all.
So episode reviews will be once a day. As for the rest, I’ll stagger it every other day instead of every day. I’m not sure what this will mean for my schedule overall as it’s going to depend on how many shows I end up deciding to review seasonally but I’ll still do full show reviews whenever I finish anything and at least one general essay/rambling post about nothing a week.
I figure I’ll try this out for a while and see how it goes. Scale up and down from there.
I hope you guys won’t mind the change too much and I can still get to chat with you in the comments cause that’s the MOST fun!
And that’s all I have for today. Starting tomorrow, I’ll try to find some balance with you guys.
Here is some balancing I personally do by coming over to leave a comment once in a while~
Good luck striking the right balance. As life changes your goals change and the balance has to be adjusted again. Have fun finding it 🙂
Thank you!
You do what is best for you. Life goes on and priorities do change and even likes and disklikes change, or have to make room for new passions. This is actually a good thing. Even if we will miss you. 😀
Awww, I won’t give you guys too much of a chance to miss me. Besides I would miss You
Wow, posting every day for 5 years is a great achievement. Though I’ve not been following your blog for the longest, I wouldn’t mind if you cut down your frequency on posting (especially, if you’re needing the time right now). I will still look forward to your eps reviews and reading your diverse topics is always a pleasure!
Thank you Haru. That’s so sweet
You seem to be the latest in a long line of bloggers – myself included – who appear to be in a space where they need to re-calibrate their blog/life/work balances. Hope it all goes well for you and those decisions with no right answers turn out to be not too shabby for you afterall.
So far so good!
I can only wish you the best!
Posting that regularly for five years definitely is an achievement in my book! It takes dedication, even if you love the subject matter. Definitely give yourself a bit more time if you feel the need though, your own health and energy levels are important to take care of (as I’m sure you’re aware). I highly doubt anyone is going to stop reading your great posts just because you aren’t posting every day. 🙂
Thank you so much. Everyone has really been great so far
Health first!
Thank you!
I hope you find a comfortable and fulfilling balance soon. For me at least, there are few things as draining as professional uncertainty. It’s such a huge part of our lives!
Very glad to hear you intend to keep posting! Your comments section is just amazing. Oh, and so are the posts.
“Next season is the return of Demon Slayer and if Crow will have me I would love to continue our collab on that…As well as Dr. Stone (cough cough).”
I would be honored. I actually thought about asking you, but I could tell from your reposts that you were busy. My schedule’s completely flexible!
I’m looking forward to seeing how your new schedule works out. It sounds like you’re completely on top of it!
YAY! Let’s get in touch to talk collab some time soon
Don’t stress it. EGBOK!
I’m finding myself to be quite content just reading and replying to other people’s posts.
I had never seen EGBOK before. Cool!
For a while back in the 80s you heard it all the time on a very popular radio station out here.
Once again, my dinosaur status is on display.
Congrats on 5 years.. I actually been blogging for 14 years (it turned 14 in February) and heading to the 15 year mark. Sure I have my my share of issues throughout the years, I was able to keep it going since I have a lot of free time. Back in my early years, I made a lot of posts, probably almost every day. I had to scale back in Fall of 2013 on how much I was blogging since I was working on my Master’s Degree and the courses had a lot of coursework. Even with my first job, I had less time since I didn’t have telework. Even now, I only cover 4-5 shows per season and I don’t blog every day.
Nowadays, I have a lot of free time due to having two telework days at my new job I had since 2020, although the days in the office leave me less time since I have to sleep early and wakeup early. The train commute takes 40 minutes each way, which part of it I use for reading manga, playing video games and yes, watching Anime that I blog about after I arrive home. I use tools like Grammarly, which help cut down the time need to proofread.
That said, where the Anime Blogging community is heading is uncertain with with Twitter possibly going away. It’s kind of hard to receive comments although this is changing with the demise of Twitter. But I’m doubling down on my blogging efforts and also creating and maintaining an Anime Blogger-centric (and Japanese media content creators) Mastodon community, Sakurajima as an alternative to Twitter. But as they say, don’t be afraid to scale back a little so you don’t burn out, and also have time do other things such as interacting with the community and other activities.
We’re on the cusp of something as far as the online community is concerned and I’m sure we’ll eventually find a community again but I’m curious about what’s next
You’ve done hell of a amazing feat to blog every day for 5 years irina l! I say time to give yourself a bit of a break 😄😉
Thank you Lita! If you say so then I don’t feel too bad about it
Back in the mid-80’s there was a short in the April 1st edition of, I think, Analog magazine. It was an ad for a game called “Life” — not Conway’s version. It was a RPG on a mostly water world, and as you read along you realized it was about real life. The key phrase, that has stuck with me every since, was “In Life, you set your own victory conditions”
That is an awesome saying! I’m going to steal that!
Keeping up a daily schedule for over 5 years is amazing. So, yeah, trying to find a balance is important, so you don’t burn yourself out – anime-wise and other. I’m going to wish you a maximum of success with a minimum of stress with your future endeavors. Anime’s supposed to help relax not add additional burden, so do what’s best for you.
I’ve not been the best either at consistently replying lately, but even if no words appear, I’m probably going to hang around in a shadowy corner of the room. I’ll try not to be *too* silent, though it’d probably be wise not to expect much input from me into Demon Slayer or Doctor Stone… (I’ll still be reading, though, just not watching.) Mashle sounds fun, though, as does Jigokuraku. Unsure about Oshi no Ko; I don’t have the best track record with shows like these – they tend to shy away from the stuff that matters. I didn’t know Ousama Ranking returns already. That’s a no-brainer. I haven’t looked at next season much, yet. Lots of sequels, as appears to become increasingly the norm.
It’s an interesting mix of a season. Could go either way but there’s definetly a lot of potential!
Let me know if you find the legendary balance. I’ve been searching for a while now.
Also, I’ve read two volumes of Jigokuraku and can’t wait for the anime. It should be intense!
On it!
Now I’m really interested in Jigokuraku
Good luck, I hope you find your balance. I think that I’ve been struggling to find my own balance onto things too even if I don’t post as much. In some cases, I haven’t been able to complete posts as quickly as I want too because I have to go to bed earlier. Plus, this is a busier season of time for me too.
I think a lot of people are feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. I’m sure we’ll both find a sweet spot!
Haha I dont mind. It’s good you’re finding some work (blog) life balance here! I’m hopeful this will work and lessen the burden as a blogger. It does get quite tiring at times 😅
I’m loving it so far!