Yikes! Mostly what I’m falling behind on is visiting blogs. I have a LONG list of emails where I’ve been notified of blog posts. Now I have to make the decision whether or not to try to catch up with all of them, or delete them and start over. I have been able to read and comment on a few here and there, but I’m getting more than I can handle in my email. I’m starting to feel overwhelmed. So if I haven’t commented on your blog in awhile, and I usually do, it’s just a time issue.
I’m falling behind on my current book, too. There are legitimate reasons for this, mostly other things I need to do. But I hope I can dedicate Saturday to my writing AND to some of the other things I need to finish. I will be mad if someone tries to take up my time on Saturday. That day is MINE! I had to go on a work trip this past weekend, so I pretty much will have worked 12 days straight with no time off. I need Saturday. Desperately.
My husband has been out on medical leave since mid-December. He’s feeling great right now, but he’s still not allowed to go back to work. The good thing is, he’s getting really antsy, so the house is staying clean, plus some little projects are also getting done. He’s also done a couple of major things outside. I’ve been a little worried that he’s overdoing it on those things, but he’s a grown man, and I have to trust him to know how he feels. If he can do those things, he can definitely work, but the doctor has the final say on that. When hubby goes back to work, I guess I’ll have to help with the housework again (FlyLady, I’m coming back to you!). I’m going to try not to fall behind on THAT. When housework falls behind, it seems you can never catch up!
So what do you all do when you fall behind? Do you feel overwhelmed? How do you handle it?
lauralynnelliott.com 
Man, I always get super-flaily when the list of emails for blogs to check-in on keeps piling up and getting bigger and bigger and bigger… I have to stop and remind myself that the world WILL still keep turning if I can’t get to everyone, and it’s okay to go so far as to delete a few of them, too. I gotta admit, though, I really do try, lol.
I’m excited for your Saturday! You deserve it! And having those eventual days just to ourselves is such an awesome moment. Enjoy it!
I always feel so guilty when I feel like I’ve ignored a blog. LOL. But I’m going to have to delete some of them.
I look forward to Saturday!
It’s so easy to fall behind, and so hard to catch up. But I don’t let things like that get to me, it’s just an inevitable part of life. Don’t worry, be happy 🙂
I might be late commenting on YOUR blog, but I never delete you. LOL
Actually, I’m more likely to delete the emails about blog posts from people who post multiple times per day or at least every day. I might delete half of theirs and read the other half. When I get caught up, I won’t delete any of them.
Just delete all the blog posts and move on. 🙂 It’s okay to miss a few posts. And by all means, take Saturday for just you.
We’re in the same boat. I spent all week running around with errands, got not much else done, and am afraid to go to my inbox. I’m overwhelmed at the moment and need to make a list of things to do then slowly go down it and cross the items off.
I wish my husband cleaned when he got antsy. I’d love a clean house. 😀
I just feel so guilty when I delete those emails! I need to get over that. I guess I’m just used to commenting. Last year, one person said I was the top commenter on their blog, and a couple more said I was in the top five commenters. So I’m used to socializing on blogs, I guess. 🙂
Making lists really helps when you’re feeling overwhelmed. I have to do that at work sometimes. I think when work slows down, I won’t be so tired when I get home in the evenings, so I’ll be more productive.
My husband is a great cleaner. Honestly, if we could live on my salary, I would love for him to be at home all the time. I’m going to miss having someone to snuggle up with at night on weeknights when he goes back to work.
I would suggest going straight for the Delete button rather than trying to go and visit blogs. I find so many of us bloggers have this insane guilt about not reading every blog post in our inbox. Blogging is meant to be fun, and I have to remind myself of that more and more.
You’re right, of course. Blogging is supposed to be fun, and if you feel obligated to read and comment, it takes the fun out of it. I LIKE to comment on blogs, but there are just some times when I get so busy, I have to give something up for a week or so. There are a couple of bloggers I follow who post 2-3 times per day. I just can’t read all of those right now. Maybe I can just delete the ones I have right now, and then I can start over. LOL
I agree, delete the blog posts and start over. The past three months have been one long, ugly blur for me. We all need time to ourselves, that is a given. Without it, we’d go nuts.
When I get overwhelmed, I do one of two things:
1. Go eat an ice cream cone, which usually leads to feelings of “What have I done?! Now I’ll have to workout for an extra hour.”
or
2. Pull the blankets over the my head and take a nap.
Neither is really a good solution, but both help me to take a step back, regroup and then come back to my desk and make a massive to-do list. I work good with lists, not just trying to remember all that I need to do.
Take a deep breath! It’ll be okay!
Thanks, Rose. I need to do something to help the overwhelmed feeling. I find that playing games on the computer helps me a lot because it relaxes me. I just need to stop feeling like I’m wasting my time when I do that. It’s to HELP me, right?
Delete mine. I understand, and will not be at all offended. Honestly, although I love comments, and yours are usually very bright spots, I’m really really really busy myself – with a blogging challenge that has me posting once a day, at least (and four times on Wednesday – how did I miss that!?). And next month? Blogging every day, again!
I’m trying to not only answer all comments, but also to return visits when I do…so, if you let me go until things smooth out, you’ll be doing us both a favor.
I tend to breathe through behind feelings, and ask myself what’s really necessary, and what’s a matter of my perception – the “I shoud’ve gotten to that by now” stuff. Clean house? That’d be great, but my hubby pitches in, and he and the kids are much more OK with clutter than I am, so it’s a choice. I’m choosing to clean less and write more, for now- that may well shift.
I have a new way of doing my list. I like highlighting in pretty colors, and seeing what I have accomplished makes me more OK with what I haven’t, yet.
So I list completed things, highlighted in my favorite shade of cyan, right up top. Then I have the “Up next” list. Things in progress get highlighted in butter yellow; ones slated to begin next are in grass-green. I go through in cycles, adding things, and completing things, and I can shuffle them around when I need to .
At the bottom are things waiting in the wings that I don’t want to forget, and, as other things get done, I move these up into the working list.
Maybe that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it adds up to this – when I get to feeling obligated and overwhelmed, it’s not good for me as a person. I would rather not comment, or just like a post, than I would to leave a comment that caused me stress at the time it took from other things, and I’d rather receive a comment that didn’t cause the commenter stress, too! =)
I’ll see you when we’ve both made some progress… =)
I like your colored highlight idea. 🙂 Pretty colors always make us feel better.
As for your blogging challenge, the A to Z, I had a lot of them on my email. I checked out and commented on one and realized I want to go back to the beginning and read them all when things settle down. The thing is, I know they’ll be there when I’m ready to relax a bit. 🙂