Falling On Hard Times

After publishing the previous "Day 9" post, about "Building Your Tribe" on Steemit, as I was posting in the chat rooms my internet connection went out - actually for two full FRIGGIN' days - and so the whole second half of my process of creating the post and then promoting it (the promotion part, that is) was abruptly interrupted, and I was unable to complete the most important part of the process which actually gets the post in front of readers, earning upvotes, ReSteems, follows, etc. In addition, I have started having some problems in a couple of the chat rooms where my posts have been considered off topic. In two of the three of these I have been able to politely address the issue with the moderators, and easily agreed to keep my posts on topic into the future. But in the third chat room I was muted. This is ON TOP of the fact that despite expending a significant amount of mental effort organizing, writing, and promoting the recent posts in this series, the past few have earned PEANUTS relative to the amount of effort I have put into them. In other words, I am having YET ANOTHER "Steemit Nervous Breakdown".

Doing The Best We Can

Well, folks, I guess the age-old saying that "Shit Happens" applies here. Your internet connection can go down, a relative may die, you may end up passed out partially - or fully - naked in some unrecognizable parking lot after a weekend long bender of hard liquor, and/or crack-cocaine. You may be abducted by aliens and taken through a time-warp wormhole, only to be dropped off two days AFTER you were picked up. In other words, there are NUMEROUS factors beyond our control which may interrupt our "flow" on Steemit, and leave us feeling "down and out", unmotivated, and perhaps dangling over some ledge.

Having A Back-up Plan

So, what can we do to get through these dark times? Well, since we have a STRATEGY for the "productive times", perhaps we also need an ALTERNATIVE strategy to get through the "rough spots". Like when we are physically sick, or in a bad mood, this may include turning the intensity of our efforts down a notch by focusing on easier tasks - such as curation - where we can more passively consume OTHER people's posts BUT still continue earning Streem through upvoting. We may likely find that OTHER people are also experiencing a productivity rut, and we can find some comfort reading about their experiences, and/or chatting with them about it in the Steemit Chat, or Discord, rooms. In other words, we can devise a backup "rut strategy" which enables us to remain productive while also bouncing back most efficiently, and with least pain, from our "Steemit Nervous Breakdown".

Today's Dreaded Homework Task

Create a list of FIVE tasks (which are alternatives to your regular "Steemit Productivity Strategy" tasks) that you can do when you are feeling unmotivated on Steemit, These tasks should be simpler than your usual tasks, but STILL enable you to earn Steem during your rough periods). For me, some items on the list looks like this :

1. Read five to ten posts from other people, and upvote the ones I like.

2. Search out some articles on the subject of coping with difficult times on Steemit

3. Browse the "photography" or "art" tags looking for some inspiring artwork

4. Read over one or two of my past posts which were well received by readers

5. Look over my collection of lists of past completed tasks to get a sense of my accomplishments over time on Steemit

Once you have created your alternative list, designate today as a "light/rough day" and follow THIS list (instead of your regular routine) and monitor how you feel. Also, follow this list the next time you ACTUALLY have a "rough day" and take notes on how you feel Feel free to share your thoughts and additional strategy ideas for coping with "rough days/periods" on Steemit in the comment section.

Full Steem Ahead.

@transcript-junky