Things have been kinda quiet around here. There certainly hasn’t been the kind of post volume I’ve come to expect from myself. Even the volume on Cinematic Slant has been down a bit as I focus on the Marketing Recap columns there. Yesterday I only published one post here, a Quick Takes link roundup, only narrowly avoiding a zero post day.

Looking at WordPress Insights, that’s only happened a handful of times in recent months. The most recent was in early July. All told in 2017 I’ve missed about a dozen weekdays without publishing even a single post here.

That’s not to say I wasn’t writing. It just wasn’t anything I wound up making public on this blog. Instead, here’s what I accomplished in that time (in addition to working a handful of retail shifts):

  • 700 words for a freelance assignment
  • A content calendar for a freelance client
  • Additions to a number of upcoming Marketing Recaps as I emptied Pocket of new trailers and stories to include in those posts
  • A half-dozen first paragraphs for posts I’m going to write over the next few days
  • Cleaning up and organizing my personal editorial calendar for the rest of the year
  • Kept working on Draft 3 of the novel I’m currently writing
  • Finally outlined three more ideas (novels? Short stories?) I’ve been mulling over
  • Fleshing out new feature ideas for here, Cinematic Slant and Medium

It may look like I’ve taken some time off. That’s not the case. Instead, I’m just working on other things and doing the best with a schedule this week that’s been less than ideal. It’s also a reminder that as much as I’m committed to living out loud here, there are times where I need to tend to the behind-the-scenes work that has long-term benefit (including getting paid) instead of holding myself to short-term pressures.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.