NY Times: Blogging Can Kill You

The NY Times is examining the stress that blogging can cause in an article that preys a bit on the deaths of noted bloggers Russell Shaw and good friend Marc Orchant, and also Om Malik's heart attack. The points are reasonably well made. Being someone who swims in the pool that is blogging I can't disagree that the stress can be intense, if you let it build to that, and of course that all depends on why you do it and what your goals are. But I don't think it is any worse or, for that matter, different, than the stress of pursuing anything else you love or have a passion for. Balance isn't in the eye of the beholder in any field of human endeavor.

Comments

[Kevin C. Tofel]

You hit the nail on the head. You can work insanely long hours or just a minimal effort 40 hour week in practically any role. You have to manage your lifestyle, not let it manage you. I stressed that point over and over to Matt as he interviewed me over the phone for 30 minutes to write the article. My mantra apparently didn't fit the point of the story since I'm not in it. ;)

I don't doubt the pitfalls: when I started blogging in 2005, I was working 90+ hour weeks and I lost about 15% of my weight due to the hours, lack of sleep and failure to eat regular meals. As you well know: I have no weight to spare! These days, I take it easy and try to keep everything in a little more balance. It doesn't matter if you're blogging, working corporate or what-have-you: the work isn't going anywhere, so why spend 90+ hours weekly to try and finish it? :)