Thoughtful Thursday: The Trouble with Habits

It's hard for me to believe that I haven't posted here in over two months. It's even harder to believe that it took that long for me to finish my last travel guide.

Last summer, when I started this blog, I had every intention of posting six times a week – no matter that everyone, from my hubby to my online pals, thought I was delusional. At the time, I believed that, by forcing myself to post something nearly every day, I could form a solid habit – and for a while, that logic seemed to work. After a few months, posting here had indeed become a near-daily habit – one that I thought would be difficult to break, especially since I really enjoyed writing my “simple pleasure” posts and interacting with my fellow writers. In my warped little brain, I thought that a positive habit like that would stick for a good long while.

Little did I know, however, that work would interfere with my well-intentioned plans. Back in January, I was so busy traveling and researching for my Moon Florida Keys guide that I was lucky to post once a week, much less six times. It didn't take long for my positive habit to become a regular burden – especially since I had more pressing blogs, like American Nomad, to maintain – and once I fell off the proverbial wagon, it was hard to make it a priority anymore. Hence, my recent two-month absence.

But, despite my reluctant absence, I've missed it greatly – not to mention my buddies in the blogosphere. Now that I've finished the Keys guide – and have only the copy-editing and proofing stages left – I hope to be a little more consistent with this blog. Of course, I now have a new edition of Moon Michigan to write, but I'm hoping that I'll be able, with my hubby's help, to manage my time better this time around. Still, in the wake of this harried first half of 2010, I can't help but wonder... Why is it so easy to break a good habit like blogging, but difficult to break bad ones, like smoking cigarettes or, in my case, eating chocolate?