Living with JHS

I spend a lot of time blogging about chronic illness, but I’ve never talked about blogging WITH a chronic illness. It can be frustrating, it can be tough and, as much I love it and enjoy it very much, it’s not without its difficulties. Most of the time I enjoy the challenge, but, sometimes, it can really be a task. Here are some of the reasons which make blogging with a chronic illness hard, and tips to make it a little bit easier.

If you’re a regular follower of mine you’ll know that, in the past couple of weeks, there have been a few times where I’ve missed my scheduling times. For those who don’t understand, they may believe that it’s due to poor time management and organisation but, actually, it’s more than that. It’s flare up’s, brain fog and a lack of motivation. It’s unpredictability, rest days and a whole lot of fatigue.

My promise to you, back when I first set up my blog, was to post at least once a month until I landed on my feet. We all know that didn’t happen. Instead, I ended up losing touch with it altogether at the end of last year and, the main reason for that, is down to my illness. I was barely making it out of bed for much of last semester, I was having flare-up after flare-up, rest day after rest day until I just didn’t have anything left, and what I did have left was used to focus on uni assignments.

As part of my blog revamp last month, my new promise became to post every week and, so far, I haven’t failed you. I have been a little late on a couple of occasions, but I’m going strong. I explained that I was able to do this because, moving out of my house at uni meant, I was actually starting to get into a routine. Of course, this is all well and good yet I didn’t factor in any rest days I might need and at flare-ups I might have, aaaaand let’s not forget that I am a third, and final, year student at university so have assignments and dissertation work galore (UGH, 8 more weeks!!).  Now, don’t worry, this doesn’t change anything… I’m simply just explaining why, on a few occasions, I might be late posting but I would like to thank you all for being patient – it is much appreciated.

There are a few things that I do, however, to try and limit the disruption that chronic illness can cause:

Monthly Schedules – at the beginning of the month, I sit down and work out what posts I’m going to publish for that month and in which weeks. By doing this, it means I’m not stressing at the last minute to get it completed – stress can have a major impact on chronic illness. Of course, scheduling doesn’t always work due to the unpredictable nature of illness but it does make it a little easier.

Writing in Advance – this links to my last point. I set aside a day each week where I’ll write up my posts for the next week. Sometimes, if I’m really feeling motivated, I’ll sit and do a mass write-up, where I type up my posts a couple weeks in advance and schedule them ready to go. Of course, I check them before they publish but at least it takes away the time of writing them all up.

Notebooks – I have notebooks galore. I’m such a stationary hoarder, but notebooks are really handy to just jot ideas and thoughts down. I tend to use my notebooks to write bullet points of ideas for a particular post and then use them to type up. Of course, if you’re on the go, notes on your phone is a great alternative!

Above all though, I really do love blogging – I know I’ve said it before but it’s only the truth. I love being able to write, to let steam off through my writing and in the knowledge that I’m helping others too. This post may paint a bad picture of what blogging can be like but, for the most part, it’s plain sailing (well as much as blogging can be). Thank you for reading, sweet things, and thanks for being patient when necessary. I love you all.