The Tired Weasel

a bit about writing less

For all of 2023 and 2024, I was able to write a new post every week and share it with the tens of thousands of subscribers here. I used to write a lot, took a break for several years, but came back with a nice rhythm. Ideas would come, words would flow (mostly), and I’d hit “publish” with a sense of momentum. But lately, that rhythm has been harder to find.

Ideas

It’s not that I don’t have thoughts worth sharing. If anything, my mind feels full - but perhaps too full. I’ve started and discarded dozens of articles over the past several weeks. Sometimes it’s because I don’t know where to start, but more often, I don’t know where to go. A lot of times though, it’s just been difficult to clear my mind of all of the other bullshit so I can focus about writing about software or leadership.

I joked in a note about a series of anti-leadership lessons learned from the Trump administration, but the whole state of American politics is so absurd, I don’t quite yet know how to reign that in.

Seasons

Writing comes with seasons. Some are expansive, where ideas and words arrive easily, energy is high, and I can spit out a reasonably good post in a short amount of time. Other seasons are slower, more uncertain. They ask for patience. They ask us to sit in the discomfort of not knowing exactly what we want to say or when we’ll feel ready to say it.

Right now, I’m in one of those slower seasons. And if the mood of my friends is any indication, I know I’m not alone.

I suspect many of you have felt this in your own ways—whether in writing, in work, in creative pursuits, or even in relationships. The things that once came easy to me, at times, feel like fording a river on the PCT. For a lot of us, the weight of personal stresses, professional pressures, and the relentless noise of the world can make even the things we love feel distant.

So, I’m reminding myself of something as I sit in my favorite local coffee shop: It’s okay to write even when it feels hard. It’s ok to write, even if the subject isn’t riveting or compelling. It’s okay to create, even when it comes in fits and starts. It’s okay to show up imperfectly, with half-formed thoughts, as long as we keep showing up.

If you’ve been feeling this way too, you’re not alone. And if you’re in a different season—one where things feel light and flowing—I hope you savor it. Because like all seasons, this too will shift.

I’m Still Here

I’m still here. Still trying to write. Still writing. Still working on where the ideas sitting in my drafts folder are actually going to go. I may not write as frequently for a while, but I’ll work on finding my way back to the page, one word at a time.

Thanks for being here with me.

-A