Tag Archives: Blogging

How To Revive An Old Man And Restart His Old Blog

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Friends, I’ve been wanting to get back to blogging on a regular and dependable basis. However . . . There have been challenges . . . It’s so easy to make excuses, so easy to procrastinate. It’s what I do best.

Mainly, it’s a matter of re-energizing and motivating the old blogger. This post will be simply a teaser. Tease myself into action, and tease long-neglected readers that more posts will be coming. At least, I hope so.

The prerequisite was figuring out an answer to the following question:

How and where do I live a good life at this late age on a sustainable basis?

The answer required several years and a lot of research. I’ll reveal the answer as I’ve been able to discern it, and consequent actions required, in future posts. God willing.  — John

Blogging From My iPhone

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Notice how brief the previous post about the Fitbit was? I was out-of-town and experimenting with remote posting using the WordPress IOS application for my new iPhone. I’m not what you call an “early adaptor.”

It’s clear the IOS app doesn’t  give you nearly all the functionality of WordPress on a desktop. Continue reading →

Blogging As Therapy

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Thanks to all who commented on the previous post about retirement, depression, and blogging. You offered many wise suggestions and much encouragement. And all for free!  Maybe blogging could put therapists out of business? Of course, full-fledged M.D. psychiatrists have nothing to fear. Their job is secure because they hold the pen that writes the coveted prescriptions. (Pills which we may or may not need. It’s so hard to know.)

After being an unpredictable (and often absent) blogger this past year, I intend to mend my ways. Since I know blogging is good therapy for me, and at least a few folks are reading, I’m going to pick up the pace. The goal, as always, is to post every day. I know from experience that it’s a hard goal to meet; I don’t expect to accomplish it immediately.

I’ll stay the course with this blog — the one you’re reading right now — even with its lack of focus, because it already has a ton of content. I’ve tried starting new blogs, and it doesn’t seem to help. WordPress informs me that I recently passed the 500-post mark here. Thanks WordPress! I already had 500 posts at Maryland On My Mind. If only I had 500 posts narrowly focused on one or a few subjects.

Since I’m such an unfocused writer, I need your help. What do you think I should write about? And what subjects do you think I should avoid? I’m also accepting questions, although I’m short on good answers. Your input is welcomed as comments below, or you can email me at BJohnHayden@icloud.com. Every suggestion is a good suggestion, whether I use it or not.

Again, thank you, friends! It’s good to have so many people caring about me. Keep the faith, fellow bloggers!

— John Hayden

Retirement, Depression, And Blogging

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Hello friends. I’ve been in a funk. Haven’t published a blog post since April 30. Probably my longest hiatus since I started blogging in 2007, or since I began this blog in 2009. I’ve continued to read bloggers I follow (but irregularly) and to post comments (rarely).

I’ve been trying to adjust to retirement. Not as easy as I thought. Also, I’ve been all over the place in the past year regarding the purpose and audience of this blog. I began my first blog in 2007 with a focus on Maryland. That blog became more local when I moved to Ocean City.

I started this blog in 2009 to write about “life after sixty,” but I soon wandered into politics and economics. After retiring in 2013, I returned to my hometown, Montgomery County, and focused on local stuff for a while. I started several experimental blogs, but none of them clicked. The experimental blogs have been abandoned. Over the years, I’ve written a lot about politics, and I tend to get the most hits in the runup to elections. After the 2014 election, I was a blogger wandering in the desert.

Unable to find my bearings in retirement, I tried part-time work. Lifestyle and financial issues came to the fore. I made a conscious effort to cut back on blogging. Even though I wasn’t a very productive blogger, it seemed to consume a disproportionate amount of my time. Instead of blogging, I researched affordable places to live. Took a two-week fact-finding trip to Florida. At this point, I’m confused and undecided.

The truth is, my lifelong struggle with depression has worsened since retirement.

The cover story in this month’s Atlantic magazine, “A World Without Work,” helps explain my retirement funk. The story, by Derek Thompson, is not about retirement. It warns about the continuing loss of jobs due to computerization and robotization.

“For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing?”

I’ve found that retirement has a lot in common with unemployment. Thompson points out that although leisure time offers wide opportunities, many unemployed men tend to spend most of their hours sleeping or watching TV.

I can go days without turning on the television, but I spend way too much time sleeping. Some days, I can hardly pull myself out of bed. That’s a sure sign of depression.

Any thoughts, fellow bloggers and/or retirees?

— John Hayden