Goodbye, Gapers Block

Earlier this week, I sent off an email to Andrew Huff over at Gapers Block. Sadly, I’ve stepped down after only about two months or so as one of their staff/contributors.

I’m pretty bummed about it, but I’m certain it was the right decision. Lately, I’ve felt stressed out about finding enough time to do all the things I want to do. At the onset, I figured I could handle the additional workload. After all, what’s 3 posts a week?

And to be honest, it’s not all that much to do. But on top of side projects and trying to keep this site updated… I just felt too busy. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, so to speak.

The past few days, I’d see some article or event, and think “Oh, I shoud post that to…. oh, wait, that’s right.” The impulse to keep an eye out for fun/quirky Chicago-related events is still there, even though I’m no longer contributing.

I got a nice reply back from Andrew, saying that he understands and that I’m welcome back if I ever change my mind. I really liked being part of the GB staff, and adding my own words to a large, established voice. It definitely felt good, working on this thing that was bigger than any one of us, individually.

Secretly, I feel like I let GB (and Andrew) down. I usually pride myself on being able to accomplish the things I set out to do. But when those occasions arise where I’m not able to do what I promise, well… it just ends up making me feel crappy.

I tend to define myself through the work I do. And leaving GB was even harder for that, as I had to basically say “I can do no more, I’ve reached my capacity.”

Actually defining the limits of one’s abilities, no matter how accurate or correct the assessment, is an unpleasant thing to do.

And It’s even more unpleasant when you have to say it out loud.

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