I am a lucky technical writer. Lucky because unlike many people I actually enjoy my work.

I also enjoy learning, and analyzing, and improving. Sitting at my desk, working quietly to develop a new skill or learn something new is its own reward. What is missing, though, is a way to express myself and share the enjoyment of my journey.

I feel compelled to share, and that is the aspiration for this blog. No more, no less.

The opportunity cost

So, why have I waited so long? Mostly, it comes down to the opportunity cost of time, money, and energy. That’s the short way of saying the following things.

If you actually want to have a readership, maintaining a blog is a significant time commitment. I have dabbled in blog-writing before, so I know.

Being in the early stages of raising my third child, finding enough time is inevitably a daily problem for me. If keeping our children near the top of our priority list is an imperative, which it is, I don’t have too much wiggle room there. Being time-poor can also have health implications if we are not careful. If I’m struggling to find a couple of hours a week to exercise, but am spending five hours a week writing a blog, it is hard to argue that this is a wise lifestyle choice. Similarly, sleep deprivation does not seem to be a sensible answer either given its association with weakened immunity and dementia.

On the money side, for some of my career I have been an independent consultant working for an hourly rate. At these times I could not justify spending hours a week writing blog posts when I could be bringing in money for the family.

The long and short of it is that raising children, succeeding in a busy job, nurturing a marriage, maintaining a healthy body, and setting aside at least some time for recreation that is essential for good mental health does not leave much remaining discretionary time. Hence, the opportunity cost of time, money, and energy.

But if not now then when?

And yet, despite all of that, I still keep coming back to that song, "If not now, then when?". This is REALLY true in my case. If I don’t start this now I KNOW it will never happen. I need to somehow make this happen.

A rabbit hole

I recently went down an internet rabbit hole, starting with an article about vintage typewriters and clicking on to an article that described another article in Glamour magazine about how Danielle Steel has managed to write over 170 books. Danielle Steel’s work ethic is incomparable — working for up to 20 hours a day until she falls asleep exhausted. Now, I can’t possibly live on four hours of sleep, but her story is captivating and inspiring nonetheless. There must surely be a way I can find a little more discipline and exchange some rabbit-hole time wasters for some blog writing.

Another inspiration is a video on YouTube by Ali Abdaal. His message is to just start. He says don’t worry about quality at the beginning. It is more important to publish frequently and focus on your process than to try and create the perfect piece. By focusing on the process over time the quality and creation efficiency will naturally improve. I like this advice because it lowers the barrier of entry. Or, as us biochemists might say, it lowers the activation energy (EA).

So this is it

So, this is it. I know I am really up against it, but I have wanted to do this for a long time, and if not now then when.