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Shift change


What time of day do you write your blog posts?

For the last six or seven years, I've written the posts for Night Owl Cards in the afternoon, somewhere between 2-5 p.m., usually. I've done this for so long it's become ritual and the perfect time for me to write.

That's all going to change starting tomorrow.

My work shift is changing. The shift change will impact my life in a variety of ways, from when I see my family to when I eat. But the important part for the blog is: when will I write? Beginning on Tuesday, the time of day when I would usually write, I will be working. So now I have to find another time to write.

Man, that will be weird.

There are a few possibilities and I've already picked one, but let's go through them just for fun.

Post in the morning as I will be getting up a couple hours earlier now

There is not a chance in hell I will be doing this. If you want anything coherent coming out of this blog you don't want me to post in the morning. Nothing I enjoy doing happens in the morning. And I'm not exactly thrilled I have to be up before 11 a.m. now.

Post in the wee hours

Back when I was writing two posts a day for this blog -- before I also wrote set blogs -- I would write one of the NOC posts in the wee hours, around 3 in the morning. I can't do that now because I write my 1985 Topps blog posts between midnight and 3 a.m. (the schedule for the '85 blog may have to change, too).

Post in the late evening

This is the option I will take.

It's going to be strange writing a post that won't show up for almost a full 24 hours (I still plan to publish posts in the usual 7-8:30 p.m. range), but I'm sure I will get used to it. This isn't a "breaking news" blog anyway.

Besides, I've always felt, since I was a teenager, that 9 p.m. is my optimal time, when I am most alert and mentally at my best. So maybe you haven't seen the best of Night Owl Cards yet!

But today, you're getting a traditional post, created in the late afternoon. That means I'm kind of hungry and I feel a bit off. So how about a few cards I received from Matt at Sports Card Collectors? That's about all I can handle now.


Finally, this card is in my possession.

When this card was first created, for the 2016 Topps Update set, I was interested in it as a team fan often is when it comes to a card of a recent acquisition by their team. The insert theme is weird because it's still making me wonder when we're going to see a Viagra insert set, but I still wanted the card.

I didn't get that card, either by pulling it or in trades, and then Reddick played lousy for the Dodgers. Then Reddick said he didn't like playing for the Dodgers because the fans got on him because he played lousy. Oh, dear, imagine fans doing a thing like that. Then he had to go to the Astros and then suddenly figure out how to play again. Of course. And then the Astros played the Dodgers in the World Series and people from each fan base had to get into a Twitter snit over Reddick, which is always an attractive quality, Twitter people.

So, now, I guess I'll accept this card of the greasy-haired Reddick.

Funny how your perception of a card can change in a year-plus, huh?



I like this card a lot more. It's a Finest insert from 2016 and shiny, as is a prerequisite for Finest cards. It's time to sign Clayton Kershaw. I don't want this dragging out past May. If I have to see him in another uniform I may never watch another baseball game.



The final card I'm showing is a blue-bordered beauty of Sandy Koufax from 2016 Archives. I need to make it my mission to find as many of these blue-bordered Dodgers as I can.

So, there you are, this is my last official post written during my old blogging schedule.

My new work shift is somewhat flexible so I'll probably be doing a small amount of afternoon posting still, but for the most part everything will be writen the evening before it publishes.

It might lose a little bit of immediacy, but otherwise I don't expect anyone to notice anything different.

Comments

Billy Kingsley said…
I keep fairly unusual hours and most of my posts are written in the middle of the night or early morning, before I go to bed when the sun comes up. I would say less than 1 in 10 posts is published as soon as I finish it, but occasionally my schedule works that way. My health dictates my schedule so I never really know what it is going to be at any time, it's actually pretty frustrating.

The blue border on the 1991 design looks great to me.
I usually write my posts between 3-6 although there are a few exceptions. I also really like the Franklin inserts from 2016 Update. Josh Reddick looks really cool on that card.
Nick Vossbrink said…
My ideal writing time is either in the afternoon or evening. As I've become the primary caregiver for my kids I've had to adjust my writing time to be much much earlier so I can finish things up before getting them from school and forget all about evenings. It's been a surprisingly difficult transition for me (writing-wise not parenting-wise) so the better bet is for me to go on a madcap writing session and schedule a ton of posts that hopefully hold things over until I can find the time to write again.
P-town Tom said…
Good luck on the transition!
In the Air Force I went from days to swing shift. Loved that there was very little supervision around, but hated missing family dinner and getting to bed after midnight. I hope it works out for you.
Brett Alan said…
I was always a night owl, too, but my wife has (after years of trying) changed that. When I'm with her in Singapore, I go to bed around 11, usually up around 7. When I'm in the States, usually I sleep around midnight or 1 so I'm up most days by 9. Never thought it would happen without it being a work requirement. If I can handle being up before 11, you can, too!
Matt said…
Glad you enjoyed!

I usually write in the early morning and mainly in weekends. My wife works every weekend so it frees some time up
Hackenbush said…
Since I'm a sporadic poster these days I really don't have a set time. Good luck with the new schedule.
Scribbled Ink said…
"...not a chance in hell..." LOL, I don't blame you!
Nick said…
I usually write my posts between 5 and 6 every evening. Once in a while I'll write one a bit later and usually have it scheduled to publish the next day. I know could never blog in the morning. I'm rarely up that early on my days off, and even if I was, nothing I'd type would come out as anything more than incoherent babble (but then again a lot of my posts end up like that anyways...).
Corky said…
I wrote between 3-5 pm for years. I worked from home so the day was when I did my work or ran errands, I would take a quick nap and be up in time for my kids to get home from school. After getting their snacks and homework started I would sit down at my computer and blog away. Things have changed in the last year and my health has deteriorated so I have cut back my freelance work significantly and my kids are now teens and don’t need me when they get home anymore lol. Now I don’t have a set time, though I really liked having a time frame.
Fuji said…
Weekdays - Typically write the night before, post the following day @ 3pm.

Weekends - Typically write the morning of the post (sometimes later if I go out to breakfast or walk around the flea market), and try my best to post @ 3pm.
Coast To Posts said…
I can't believe all you guy who have a set time to blog; I'm envious that you're able to take yourself away from everything around you (us) to sit down and blog. I write when I can, when I can find time - sometimes I can write a post up within an hour but for the most part it takes me a few days to piece together a post I'm happy with publishing.
CaptKirk42 said…
Hmmm "Day Bird" doesn't sound right good thing you aren't changing your name with the time shift. I don't have a set time when I write my blog. When I first started blogging with my non-cards blog I would publish whenever I had finished writing my post whatever time it was. Then for a while I would schedule things for 5:00 pm but would have to wait till I was home after work to see the final result and ultimately find spelling errors and other typos that needed fixing. Then I chose Noon as my publishing time so I could check my final post during or after lunch at work. Sometimes for anniversary posts I will publish at the time the original post was published for nostalgic reasons. Another odd time I have scheduled things was on my non-card blog when I had a fortune cookie series of posts I published them at 12:30 pm dessert time.
Adam Kaningher said…
I'd be pretty ticked about a change like that. There's a reason it's not called Early Bird Cards.
acrackedbat said…
I worked nights for 15 years at the post office. 15 years now since I left that job and I'm still a night personality. I am sharpest in the evenings, doing all blogging at that time - and everything else too: laundry, sorting, scanning, packaging, reading. Hardest part is getting to bed by 10pm. That's a must because I'm also one who requires 8-9 hours of sleep each night and that stinks. I hope you transition well - and if you're a bit MORE cranky...well then...we know why.