How do we find time to blog?

Here's this week's Ask a Scienceblogger question:

How is it that all the PIs (Tara, PZ, Orac et al.), various grad students, post-docs, etc. find time to fulfill their primary objectives (day jobs) and blog so prolifically?...

Funny you asked. It's actually rather a long story. You see, about a year and a half ago, I had this idea to write a book. But, I thought to myself, my problem is that I'm not really an expert in anything. If only I had a real expert who could help me out with, you know, facts and things, I think I could write an excellent book.

After racking my brain trying to figure out which of my friends might be interested on working on a book with me, I realized that my best friend -- my wife Greta -- was actually an expert in psychology. So here's what I proposed to her: if she could provide me with a steady supply of psychology articles, I'd read them, ask her for help when I didn't understand them, and then explain them in terms non-psychologists could understand. Since I am a layman, when it comes to psychology, I would have a good idea what most non-experts might need to know.

Then, on a whim, I suggested that as we compiled this research, I could write up each article on a blog. Perhaps we could generate a little "buzz" for our book before it was even published. Now, over half a million visitors later, I suppose we've generated more than a little buzz.

So how do we manage all this, along with our "day jobs"? The answer is that I don't have a day job. I work on CogDaily and other writing projects about 4 or 5 hours a day, then spend the rest of the time driving the kids here and there, running errands, and generally making sure the household doesn't fall apart. Greta and I meet every Friday to discuss the week's articles on CogDaily, and Greta spends a few hours a week on her own finding stuff for me to write up, as well as checking up on what I've written to make sure I haven't committed a major gaffe. That leaves plenty of time for Greta's day job.

All in all, it's a nice arrangement. The only question remaining is, what happened to the book? The answer: we're still working on it, but we're taking our time about it. Cognitive Daily has taken on a life of its own, and sometimes we wonder whether a book is even necessary.

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As long as you're making buckets of money blogging, you don't need to waste your time with the traditional media.

You are making buckets of money, aren't you?

"You are making buckets of money, aren't you?"

Sure... we always cash our SEED checks in pennies, just so we can say we make "buckets of money."