Have you ever spent hours working on a blog post? Pouring your heart out to your readers or creating a post with lots of links and great information… only to “save” it and have it disappear??? Ummmm…. yeah so that happened to me last night! I literally spent HOURS off and on yesterday working on a post with over 75 links… I clicked “save draft” to be sure none of my work would be lost… only to have the WHOLE THING DISAPPEAR!! I cried. I actually CRIED! Great big crocodile tears! All that work was gone… just GONE!
Unfortunately it’s not the first time it’s happened (Hey WordPress People! ya might want to fix that eh????), but its the first time it happened near the end of a post that had THAT much work in it. To say I was stressed out would be an understatement! I spent some time trying to figure out if there was a way to get it back… but in the end it was futile and I was STRESSED! Blogging can be very stressful at times and even make you want to pull your hair out! So here’s what you *should* (I say *Should* because we’re all human and sometimes we just want to throw things!) do when something like this happens to you…
Breathe.
Take Great Big Breathes, and double-check. You might even have to triple check to be sure it’s actually gone. Pretty sure I checked like 9 times before I was willing to admit something was really wrong. Then… I googled! Apparently this has happened to other people! I found a couple of forum articles/questions & answers that say there is a little revision button you can click to see previous drafts… but you have to turn that option on BEFORE you write the post… so yeah I’ll be adding that to my check list when working on Big / Important posts from now on.
Walk away from the Computer.
It took a little bit, but when I finally admitted to myself that all that work was GONE I was MAD! Really, really MAD!! Like throw my computer out the window, smash all the things, scream until I couldn’t scream any more MAD!!!! I had to walk away, get a drink (just water… even though I was really tempted to bust out the Rum), snuggle the #MonsterKittens and take a few minutes away from my computer before I was ready to try to figure anything else out.
Sometimes you just have to start over.
After stressing, pulling out my hair, letting loose a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush, and almost throwing my computer out the window, it was time to admit defeat. It was gone. Really and truly, irrevocably GONE. And that meant it was time to start over. Sometimes that means starting the whole post over, other times that means writing something completely different (like this post). Once I decided I was going to start over with something different, some of that stress dissipated. Choosing to move forward, either with the original idea or with a new one, can help ease the stress. (here’s 24 smart ways that can also help relieve the stress).
In the end its up to you… you have to CHOOSE to not let it ruin your day! Not always an easy task, but it is necessary. Choose to smile when you want to scream. Choose to move forward. Choose to create something even better!
What do you do when the stress gets to you and you want to pull your hair out?
vandylj says
Rant and rave for a bit to let off the steam, then take a deep breath and move forward. I have yet to lose a blog post, but other stresses have intruded on me from work on occasion.
Michelle says
I had to walk away yesterday when I lost everything that I wrote because I forgot to save the draft. After I came back, I realized that I could restore previous drafts, and that made me less stressed. Thanks for the post!
Erin at Hi Lovely! says
Thanks for this! I needed a little break last night and sure enough I got up and took a break and then fixed the problem!
Julie says
I haven't lost a post that way, but I have gotten up from my computer before and had my 4 year old close the window I was working in and lose everything. Not fun! But you're right, deep breaths do help 🙂
allthatglitters87 says
It's so hard not to let things like that ruin your whole day….Argh!
Printcess Mineral Makeup says
I have, thank all gods, never lost blog content BUT I've heard of this happening on both WordPress and Blogger. I would be super super pissed….the walking away? That's the best thing. When my computer died and took everything with it, I had to go on a 5 mile walk before I felt calm enough to be around electronics again. Good tips!
Talya Tate Boerner says
I've never had that happen with WP but I've certainly had it happen with a work project. Worst Feeling Ever. So sorry it happened to you, but like my husband says after a horrible day at work (everyday) "no one died" 🙂
Lea says
Oh my gosh, I would TOTALLY cry! So much hard work down the drain! I'm freaking out thinking about it! Sorry it happened.
Jeannie says
Walk away is my first action. My day job was computer work, so I learned quickly that the instant all seemed to be lost, it was time for a coffee break and walk around the building. Usually when I come back, I can "see" the issue and get it back. In my blogging I use live writer and save a local copy after every paragraph. That action alone is a stress reliever. The few times I have had to start over I find the article is better anyway. If you are retrieving links, they are probably in your computer history and easy to find.
JenniferJayne13 says
I used to use Live Writer when I was on blogger. I need to look in to using it with wordpress…. hmmm….