Minimalist blogging: Why I don’t have comments

I love blogging as it gives me a chance to practise, hone and polish my writing.

But I do not allow comments. Here’s why: it would take me way too much time to think about replies to comments, let alone write them out. And by the time the first comments came in, my thoughts would already have turned to the next big thing: my next work project, my next blog post, the next task on my list.

Like you, I am a busy person, and I have therefore implemented minimalism in many areas of my life. I’ve implemented minimalism in my blogging, too: I don’t blog often, I aim to write short(er) blog posts in future, and I don’t allow comments. And I’d like to keep it that way.

Implementing minimalism in blogging

As a translator, I already spend way too much time at the computer. So I’ve taken measures to minimise my screen time. Engaging in discussion on the content of my blog posts would take me in the completely opposite direction.

Bestselling author, entrepreneur and blogger Seth Godin doesn’t have comments on his blog either. In his post “Why I don’t have comments”, he explains why. You may also want to check out his post
“10 Lessons Seth Godin Can Teach You About Blogging”.

You can find a German translation of this blog post here.

Minimalism in introverts’ work environments

Funnily, one of the things that first comes to mind when I think of translators in connection with minimalism is the observation that many (but not all) of us translators are introverts: we don’t crave the same doses of external stimulation as our extrovert peers, but generally prefer to keep the arousal of external stimuli to a minimum.

Working with maximum immersion and minimal distraction

We’re okay with minimal person-to-person interaction. Although human contact is also vital to us like food and drink, we are completely fine with less social interaction and find solitude revitalising. Therefore we are usually very happy working away on long texts in front of our computers all week – with maximum immersion and minimal distraction.

Given the above, it is hardly surprising that translator is listed among the best 15 jobs for introverts in a recent article entitled “15 Best Jobs for Introverts” published on Business News Daily or in the article entitled “Twenty High Paying Jobs For Introverts” on personalityclub.com.

"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible." ~ Pablo Picasso pic.twitter.com/KfBrpcAh4M

— Susan Cain (@susancain) August 22, 2013

Links to great articles:
- Why Introverts and Extroverts Are Different: The Science (quietrev.com)
- The Minimalist Introvert: In Praise Of Going Deep (louderminds.com)
- How to Understand an Introvert, Explained by Introjis (huffingtonpost.com)
- 10 Ways Introverts Interact Differently With The World (huffingtonpost.com)
- 10 Things That Don’t Make Sense To Introverts (huffingtonpost.com)
- The Best Jobs for Introverts (businessnewsdaily.com)
- Twenty High Paying Jobs For Introverts (personalityclub.com)