Admin Well-being Building Community Fast & Slow

[joelr]

Pacing is everything, whether you’re running a race or building an online community. But here’s the tricky part: how do you figure out the right pace?

When it comes to running a community, you are the leader and the pace-setter. It’s up to you to decide how fast to push projects, how quickly to grow, and when to give yourself and your members a breather. If you push too hard, your community might burn out. But if you go too slow, you risk losing momentum or failing to reach your full potential.

Here’s where it gets personal: I know I thrive on deadlines and promises. When I set ambitious goals, I almost always rise to meet them. But I’ve also learned the hard way that pushing too hard for too long can lead to burnout—for me and for the people around me.

Now I’m curious about how others approach this balancing act.

• How do you set the pace for your forum or online community?
• Have you ever pushed too hard or gone too slow? What did you learn?
• How can we balance ambitious goals with the need for rest and recovery?
• What signs tell you that your community’s pace needs adjusting?

 

[Nomad]

Frankly speaking, my communities are always on the back seat. I spend more time on the communities where I am a staff rather than in the communities that I own. On average I create 100 forum posts per day, I am rarely posting on my own forums. I would like to build my community pretty fast, but sadly I cannot because growing a community is very difficult task. It takes time and a lot of effort.