For the past few days, I’ve been pretty detached from the blogging world aside from putting up a giveaway, which didn’t require much effort on my part. Not because I’ve gotten bored with it, but because I’ve started to love blogging so much that I haven’t been doing much else with my life for the past couple months. While it’s fun to work on designs and come up with post ideas and collaborate with other bloggers every day, I felt like I needed to take a break for a bit. I was amazed at how hard that was! Every time I started to do something else, I felt this urge to open up my laptop and check my email, or start another template. I spent a good two hours just wandering around my house, trying to figure out what I could possibly do instead. Somehow, I ended up having a pretty productive couple of days! After a day at the spa, some ceramic painting, and a well needed shopping spree, I feel refreshed and ready to jump back into the blogging life.
After experiencing just how hard it was to step away from the computer and spend some time off my blog (and all the social networking/emailing that comes with it), I realized I’m probably not the only blogger out there who struggles with this feeling. I guess it’s a bit contradicting of me to make a blog post about taking a break from blogging, but I think it’s something a lot of us need to hear!
Why Should You Take A Break?
I know the idea of taking a blogging break doesn’t sound too convenient to a lot of people. You think you’re going to lose your audience, or your readers will think you’re not in it for the long run. Maybe the thought of straying from your posting schedule freaks you out a bit. There can be a lot of stress that comes with blogging, but worrying about things like that will only make it worse. My one piece of advice for you?
STOP STRESSING SO MUCH!
There, I said it. That’s all you have to do! Obviously that’s not the easiest task out there, but it’s really the only way you’re going to get over this fear of disappointing your readers (most of whom you’ve never met before) and finally be able to blog for yourself. Taking a break is a great way to relieve yourself from all that stress, and it’s something every blogger needs to do occasionally, whether you’ve been blogging for years or a few months.
How To Know It’s Time To Take A Break
You’re feeling burned out and can’t seem to find the motivation to make a post, yet you still haven’t been able to step away from the computer.
You aren’t feeling like yourself anymore, and it’s showing in your posts.
Blogging is starting to feel like a hassle rather than the thing you look forward to doing.
You hardly spend any time with your family because you’re always editing pictures, adding to your editorial calendar, or making more posts.
You feel guilty when you don’t put a post up one day, even though something much more important was keeping you from making it.
Rather than blogging for yourself, you’re only focused on what others will think about your post, and it’s keeping you from posting the content you really want to share.
You’ve come up with a few big ideas (maybe starting a business, or writing an ebook) and you need time to focus on them.
You feel the need to freshen up your life and change a few things.
You’re in desperate need of a vacation, even if it’s just a road trip.
You spend every free moment of your time looking at stats and freaking out because they haven’t skyrocketed.
Overall, blogging has just become more of a burden than a joy, and it’s time to regain that motivation and start fresh.
Ways To Spend Your Time Away From Your Blog
- Paint your favorite quote on a canvas
- Watch an old movie
- Find a local boutique to shop at
- Make an herb garden
- Have a “me” day and pamper yourself!
- Try out some calligraphy techniques
- Pick a nail color you haven’t tried before and paint away
- Organize your desk
- Write some notes to send to long-distance friends
- Grab a cup of tea/coffee and r-e-l-a-x
- Clean up your phone (clear your messages, reorganize your apps, change up that background you’ve had for months!)
- Look through your closet and donate what you don’t need
- Take yourself on a shopping trip and get that top you’ve been looking at for weeks!
- Try out a new recipe (and don’t spend forever taking pictures and coming up with a blog post for it!)
- Find a quiet place and do some yoga
- Take a trip to the park with your family
- Look for something fun to do on Groupon
- Make that DIY project you’ve repinned 5 times
- Invite some friends over for dinner
- Bake something for a neighbor/friend
- Check out a local thrift store
- Go out and take some photos without a specific post idea in mind!
How Taking A Break Will Help You
- All that time spent away from the computer will spark some new ideas and make it easy to set up your editorial calendar for the month.
- With all this new energy you have, you can whip up a great post in no time.
- Your blogging friends will still be there when you get back, and will be happy to see you return! Maybe you can come up with a way to incorporate them into your “return to blogging” post?
- All your stress is gone, and that feeling of excitement you used to have when you put up a new post is back.
- Your posts will sound much more sincere and from the heart, rather than boring and stale
- That love for blogging is back, and you’ll be ready to take the next step in your blogging journey!
Taking a break from blogging will do a world of good for you, your blog, and your readers. You’ll feel refreshed, energized, and have the motivation you need to jump back into the blogging world. There’s so much more to blogging than statistics, and your happiness should be at the top of your blogging priorities. If you’re not happy with the way things are going, taking a break could be exactly what you need to get yourself back on track!
Have you taken a blogging break before? What are some ways it helped you and your blog?
