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I have been told that I am a workaholic on a few occasions. Taking time off doesn’t come naturally to me. I have also heard that it is a trauma response and typically, I just shrug my shoulders and continue with my work.
R: “You know what my favourite part of this vacation has been for me?”
S: “No, what?”
R: “Hanging out with you. I forgot how much fun it is to hang out with you.”
I took three weeks off. Three weeks of no blogging, no business, no social media. I spent those weeks with my family, soaking in all the moments we have missed over the past seven years.
By sharing my personal experience and insights, I hope to inspire other bloggers to consider the benefits of taking a step back, finding renewed inspiration, and ultimately enhancing their blogging experience.
THE POWER OF PAUSE
I will admit that I needed that break desperately. I felt overwhelmed in my everyday life and things felt like they were just compounding daily. I am so grateful that I was able to take this time and spend it with the people that I needed to be surrounded with.
My blog was on the upswing after focusing all my efforts on building it. I felt a built guilty for walking away when everything was going so well but as this blog is going to show you, it was just what I needed.
Now if you want to take a break, there are ways that you can do that while still sharing to your social media platforms and getting traffic to your website but for me, I didn’t want to worry about that. I wanted to step into my life and live in the day-to-day moments. Something that I had been missing for a very long time. Again, workaholic.
I have been feeling disconnected with my business for a few months and I just couldn’t put my finger on it so I continued doing what I was doing. (Even when nothing felt right or put a smile on my face.)
I continued to show up with content that no longer lit me up.
I continued to believe that in order to succeed, I needed to move forward with the business that I had.
I continued to show up even when I didn’t want to.
Now, I will always show up with things that I love to do. However, this was completely different. I was showing up day in and day out to feel drained, useless, and unhappy. Showing up wasn’t moving my business or my dreams forward because I was no longer connected to them.
This is the power of pause.
I was able to focus on things outside of blogging, outside of my business, and gain some clarity that I was so desperately searching for but unable to find when I was overwhelmed and unhappy. When we take our mind off the problem, that is when the solution finds its way to us.
WAYS THAT A BLOGGING BREAK CAN BE TRANSFORMATIVE
Taking a break from blogging can seem counterintuitive, especially when there is constant pressure to produce content and stay relevant. However, in my own experience, stepping away from the blogging world for a while allowed me to gain a fresh perspective and discover newfound clarity. Here are some key ways in which a blogging break can be transformative.
Reflecting on goals and direction
This was the most important piece that I needed. Blogging can often become a whirlwind of expectations and showing up constantly. Taking a pause provided me with the chance to reflect on my goals and the direction that I wanted to take with my blog and my business. It has allowed me to reassess my strategy, audience engagement techniques, purpose, and services that I offer. Through this introspection, I gained valuable insights into where I wanted to focus my efforts and how to align my blogging journey with my long-term goals.
I am ready to move forward with my business, my blog, and create dreams that are going to help me step into my purpose even more while helping the women that I want to work with. More on my July goals here.
Recharging and reigniting that passion for blogging
There comes a time when we begin to lose passion for things that we do. When we get so caught up in our everyday lives that we forget and lose sight of why we started doing what we were doing in the first place.
Constantly producing content and managing the demands of a blog can take a toll on one’s mental and emotional well-being. By intentionally stepping back, I was able to rest and return to blogging with a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm. This break helped me to find clarity by reminding me of the importance of self-care and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. (I may struggle with this for a while.)
Exploring new possibilities
I won’t lie, I imagined my life without blogging. Wondering if it was something that I could walk away from and continue on with my life in a new direction. I still can’t imagine not having a blog in my life so I know that it is something that I am just not ready for.
Exploring new possibilities meant that I was digging deep into what I truly wanted out of my life. In order to know if I wanted to continue with blogging, I needed to picture my life without it in there.
Words are my safe place. Blogging is a place where I can go to be completely myself. Without fear of judgment. Words are the best way that I can communicate with anyone in my life. Without blogging, I wouldn’t know who I was.
5 WAYS TO PREPARE FOR A BLOGGING BREAK
Taking a break from blogging can feel like an overwhelming task for some. So much so that you may decide not to do it but I want you to know that there are things that you can do to help make this transition easier.
Your break doesn’t have to be three weeks like mine was. It can be a week or it can be six months. Either way, give yourself a deadline. This way you are going to know when you are going to come back and jump into blogging again.
If you don’t give yourself a date of return, you may not come back at all. (That is totally okay if that is what you want to do.)
Create social media posts and schedule them out for old blog posts
Just because you are taking a break doesn’t mean that you can’t share on your social media platforms. If you want to continue sending people to your blog, schedule social media posts to share older blog posts.
This is a great way to keep getting people to visit your website without having to create new content. You can use your most viewed blog posts and share them again or you can even use blog posts that didn’t gain much traction and see if creating new posts about them will bring new people to your site.
Get creative with the content that you are sharing.
Remember, you do not need to do this. You can take a break from social media as well.
Communicate with your audience
This isn’t a necessary step but you may feel the need to let your audience know that you are taking a break.
You can write a blog post or create a dedicated announcement on your website, explaining the reasons behind your break and when they can expect you to return. Encourage them to stay connected through your social media accounts.
Collaborate with guest bloggers
If you want to take a break, having guest bloggers publish content while you are on your break is a great way to keep fresh content going live on your website. This will take a bit of planning as you will need to have everything scheduled and ready to go but it is a great way to continue to build your audience.
Engage with your community
This will depend on the type of break that you are planning to take. If you are taking a break like I did and not doing social media of any kind, then you don’t need to do this. However, if you plan on continuing with social media or even just cutting back on blogging, you can engage with your community.
Encourage discussions and interaction among your readers while you’re on a break. Pose questions, start conversations, and respond to comments on your blog and social media platforms. This is going to keep your community engaged and maintain a sense of connection.
FAQ QUESTIONS ABOUT TAKING A BREAK FROM YOUR BLOG
Here are a few other common questions that I have gotten when it comes to taking a break from your blog.
How long of a break should I take?
Honestly, this is totally up to you. Just remember like I said above, to make a plan and give yourself a date of return.
The duration of the break that you take will vary on your circumstances and needs. Some bloggers may benefit from a shorter break of a few days or weeks, while others may require a more extended break of several months. It is essential to listen to what you need and to recognize when you need to step back and recharge.
Will taking a break negatively affect my traffic and blogging numbers?
While it’s natural to have concerns about the impact of a break on your audience and traffic, it is crucial to prioritize your well-being and overall clarity. Communicate with your audience before you take your break and let them know when you plan to return.
You can also consider scheduling some evergreen content or guest content to maintain engagement during your absence. Remember, taking care of yourself and finding clarity will ultimately benefit your blog in the long run.
I also want you to remember that you can come back and get your traffic back when you are ready to return. Blogging numbers are going to go up and down anyway so don’t focus on the numbers while you are on break. Instead, focus on yourself and when you get back, create a strategy that will help you reconnect with your audience.
How can I stay inspired while not blogging?
Just because you aren’t blogging doesn’t mean that you can’t write. Always keep a book handy to write in. Inspiration hits when you least expect it.
On my phone, I have a note called Walking Wisdom. It is pieces of wisdom that come to me while I am out walking in my neighbourhood. Sometimes things come to me while I am driving. I do not always know what they mean but I write them down anyway and I will look through that note when I need inspiration.
Remember that taking a break doesn’t mean that you are disconnecting from things that are going to inspire you. It just means that you aren’t publishing new content. Continue to generate ideas and inspiration throughout your break. This is also going to help bring back the motivation and fuel that passion for blogging again.
What if I feel lost after coming back from a break?
It has taken me about a week to get back into writing again. After a vacation, things seem to pile up and it takes a bit of an adjustment to come back to your everyday life. There is nothing wrong with this.
It is essential to give yourself some time and patience during the re-entry phase. Revisit your blogging strategy and determine if it is still working for you. You can even consider reaching out to fellow bloggers who will support you. Remember that finding clarity is a process and it may take some time to regain your momentum.
Is it necessary to take a complete break or can I just slow down instead?
Only you are going to know the answer to this question.
A complete break may not be feasible for everyone and in those cases, slowing down and reducing your posting frequency may be the perfect alternative. Use this time to focus on quality rather than quantity and be mindful of your well-being.
Remember even small pauses can make a significant difference in maintaining a healthy blogging journey.
Taking a break is necessary when it comes to blogging. Burnout can happen and it can quickly and quietly sneak up on you. There are so many moving parts to blogging that you can feel like you are on a hamster wheel of content creation.
Give yourself time to recuperate so that you can give your best to the blog that you have created. I would love to know…
Have you taken a break from blogging? If so, how was it? If you haven’t, what has stopped you from giving yourself a break?
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