When I started my new job back in November, I told myself that I’d rein it back a little and keep my blogging down to 5 posts a week, rather than the 6-7 posts a week I was publishing throughout 2016. Well.. It didn’t last very long. In fact, since then I’ve only had a 5-post week 4 times, and I quickly slipped back into my previous pattern.
I’m not gonna lie, recently I’ve been finding it a little exhausting. In fact, since getting back from my holiday at the start of March, I’ve not entirely felt properly back on my blogging game, and that combined with a slight dip in my stats over the last few weeks has led me to lose a bit of motivation, so I’m debating taking a break.
So I’ve been writing a pro/con list, and it looks a little something like this:
Pros:
- More time for the rest of life – I can’t even hazard a guess at the number of hours that go into writing, editing, photographing and planning posts, as well as scheduling tweets, maintaining a cohesive Instagram theme. Think of all the time for other activities!
- A chance to clear my head – taking a step away from the keyboard for a week or so would give me an opportunity to shake my constant blogger mentality, and find new inspiration and ideas. I mean, a watched kettle never boils, right?
- Sorting priorities – my blog has been probably one of the biggest parts of my life for the last 3 years, and stepping away would give me an idea of if I still want it to be such a big part, or whether a step back would be better for me
- No drama or competition – I don’t get involved in blogging drama, and I try extremely hard to not find myself competing with or comparing myself to other bloggers, but it would be nice to distance myself from the negative side of blogging
- A chance to fall back in love – they say you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone, so maybe I should walk away to make myself want to come back
Cons:
- Dropping engagement – its generally the case that the more you post, the better your stats seem to get. Regular posting has probably been the biggest influence in my blog growth over the last two years, and I’d hate to see that growth stutter.
- One less creative outlet – blogging has always been a way of expressing myself and getting my creative juices flowing, and while I do have other hobbies that help get my creativity out, this blog has always been the place for me to word vomit everywhere and what would it be like if I didn’t force my word vomit onto others?!
- Missing sense of pride – I have so much love for my blog, and it always amazes me how far I’ve come in my little corner of the internet, and if I take a break, I’ll miss the joy of seeing a new post get a great response, or hitting another milestone.
- FOMO – if I’m not blogging, will I be extradited from the blogging community that I love so much? I’d hate to miss the social side of blogging, but also any blogging opportunities that might slip passed me.
- Filling the gap – with my blog being such a big part of my life, will I find that taking a break leaves me with a sense of missing something? What if my life turns out to be even more boring than I thought if I’m not blogging?
Quite the debate, huh? It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that these lists are both equal, and the debate is still ongoing in my head so watch this space. Or, y’know, don’t..
If you’ve ever taken a blogging break, let me know your experience and drop me a comment!
Lottie Does 
I usually take a two week break, once or twice a year – and it’s so refreshing! You come back with a love for it all over again and a load of motivation! The cons are stats drop a little, but I combat this by sharing my old posts throughout the day and the course of the two weeks, and it’s a nice little boost on some older posts I’m proud of!:) Tania Michele xx
I’ve taken unintentional breaks from blogging in the past, more due to lack of motivation than anything. It actually did me a lot of good because when I first started blogging I was doing it more in the mindset of this is the way everyone else is doing it so I should do it this way too even though this just didn’t work for me and that’s what kind of lead to my break as I was posting for the sake of posting and not really writing about what I wanted to write. The break made me realise that ultimately you have to enjoy blogging for it to be worthwhile and that it’s important to do what works for you and not other people. I also came back with more passion for it because I was doing it my own way rather than how I thought I was expected to do it.
Abbie • overpeachchic.com
This is really helpful, thanks for sharing lovely 🙂 xx
I don’t think a week or two’s break will harm your blog in the long run, aspecially if people know you are taking it. Give yourself some time to focus on other things and i’m sure you’ll come back feeling fresh and excited with lots of new ideas 🙂
I took an intentional break in autumn 2015 when work pressure mounted up. It was hard at the start but when I returned in November, I wanted to take my blog in a new direction. Took a small loss in terms of reads, but was surprised how little my readership dipped!
http://lizziedailyblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Over the last two years of blogging, I’ve taken two, or three, blogging breaks. It’s true; you do notice a bit of a dip in engagement. But I always make sure I schedule tweets for my break in advance, sharing old posts for people to enjoy. I find that helps. I’m actually taking a blogging break in a week or so!
Thanks lovely!
Pingback: My Blogging Break | Lottie Does