Most passionate bloggers would love to be able to blog nonstop without encountering any issues, but unfortunately that is impossible. Sometimes problems may pop up that can only be solved by going on hiatus. Other times a break may simply help you relax and regain your stamina. Here are 6 reasons why you should take a blogging break.
1. Personal Issues - The reason why I took my break in December was because of personal issues. I was getting impatient, which made me a bit angry, then my family seemed to ignore everything I said which ticked me off a bit more, then we got into a yelling contest. I needed some time to cool off, so I took a break.
2. Vacation - Planning a trip to Aruba or Cancun? Don’t bring your laptop! Enjoy your vacation! Get some guest bloggers or simply ignore your blog for a week or two. Nothing is worse than working during a vacation.
3. Too Much Work - Unfortunately most of us make little (if any) money from blogging, so we have to make money from other things like freelancing. If your work life begins to take too much time and you can’t work on your blog at all, take a little break until you catch up on your work. There’s no reason to let the quality of your blog suffer as a result of your career.
4. No Ideas - The infamous blogger’s block will affect most bloggers at some point. When you run out of ideas contact some of your peers and try to get some guest posters for a few days. You’ll get inspiration again at some point. Oh, and don’t forget to keep at least 3-5 completed posts handy.
5. Lack Of Interest - Sometimes blogger’s block can become a long-term issue and completely kill your interest in your blog. Usually you will work harder to get ideas, which causes blogging to take up a bigger chunk of your day, and if it continues you’ll lose all interest in it. Sometimes taking a break to rethink your blog’s topics can be a good way to get back into it.
6. Obsession - There’s a fine line between being passionate and being obsessed. I think the main difference is passionate people love doing one thing, but they also do other things as well (such as freelancing), but obsessed people focus just on one thing and don’t care about anything else. Obsession is never a good thing, especially if you are obsessed for years and years and then finally realize the fallacy of your beliefs. If blogging is overtaking your life and is causing you to make strange decisions - take a break.
Can you think of any other reasons to take a blogging break? Have any opinions about the items I listed? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
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February 26th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Yeah sometimes it is necessary to take a break.
It is important to know when you really need to do it though, as opposed to letting the ball drop just because you are tired.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Yeah, laziness isn’t really an excuse to take a break. Thats as bad as giving up because you don’t get instant results.
Thanks for your thoughts, Daniel