Hello, I'm back!
I have to tell you - taking a week off to just catch up and get organised and get my head into some kind of proper working order instead of being all just a jumbled mess - was just what I needed.
Whilst I was off last week I had a few people ask me - are you quitting blogging?
And the answer to that my friends is a big fat no... although I would be lying if I said I haven't considered it at least a couple of times over the past few months.
The thing about blogging is that typically those of us who blog put so much time and thought and effort into it and I am not just referring to the actual writing of blog posts and the like. All the other stuff that goes with blogging too - like running your social media, fussing over numbers and visiting and commenting other blogs and replying to comments etc. There is a lot to blogging.
If you monetise your blog then you are probably thinking even more about all the numbers and stats and ROI for your sponsors yada yada and you watch your numbers go up and go down and round and round and Facebook screws everything up for you so that some days you feel like you are taking to crickets and it is easy... VERY easy to become overwhelmed by it all and start to take it all a little too personally.
Whether you monetise your blog or not, blogging shouldn't be totally overwhelming.
It just shouldn't, and if you have found it has become a bit that way for you then can I suggest that you just stop, maybe take a week off, reset and reassess what it is about blogging that you love so much in the first place and forget all the distractions and noise and just go back to doing what it is you love.
Every now and then when I read some of the crappy mean stuff that sometimes goes on online or when I have been stressed out about not having enough time to write what I want to write or to reply to comments or visit and comment on other blogs - I get this little oh maybe I should just stop for a while voice nagging in my head.
As with most of us, life gets busy with work and family stuff and just life in general and there is nothing worse than allowing guilt about neglecting your beloved blog to seep in
That naggy quitter voice sometimes gets so loud in my head that when I finally sit down to blog I find that I am paralyzed by a lack of confidence and I feel like I have nothing worthy to say. And so the more I stress about not having anything to say, the less my brain works and then the self doubt kicks in and I start to wonder if anyone really cares if you say anything or not.
Gah!
That just all feels so wrong and awkward and not what blogging should be.
A week away has allowed to me to just breathe for a little bit and sort through all the stuff going through my head, and in that time off I came to realise that I sure as hell don't want to quit blogging, I really don't. It's now a part of me and who I am - but I need to find a way to allow it to fit into my life rather than take over my life... you know what I mean?
I need to not put stupid pressure on myself and doubting myself and just let the words flow... whatever they may be.
Some days I might have a whole lotta stuff to say or share and other days... well other days maybe not so much. But you know what I have come to realise?
That's totally OK.
Some days you just have nothing to say.
That's just life right?
Right!
I want to hear from you...
Do you ever feel like this with your blog? Or is there anything about blogging that maybe myself or other commentors could perhaps help you with?
My non bloggy readers - are you putting unnecessary guilt or pressure on yourself about anything too?