Why It’s Perfectly OK To Take A Break From Blogging & How To Not Lose Momentum

What does it mean when you take a blogging break? I’ve been there myself: so obsessed about making my blog a huge success that I started to lose track of what was important in life. It was why my husband had to remind me that it was time to take a break from blogging.

His reminder was met with resistance at first because I had GOALS.

However, thinking about it further, I realized that I definitely was starting to get into what I call “crazy blogger mode”. You eat, sleep and think about your blog all the time.

Family life begins to suffer.

Your self-care is nowhere on your daily or weekly schedule. The kitchen sink has dishes piled up, and your laundry machine has been silent for the past week.

Time to get out of it for a bit.

You could say that the same would apply to anybody who was starting a business. It takes time to get things running.

You may be worrying: “But will I find behind if I take a blogging break?”

No, not in the way you think. Your existing content, if you’ve done your work with SEO and Pinterest promotion, will still generate traffic.

It’s important to remember that even with a new start-up, you need to pace yourself. The same applies to starting and growing a successful blog.

In this post, we explore how you CAN take a break from blogging and not lose your momentum. Learn how your blog can still generate traffic, and what you can be doing to keep it growing, without having to write new blog posts.

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click on a product or service, and decide to purchase it, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All recommended products and services are based on my positive experience with them. For more information, please read my Disclaimer.

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Keep Your Traffic Up While Taking A Break From Blogging

Let’s look at why it’s not the end of the world if you take a few weeks away from your blog.

Before you tell me, “But I can’t take a break because my blog traffic will suffer”, I’m telling you… No, it won’t!

• Blog posts continue to rank and get discovered on search engines
• Pinterest’s algorithm circulates older, topically relevant content to audiences
• There are ways you can proactively keep your website and social media looking active, even when you’re not.

Consider these things:

• Are you regularly pinning to Pinterest? If you’ve been using Pinterest to promote your blog then your pins will still continue to get hits passively to your site.

• Have you been focusing on SEO? Did you make sure your blog posts have been optimized for search engines (SEO)? If you’re been doing this all along, you’re probably getting some organic traffic already. You’ll be fine!

• Have you looked into using a scheduler such as Tailwind (for Pinterest pins), or Later (for Twitter, Facebook posts, and Pinterest pins) to schedule your content? If yes, then you’re ahead of the game.

• Did you know that you can schedule blog posts in WordPress? This means you can schedule the new blog post, Pinterest pins and social media content in advance and take a few weeks off.

Now that you know you can take a break, learn the reasons why you should actively do so.

Understand What “Falling Behind” Actually Means

Let’s remove the guilt around taking a break. There is no really falling behind, unless you’ve decided to take a break that lasts longer than several month. At this point, you’ve fallen off your blogging plan (if you had one).

You need to understand a few blogging realities:

• Blogging isn’t linear like social media. You can step away from your blog for a few weeks and not be penalized for it algorithmically. There are ways to keep the promotion going (see above).
• There’s no posting streak requirement. That means you can skip a few weeks. Nobody’s going to complain that you didn’t publish a new post.
• Your blog grows through quality content and relevancy over time. It’s a long game for blog growth. What you publish compounds over time generating more traffic for years to come.

So, what I’m saying is that it’s not the end of the world if you decide to not publish new content for a few weeks or even a couple of months. Your short-term pause is not a long-term failure.

Signs It’s Time to Take a Break From Blogging Without Losing Momentum

You don’t usually wake up one day and decide to take a break. It builds gradually, through overwhelm, pressure, and trying to do too much at once.

Here are the most common signs it’s time to step back.

1. When Blogging Starts to Burn You Out

When you’re blogging into the night and getting less than five hours of sleep, you’re heading toward blogger burnout. You’re feeling irritated and making mistakes.

I was tracking my sleep for a while during my blogging obsession days. I was on average getting about 4-1/2 hours of sleep a night.

My mood was awful. I would snap at the littlest thing my husband or son did the way I didn’t want them to do. Or what they said.

I wasn’t concentrating well, so I was making mistakes or just forgetting things altogether.

When you’re feeling the burnout, it’s not a signal to keep pushing through. It’s your mind and body telling you, it’s time to take a step back.

Learning how to pull back and limit your hours is so essential to your success as a blogger or entrepreneur.

PRO TIP 1: Set aside time throughout the day or week when you do blog. If it’s possible, discuss your blogging schedule with your family so that they are there to support you and pick up the slack when you can’t get everything done.

PRO TIP 2: Decide when you stop blogging in the evening so that you can enjoy time with your partner, and relax. Planning out your days, weeks and months with only a few tasks is KEY to keeping track and not overdoing it.

2. When You Feel Constantly Overwhelmed

You’ve got too many ideas, scattered notes everywhere, and are unsure of what to tackle first. This feeling of being overwhelmed with so much to do can take a toll on your results and progress.

For a while, I had multiple notebooks and notes on my phone with things I had to do for the blog. So many ideas! So many things to create and promote.

I couldn’t get it all done at the same time, and according to the deadlines I set for myself.

When you’ve got a million things to do with your blog and you don’t know what to tackle first, it’s time to take a break from blogging.

In my situation, instead of aiming for the impossible, I needed to figure out what was doable with my home and work life.

Creating a daily and weekly to-do list helped immensely in managing my time and tasks.

Here’s how I organize my daily task list to deal with the overwhelm:

• Tackle one super-easy thing to do first
• Work on one larger project (and it doesn’t necessarily have to get finished that day)

By tackling that one little thing, I feel like I’m progressing with the blog. Check that little thing off the long list of things to do!

With the larger project, I remind myself – Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nor is a great blog.

In truth, it’s always a work in progress, so don’t stress yourself out.

3. When You’re Trying to Make Your Blog Perfect

One of the other key reasons why you need to take a break from blogging is that you may have thing constant drive to make your blog the best blog ever.

Trying to beat out your blog niche competitors, grow blog traffic or make money can be exhausting. It may be that they took years to get to where they are right now. You don’t know what they may have sacrificed to get to where they are (relationships, health issues…).

Your success will come! It can come within a couple of months, or it might take you more than a year.

The point is not to give up… don’t think of quitting blogging! But don’t burn out.

Know that you’ll eventually get to a place where you’ll be happy enough with your site. You’ll have a following. You’ll have revenue.

Here’s the solution: “Under-plan” and then over-deliver if you can.

Create a plan for the year. Set some realistic goals for yourself. As with any good business that deals with clients, the motto is “Always under-promise, but then over-deliver.”

If you can reach your low goals, and then some, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to accomplish. You don’t need to match someone else’s timeline to be successful.

| RELATED: How To Overcome Obstacles And Start Making Money Blogging

4. When Your Blog Starts Taking Over Your Life

You’re constantly checking your social media, your blog’s stats and your phone for email messages. It’s easy to justify the time because it feels productive and important.

I had to set aside my phone for a while to get past the desire to work on my blog. Why? Because my phone permitted me to promote my blog on Facebook and Pinterest, leading to hours spent creating and pinning pins, etc.

If you’re thinking of your blog as a side hustle or online business, you may justify that you’re doing it to bring in money for your family. But the reality is, that you’re not present.

First, take a break from blogging to give yourself a mini vacation. You deserve it. Here’s how to get past this:

• Set boundaries. Determine when it’s time to “work” on the blog and time to enjoy family time. Take the time to truly be present with your family and friends.
• Create a schedule. Making a daily, weekly and monthly to-do list will help you keep track of your priorities and your time.
• Step away intentionally. Train yourself to stop when you’re overdoing it. Let your family, partner or kids be your reminders if needed.

One thing that really helps is to keep blogging to “business hours”. For example, if you can blog full time, do so Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm with breaks.

Organize your time. Keep your tasks realistic, and write them down in a pretty notebook or a printable planner. In some cases, a formal daily planner book is the best solution.

Your blog should fit into your life—not take it over.

5. When You Feel Stuck or Unsure What to Do Next

Sometimes, it’s not the volume of work that you need to do, it’s what to actually do! Many new bloggers and even those who’ve been blogging for a while, can get stuck, wondering which direction to take.

They start second-guessing themselves and asking questions like:

• What do I write next?
• Am I even focusing on the right blog niche?
• Should I be using a different blog growth strategy?

Instead of moving forward, they are stuck in an endless loop. This is just another sign that you need to take a blogging break.

When you step back, you start to think clearly without the pressure to constantly be publishing and promoting new content.

When you’re not in “doing mode” you can:

• Reflect on what’s actually working
• Reconnect with your “why” and what you want from your blog
• Discover new ideas and strategies more easily

What you do is give yourself the time and space to discover a clear path forward.

What All Of This Really Means

If you’re dealing with any of these things, it all points to the fact that:

• You’re doing too much at once
• You’re putting too much pressure on yourself
• You’ve lost the balance that makes blogging sustainable
• You’re struggling without a clear plan and strategy in place

When you take a blogging break, you aren’t falling behind. You are doing something that every online creator and entrepreneur does: a mini reset.

Refocus and come back stronger. Let’s explore the results of taking a blogging break.

What Happens When You Take A Blogging Break?

There are so many benefits to taking a break from blogging.

You:

• Have more clarity with your blog goals, tasks and opportunities.
• You’re more creative: you’re more easily able to come up with fresh ideas, plans and strategies that help you grow your blog/business.
• Have more time to learn from others. If you’re always doing, you don’t have time for learning.
• Get more sleep and rest, making you healthier and in better shape to take on work, life and your blog.
• Reconnect with people rather than spending your time in front of a screen.
• They are present in life’s little moments, even if it’s something as simple as doing chores around the house with your kids.

Time can offer you perspective and help you realize where you’re going with our blog.

It will help you identify the need to adjust your plans and activities as needed.

If you’re too into the small details and pushing through the things on your to-do list, you may be missing the big picture. A missed opportunity or blogging strategy that can get you to your goals faster.

| RELATED: 10 Ways To Easily Include Self-Care In Your Life As An Entrepreneur Or Busy Blogger

Reassessing Your Goals & Getting Blogging Help

Instead of completely forgetting about your blog for a while, you may want to do a mini-break to change your plans or rebrand your site.

Here’s something that many bloggers do when they’re taking a blogging break:

• They assess their successes and challenges – what’s working and where they need improvement
• Review what their readers really want to see more of from their blog
• See whether they need to change directions completely as their niche is no longer working for them (i.e., doing a complete rebrand)
• Researching what others are doing and what the latest trends and tools are for boosting their blog to the next level.

Taking a break from blogging is also a great time to get some clarity on the big picture.

• Have your blogging goals changed?
• Have you outgrown your niche and want to go in a new direction?
• Or are you ready to take on new challenges?

Working with a blog coach to review your site, do a blog audit or prepare a FRESH PLAN is another way to use a blogging break effectively.

When you’re stuck on the minor details, you get burned out.

If you’re thinking of taking a break and need some help figuring out your fresh blog plan, let’s see how I can help with blog coaching sessions.

A Few Commonly Asked Questions

When Should You Stop Blogging?

When your health – both mental and physical, relationships and lifestyle are damaged by an obsession with blogging, it’s a good time to stop.

You may also want to stop blogging when the topic you’ve chosen is of no interest to you anymore.

Before you decide to quit or delete your blog, consider selling it on Flippa – a marketplace for selling and buying websites.

Take A Step Back And Give Yourself A Break

So take the time to take a break from blogging.

Whether you completely stop for a while or take a step back from the daily and weekly blogging activities, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.

Find YOURSELF again. And find your best blogging self again.

When you’re ready, read this post about how to become a successful blogger. It’ll all make sense!

QUESTION: If you’ve taken a break from blogging before, why did you do it and what was the result?

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