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.

Yet, even with a new start-up, you need to pace yourself. The same applies to starting and growing a successful blog.

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Keep Your Traffic Up While Taking A Break From Blogging

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!

• Have you been using Pinterest to promote your blog? Then your pins will still continue to get hits passively to your site.

• 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.

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

Take A Break From Blogging To Prevent Burnout

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

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.

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 for relaxing. Planning out your days, weeks and months with only a few tasks is KEY to keeping track and not overdoing it.

Get Past Feeling Overwhelmed

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.

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.

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!

Stop Obsessing About Making Your Blog AH-MAZING

One of the other key reasons why you need to take a break from blogging is that you may have thing insane 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 will come! Success with a blog 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.

If you’re trying to make your blog as awesome as a competitor’s blog, you’re setting yourself up for a crazy time. It may be that your competitor 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…).

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.

Take the lesson from this and “under-plan” and then over-deliver if you can.

If you can reach your low goals, and then some, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to accomplish.

PRO TIP: 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.”

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

Take Time To Think

Take Time To Be With Your Family And Friends

Consider it a vacation from your blog work. Take the time to truly be present with your family and friends.

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.

The truth is, that you’re just like any typical workaholic who can’t stop to see that there’s more to life than their job.

This is where the idea of setting parameters around when it’s time to “work” on the blog and time to enjoy family time is so important.

Create a schedule for yourself and keep to it!

Making a daily, weekly and monthly to-do list will help you keep track of your priorities and your time.

You can keep it very simple with a notebook or printable planners. But I find I take my blogging time more seriously when I have a proper planner.

Invest in one that truly helps you get organized.

I’ve learned how to stop, but even I have to sometimes be reminded to just stop. Let your partner or kids be your reminders if needed.

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.

• Are 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.

• 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 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 re-brand your site.

Here’s something that many bloggers do when they’re taking a break from actively creating content and promoting their sites:

• 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 in 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

Why Do Bloggers Quit?

Many bloggers quit because they set unrealistic blogging goals for themselves and they can’t reach them.

They get frustrated, overwhelmed and burned out trying to learn blogging skills, grow their blog and start making money with it.

| READ MORE: Top Reasons To Quit Your Blog And Key Reasons To Keep Blogging

Is Blogging Once A Month Enough?

Blogging once a month is a more realistic activity once you’ve built your blog up with enough content.

As a beginner blogger, your primary focus should be to produce a steady 4 to 6 blog posts per month. To make it easier for yourself consider shorter blog posts – 750 to 1000 words – that you can update in a few months with more fresh content.

However, if you’re taking a blogging break, updating older posts is still a fantastic way to generate more blog traffic.

Can I Do Blogging Part Time

Absolutely! This blog is a part-time blog side hustle that’s been built up over a period of about 3 years.

It’s doable if you manage your time wisely, prioritize and stick to a content creation strategy that works with your lifestyle and commitments.

Just remember to take a break and live life occasionally!

| RELATED: 10 Money-Making Side Hustles That You Can Do From Home

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 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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