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So It’s Been Awhile but I’m Back from My Blogging Break

Yeah, so it’s been awhile since I wrote an article on this blog. Judging by the date of the last post it’s been three months. That’s a long time in the blogging world to let your site lie dormant with no action.

But the decision not to post was intentional. Why you may ask? Well there were several personal reasons that drew my attention away from writing. In the past few months my family has experienced a change in my career, the school my kids go to and the church we attend. And the most time consuming of all our family events is that we moved to a new home. And, if you’ve ever sold a home and bought a new one, you know the time required for that.

I literally spent the entire month of May fixing our house up so it was ready to put on the market. So much cleaning inside and out, so many repairs and so many gallons of new paint. It was exhausting but well worth it in the end. We received an offer on our house within three days of it being on the market. The “For Sale” sign wasn’t even posted in our front yard yet when we signed the papers to sell.

Then on the other end you have the looking for a new home phase. That can be equally as draining. Finding a house you and your spouse agree on can be hard enough, not to mention one that also meets the approval of your kids (of which we have four – 16, 14, 10 and 9 – who all love to share their opinion).

But a day after we signed an offer to sell our house, we put an offer on a new home that was accepted. And this new place exceeded all our expectations. It checked off all the boxes for our needs and added in a few surprises that we had only dreamed about. And it was the only one of seven houses we looked at that all six of us loved.

Needless to say it has been a whirlwind summer with a lot of change, packing and unpacking and little time to write. Oddly enough, despite my absence, this site continues to grow. In fact, July was my biggest month to date as far as page views in the four years Luke1428 has been around.

So if you build it and have quality content on your site, people will still come even if it has to rest for awhile. And if they love the content, they will share it, which will draw more to read and share. So if you are a blogger, don’t be afraid to take a break from time to time.

When to Take a Break From Blogging

When might those times be when you need to take a break from your blog? Here are five such occasions where you should at least consider stepping away for awhile.

Around Holidays

Holidays are great times to take a break from blogging. The big holidays we celebrate in the U.S. (Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas) are very family centric. Family members and friends want you around and engaged during these special times of the year. The last thing kids need to see on Christmas morning is mom or dad tied down to their blog.

Plus, the majority of your readers are involved in the same holiday activities. Consequently, they are less likely to drop by and read.

During Negative Life Events

Life has a funny way of surprising us. Sometimes those surprises are enormously devastating. Instances such as the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job or severe illness would be times when blogging simply doesn’t matter. Life has more important issues for you to deal with in those moments.

I could see how blogging could be a cathartic experience for someone going through a tough life experience. During such a time, I would be careful blogging because the emotions are so raw. Writing through the pain may cause you to express feelings to the public you didn’t intend and might regret later.

Upon Experiencing a Content or Writing Drought

If you have been doing your blog long enough you’ve probably experienced the dreaded writer’s block. This pops up from time to time where you just don’t know what to write about.

Or maybe it’s not that you don’t have quality ideas, you are simply having a difficult time putting your thoughts together and constructing a well-designed post.

In those moments, it might prove valuable to skip a post or two and let your mind rest.

Related Content: How I Come Up With Blog Post Ideas

When it Interferes With Life Responsibilities

I don’t know the percentages, but I would guess the majority of blogs are produced as a side venture. In other words, the blog owner has a day job that pays the bills. Blogging is merely something they do in their spare time as a hobby or a side hustle to earn extra income.

Your blog cannot interfere with your primary responsibilities as an employee, spouse, father, mother, etc. If it ever begins to do so, it’s time to scale back.

If Your Experiencing Frustration or Dread

Has blogging become the dread of your life? Are you waking up completely frustrated with the process of running one? If this is the case, it’s probably time to reevaluate and think about why you are blogging in the first place.

Some extended time away may give you an opportunity to assess your agenda or simply get recharged. You may find out you don’t really care about it anymore and decide to quit.

It’s All Right

Don’t feel bad about taking breaks. We all need them from time to time. You may find that it reduces your stress and makes the total blogging experience more enjoyable.

The Internet is not going anywhere. The blog will still be there if/when you decide to come back to it.

Questions for Discussion: Have you ever been frustrated with keeping your blog on schedule? How do you manage through the tough times? In what other instances might it be good to take a break?

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Comments

  1. Welcome back ‘Brian and congratulations for the home sale and the purchase. I actually just sold one of my rental homes the summer as well.

    I’ve been really stretched his past several months because I had my first baby. I should’ve really taking a break from writing, but I kept on writing and publishing three posts a week. I was dying of sleep deprivation and my mind was going blank, but because I made a promise to write three times a week for 10 years in a row in 2009, I wanted to keep the streak alive because I’m eight years in.

    After July 2019, I am def going to be taking it down a notch!

    Sam

    • “First baby…” Congrats! I get the sleep deprivation…the young ones tend to give you that.)

      I admire your dedication to writing. And you produce great content. With fatherhood now here though I’ll bet you’ll enjoy cutting back some when the time comes. If you want to do it sooner rather than later I’m sure your readers will understand.

  2. Glad to have you back!

    I completely understand the whole needing to take a break thing..Sometimes you just need to step away and focus on more important things.. Thankfully blogging is one of those things that if left to it’s own devices it will often be doing just as well or better. Yes, it helps to have a foundation of good content built, but once you do it’s a great second income to have!

    • “Blogging…will often be doing just as well or better…” I know, that’s weird. I was surprised that my blog viewership actually grew while I wasn’t doing any posting. It took a lot of the pressure off to write, knowing things were going well.

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