It’s no secret that over the past few days/weeks/month I’ve struggled to post to my blog the way that I once did. I used to post on my 3 set days every single week without missing a day for essentially the first year I was blogging. And I was so proud of myself.
However, looking back on a lot of the posts now makes me feel like when you’ve been on the underground just that little bit too long and you for some reason feel sticky. I feel just a little bit gross.
In the very beginning it was purely ‘for fun’, which it still is, but I take a lot more pride in my work. I spent a lot longer writing the posts out, taking and editing the photos potentially takes 80% of the work.
And if I’m completely honest, I feel like the ideas to post don’t come as fast (mainly because I shoot them down before they’ve ever had the chance to surface). I want my little corner of the internet to feel as polished as it can be, and that I’ve actually spent some time cultivating it. A labour of love.
However that doesn’t help with the guilt that I seem to be feeling of late about not posting. And yet I’ve come to realise some important things when you’re in a bit of a blogging slump:
Yes posting multiple times a week or even everyday in some people’s cases is wonderful (but seriously, how u do dat?) and is a sure fire way to get traffic coming your way.
However it is equally important to think about what you would like to read. And personally I would much rather have one or two posts that are well thought out and actually engaging and have to wait for the next one.
Compared to 7 posts that are all slap dash, and in all honestly, a little bit shit.
If you miss a day you would usually post, the sun won’t burn out, there won’t magically be a shortage of porn star martinis and you’ll become an enemy of the nation. It just won’t happen.
Your blog will still be there happy as a clam waiting for you to write the next time you feel up to it.
If you’re really not feeling it, you feel uninspired and you’re in full blown freak out mode, chill out. Yes there maybe all these bloggers on Twitter telling you that your ‘engage will drop’, ‘your rating will go down’, ‘posting all day everyday is the only way to properly grow’.
Don’t listen.
It’s your blog. You can do or not do whatever the hell you want. There are no ‘rules’ and that’s the beauty of this little community, it’s complete creative freedom and you can do what you want when you want.
If you’re juggling like I am with working full time, family/friends/ trying to keep healthy, boring adult things like saving AND blogging and everything associated. That’s a hell of a lot of things in the air. And you’re allowed to drop the ball occasionally. You’re only one person, and you can only do what you can do.
I understand the mentality of wanting your corner of the internet to grow and flourish, but sometimes it has to take a back seat, and that’s completely okay.
Think of how far you’ve already come and how much you’ve learnt and grown. It’s very easy to beat yourself up and say that you’re not doing enough, but it’s even easier to forgot to give yourself a pat on the back for where you’ve already come.
If you’re posting to your blog, your social channels and actually living your life, you’re already doing an amazing job and you need to stop and smell the roses sometimes. Having time isn’t always a negative, it can give you time to reflect and reignite your passion and tap back into your creativity.
That’s a very nice post, and I agree with all the points you made. Also, I totally don’t get it how people do it to publish a post EVERYDAY. I post 3 times per week and I think that’s too much 😛