Blogging Slumps…Let It Happen

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great weekend. First, let me apologize for being MIA the last two months–life has been really hectic, and to tell you the truth, things were getting so bad that I couldn’t help but slide into a blogging as well as a reading slump. Now that I’m back from my long hiatus, looking back I realize how badly I needed to have that break; no offense to my lovely readers but taking some time off from my blog and focusing more on my personal life has really helped me to put things in perspective.

On that note, I decided to return to my blog with a discussion post about what I think is the best solution for a blogging slump. The answer is simple and somewhat unorthodox: let it happen.

Now, we’ve all heard of the common cures for a blogging slump: try out new posts, look up writing prompts, do a fun meme, even take a hike! Trust me, I’ve tried it all, and it didn’t really work for me. I am not saying these things don’t work–there’s a reason why people have all of these fun and interesting prompts out there to motivate you to write up a new post. I’m simply saying that sometimes, perhaps the reason why you are experiencing a blogging slump is because you really, really need a timeout. And it’s okay to need a break sometimes. Life can often be a real bitch, and if you think you need to just stop for a while, then just stop. Here are some reasons why I’d recommend you to let that blogging slump happen.

You’ll Come Back Feeling More Motivated

Let’s face it people. Blogging is hard work. Writing up new posts regularly, sticking to a routine, keeping an eye on that stats bar and praying it doesn’t get smaller than the week before, scheduling posts in advance (in my case it’s trying to schedule posts in advance and failing spectacularly, being the procrastinator that I am), and if you are a book blogger in the habit of requesting and receiving ARCs, the pressure is worse. No one likes to see their ARCs piling up and their dreaded deadlines getting closer everyday. The stress can be too much sometimes, or at least enough to demotivate you to churn up a new post.

When that happens, taking a break from blogging is pretty much as amazing as taking a nice long, paid vacation from a godawful, low paying, mind numbing job (sorry for the dramatics). In fact, taking that hiatus and staying away from all the stress until you are mentally ready to take on the load is not only refreshing, it also motivates you to write more, better quality posts once you return to blogging again.

You Can Write More Quality Posts

Some people fear that if they slide into a blogging slump they won’t be able to write good posts in the future. Personally, I believe that writing is more than a creative process–not only does it take practice, skill, and creativity, you also need to be mentally calm and feel inspired to write. If your posts are not coming out the way you want them to, or if you don’t even feel inspired to write, taking a break could help to clear your mind and allow you to decide what you really want to write about. Once your thoughts are clear and you are feeling inspired, the quality of your posts will automatically improve on its own.

You Might Be Able To See Changes That Badly Need To Happen

After taking a hiatus, you might be able to see your blog from a different perspective, and notice things about your blog that may need changing. These changes could be big or small, depending on what sort of blog you want, and what you are aiming for. For example, now that I’ve returned from a hiatus, I realize that my blog needs a different color scheme–something brighter than the drab, brownish color scheme I have at the moment. I also can’t help but feel that my portfolio page (At A Glance page) needs some polishing. I also plan on making some small changes like changing the comments section format, changing the format of my posts, etc etc. I am not saying that I needed to take a hiatus just to notice these things; I am just saying that taking a hiatus has made me come to this realization a lot sooner than I may would have otherwise.

You Can Settle A Proper Schedule That Suits You…Or Change Your Previous Schedule To Suit The New You

As we go from point A to point B in our life, we need to change the way we do things and when we do it. When I first started blogging, my schedule was very different from what it will be from now on. The reason is simple, back then I’d just graduated from high school and was enjoying a nice 6 months break before college started (where I live, public universities take in students once a year during Spring session). Now that I am three months into my first semester (our semesters last 6 months by the way), I have finally discovered a new schedule that suits me more than my previous one–a schedule that will allow me to post regularly and go on with my studies and other things in my personal life. This little discovery is not only going to help me be more efficient and organized, it will also help me reach my personal and blogging goals that I’ve set for myself.

Speaking Of Discoveries…

…who knows, maybe a break from blogging can help you discover a new passion or a new hobby? When you take a break from blogging, you have the chance to refocus your time and energy into doing other things, maybe even things that you never even thought of doing before.

But What About My Stats and My Precious Followers?

This is a question I couldn’t help but ask myself every time I took a hiatus: what about my views and visitors? What about my amazing followers who drops by every day to read my posts?

If this is a question that haunts your sleep at night, here’s something that might ease your mind, something that I have learned first hand: your followers and your readers won’t leave you. The blogging community (readers and fellow bloggers alike) are an extremely supportive, friendly and wonderful community. Your readers come to your blog because they love your blog, they love reading your posts and they want to show you support. They are here to stay.

If you still feel bad about not giving your readers something new everyday, you can always open up your blog to trusted bloggers and ask them to do some guest posts every now and then, and in return, you can offer to help them generate more traffic to their blog. There are lots of ways you can keep your blog updated and running while you are on a hiatus: just look up “How To Take A Break From Blogging Without Losing Followers” and you’ll discover many different options, some of which are fun and can help you build better friendships with other bloggers.

And even if you can’t find anything you like, no worries. Just write up a mini-post letting your followers know that you are going for a while and if possible give them an estimated time after which you want to come back. Your followers follow you for a reason–they won’t resent you for needing a timeout.

That is it for today’s discussion post! This was my very first discussion post so I am not sure how it was for my readers. I would love some feedback so that I know whether or not I should do discussion posts once a week.  Tell me your thoughts? What do you fear the most about blogging slumps? How do you deal with with blogging slumps? Comment away!