I Took a Break from Blogging & Here’s What I Learned

New hair.  Who dis?

Kidding.  Kind of.  I did get a hair cut, but hopefully you still remember who I am.  If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you might have noticed that things have been unusually quiet around here.

Like big time quiet.  I haven’t posted consistently in this space really in the last 2 and a half months.  A blogging break.  A step back.  A little hiatus.  Whatever you want to call it, I’ve been away from the blog for a while.

So, today I’m talking about it.  Why I took a break from blogging, what I’ve been learning from said blogging break, and where we’re headed from here.  

Why I Took a Break from Blogging

The truth is, I never set out to take such a long blogging break.  What was a week with without a post turned into two and then several.  And social media hasn’t been that much more active either.

When I say I took a break, I mean I have really stepped back in the blog-o-sphere.

Realigning My Priorities

My decision to step back stemmed largely from a strong pull to realign some of my priorities.  Blogging is a lot of work.  It takes lots of time to research and create consistent content, to market that content to your audience, networking with other bloggers, and all the back end pieces that go into maintaining a website and social presence.

It can also be incredibly time consuming.

And my time (just like yours) is limited.  So, I have to pick and choose the best things to fill it with.

I have to ask myself with everything I do – is this the BEST way to spend my time right now?  How can I be present in THIS moment with myself and those I love?  Am I doing things that are fulfilling and nurturing?  How can I best leverage this time to honor God and point others to Him?  Is this something that I NEED to be doing right now?  

Remember my word for the year?  It has been time to put it into practice.

I want to blog.  It is something that I enjoy and I am so grateful for the opportunities and connections that I have had since creating this space a couple of years ago.

But when I found myself spending more time than I’d like in front of a computer or phone and feeling extra stress about getting content out, I knew it was time to get step back.

Keeping the Blog Fun

When I started to feel extra stress about publishing and growing, I found myself close to burn out in this space, which is silly because I want Live Well Play Together to be fun.

Fun for me to create and fun for readers to follow along with.  The truth is, although working on the blog is a job of sorts, my first job is wife and mama.  And that is something that I chose and I’m grateful for.

Embracing Limits and Leaning into Rest

I also began to realize that I am not very good at resting.  At not feeling like there is something that I HAVE to be doing at any given time.

But y’all – I need rest.

There have been so many days where I have been totally beat by the end of the day.  And instead of forcing myself to power through to get extra content out, I’ve just been choosing to rest.  To say yes to quiet.

To realize that I cannot be all things at all times to all people.  I have limitations.  And those are for my good.

New Seasons Around Here

Finally, things have just been changing around here over the past few months.  For starters, my biggest boy has officially dropped his nap.  He dropped it for a while, but then started taking a shorter nap.  But we can safely say he has dropped it at this point.

He’s almost 4, so it doesn’t come as such a surprise, but man, it has changed the dynamic of our day and my work time quiet a bit.  Add to the fact that working on the computer late at night completely messes up my sleep, so I’ve all but cut it out.  (Because rest is important, remember?)

We’re also preparing to start doing some more structured home school preschool around here with the boys, which has been taking up some planning time.

And more that we’re hoping to share around here soon.

But, suffice it to say, our days are different than they were 3 months ago, and rather than fighting it, I’ve been working to get our family and home into a good rhythm before trying to add regular blog work back in.

What I Learned During This Blogging Break

My Blog Didn’t Die

When I decided to take a break from blogging, I also took a break from checking blog stats.  Instead, I checked in every few weeks, expecting a major dip in traffic.

Thankfully, the blog really did not take the nose dive I expected it to take.  I credit this largely to several good evergreen and seasonal posts that were already scheduled for Pinterest and some work on SEO that I had done prior to keep some of the organic search traffic.

Now, the blog definitely did not GROW during this time, but it didn’t die either and I’m calling that a win.

My Social Channels Didn’t Die Either

Similarly to the blog, my social media networks have not been on the up and up in terms of growth while I’ve been away, but they didn’t disappear either.

Frankly, social media is a beast of it’s own.  While I enjoy it for connecting with others, it can be difficult to constantly try to figure out new algorithms and fight to get your content seen (even by your followers).

Even before stepping back, I had made a decision to not get so caught up in creating a well curated feed or to focus on “likes”.  So, losing a few followers here and there was actually relieving to me in that people who no longer wanted to be engaged aren’t.

Sometimes Taking a Step Back is the Best Way to Move Forward

While I’ve been away, I’ve been brainstorming LOTS of new content that I want to share.  More motherhood posts.  More personal posts. What we’re learning and doing with preschool, etc.

In taking a step back, regrouping, getting more of our personal life routines together, I have been able to refocus, better gauge how much time I actually have to commit to the blog, and come to “work” in this space motivated and focused to make the best use of that time.

And I’m able to step away when I need to, too.

Sometimes taking a step back is the best way to move forward.

Where The Blog is Headed

So, what’s next for this space?

Well, I’m not making bold promises.

But the blog definitely is not going anywhere.  I mentioned we’ve got some changes around here – and that has and will continue to affect the amount of time I have to commit to Live Well Play Together.

I’m coming out of this blogging break slowly and plan to get back to posting more regularly in the coming weeks and months.

Expect some fun content, a little more life, some helpful tips, and random thoughts over on Insta.  Maybe a giveaway here and there.  And probably some awesome things we love around here that I think you’ll love too.

Might not be every week as we get back into it, but it’s coming.

And I’m excited to be getting back into the swing of things.

Have you ever had to take a step back or a break from something you enjoy to pursue and focus on something better?  Did you pick it back up or decide it was time to let it go?  

Everything in its time.

Tell me about it!  I’d love to hear from you!