Um, hello? Look who’s dipping her toes in the blogging waters and figuring out if this will be sink or swim. I’m slowly returning to blogging, and curious more than anything where this journey will take me.
So… first post since early June. Oops? I have my reasons though. Mainly being…
I quit blogging.
Well…
Okay, I didn’t.
But I came close. There were several times during this break where I’d no intention of coming back.
I know how dramatic that sounds. There were several factors – both personal and blogging – that played a part.
I moved house
Not only that, I moved into my first house, on my own. It meant a wild couple of months sorting everything, followed by a crazy few months adapting to being alone and all that comes with it. I was barely reading, let alone anything more.
I had no inspiration
Nada. As mentioned, I wasn’t reading: I had nothing to review.
I also struggled finding content that inspired me after falling into the trap of reading loads of (very well-written) posts about taking your blog to the next level. As a hobby blogger, it started to feel I’d gone stagnant and was left behind with what I wanted to do.
Too time-consuming
While related to the first point, this is also on me. When I’m in the blogging mood, I spend all day every day on it. Around work and adulting, I’d be commenting, setting up promo’s, creating graphics… For no return. I saw no rise in numbers, no increased engagement, nothing. And missed out on a lot of reading/writing/other hobbies time. I had nothing to write about because all I was doing was back-end blog admin. Vicious cycle, huh?
All of the above?
Short on time, no enjoyment, and not inspired?
That, my friends, is why I disappeared for nearly three months. This isn’t a living. It’s not even a side-hustle. It’s a place for me to shout about books and other things, and if I wasn’t having fun doing it, there didn’t seem to be much point.
Returning to blogging
It was about here where I honestly didn’t see myself coming back to it. But now real life has started to settle, my attitude is changing. I still want to shout about books. I found myself editing old posts, and taking great satisfaction in doing so. At the end of the day, I still liked being a blogger.
I can’t say numbers don’t matter because I just proved to myself they do. But what matters more is knowing where my line of being satisfied is, and how much time I’m prepared to spend getting to it.
So, I’m back. I’m taking a slightly different approach in terms of how I engage etc, protecting my own time and well-being rather than letting this exhaust me. I’ve got a few different things planned which I’m excited for, and have some reviews lined up for some great books.
Let the blogging commence…
Have you ever lost all motivation to be a blogger? How did you get yourself out of it?
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A Rambling Reviewer 
I had many times I took breaks from blogging. I think it is healthy to have a break and then come back let yourself and the blog adapt. I now blog as an alter ego alas not particularly well disguised but it seems to have taken away some pressure and I can allow myself to experiment more. I wish you to find your right balance and am looking forward to your book reviews. Happy Friday to you and yours 🙂
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I definitely needed it this year – lost sight of why I wanted to do this for a while. Thanks for stopping by – happy friday to you too!
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I can definitely relate to this, and I have a feeling a lot of other bloggers will, too! Blogging is huge fun – until it suddenly isn’t. Sometimes it just becomes a slog and you feel like a one-woman content mill, constantly creating or promoting something and not seeing the extra engagement you would have hoped for in return. I did the same as you and took a few months off when I felt like that. Then I started missing it and decided to come back to it, but with a different schedule and different motivations.
I just stumbled across one of your book reviews for the first time and really enjoyed it, so I’m glad you’ve come back (and glad to hear you’re protecting your energy too – that’s so important!) x
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Oh gosh yes, suddenly you realise that you’re just going through the motions, getting stressed out and have no idea why you’re doing it. I’m glad you found your way back to it as well!
Thank you so much, that means so much to me!
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Completely empathise with this post, which is excellent by the way. I’ve questioned why I’m bothering a lot over the past few months. Like you say, numbers matter and it is time consuming. However, I think the enjoyment of writing tips the balance for me.
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That’s what has ultimately brought me back is the love of writing – it’s important to be able to identify with why you’re doing something for sure.
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Congrats on moving to your own house! That’s a major milestone and welcome back to the blogging world !
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Thank you!! Still wrapping my head around it all at the moment aha.
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I have had those exact thoughts myself recently. I never used to care about blog stats that much but reading those types of “how to grow your blog” posts really started to make me question whether blogging was worth the time and commitment anymore. I’ve also lost faith that I actually have something new and different to say that will get the engagement so I’m putting it on the back-burner until I can convince myself otherwise.
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It’s hard isn’t it when the industry seems to be doing one thing and your thoughts are taking you in a different direction. I hope you can find your love for it again if that works out for you but sometimes you just need a chance to deal with your mindset and figure out what you want.
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For 9 months in 2020 I stopped blogging and again for about 3 months this year because of some pretty serious life stuff that needed all my focus and the stress/depression that resulted from that life stuff left unable to think of anything to write. I got back into blogging as I had always intended to do once I was able to and it has been amazing. I have so much more appreciation for the joy that it brings me so I hope you find that for yourself too. Welcome back — be kind to yourself — and enjoy what comes next in your blogging journey!
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Life does sometimes just need to come first, and like you said, the fall-out from other things going on can definitely be enough to make you lose a focus or enjoyment. It’s great that you found your way back to it and it sounds like it’s been a real joy to come back to – thank you, I hope so too!
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yay Lindsey! Nice to see you back 🙂 I hope you have more fun with it this time round. I’m a hobby blogger too (definitely no time for any more than that) but I get what you mean about feeling left behind sometimes. In the end though I blog because I enjoy it – I’ve made my peace with never being one of the huge blogs. Us little guys have a place too xx
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We do indeed have a place as well, and I’m trying not to lose sight of that in this big scary blogging world. Thank you so much – it’s good to be back so I’m hoping that feeling continues! Enjoyment is definitely the key factor – and ultimately what brought me back!
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Welcome back! It’s important to put your well-being first and take a break if you need it. And it sounds like you had a lot going on. Moving is huge! I go through periods where I feel less motivated, and I’ve definitely cut back on how much time I spend on blogging, since I have a full-time job, want to read, spend time with family, etc, and there are a limited number of hours in a day! I keep reminding myself that this is just for fun, and if it’s feeling like a burden, then it’s time to pause. Good luck!
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It’s definitely time to pause if it is feeling like a burden. I’m trying to pay a lot more attention now to how long I’m spending on it etc to make sure I get that balance – exactly as you said, there are only so many hours in the day (if only there were a few more..!). Thank you!
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I keep taking unintended breaks from blogging. I love my blog, but I absolutely can’t stand the block editor on WP, so my motivation is down the drain. I switched to blogger, but I’m having trouble with that too, because I feel like I’m starting from scratch. So I may just try to get used to the BE. We’ll see how this goes.
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Ah that’s a shame that it really threw things off for you. I found it quite easy to adapt to – hopefully it will get easier for you so that you can re-find your love of blogging.
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Welcome back! Blogging can definitely be super stressful, I don’t think I realised how time consuming it would be when I started but now I wouldn’t change it for the world! I haven’t had a full on loss of motivation for blogging yet (I do still have my days haha) but I’m glad you were able to find your way back to it. Thanks for sharing x
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Ah I’ve got everything crossed for you that you never lose the motivation or the love because it’s horrible when you realise that you’ve lost something. Thank you – me too, I’m looking forward to getting stuck back in.
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Welcome back! It sounds like you have been extremely busy and had a lot to balance. I hope you enjoy being back in the blogging community!
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Thanks, me too! Hoping to keep in control of it a bit more this time!
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Welcome back. I know how you’re feeling. A few years ago I took a year off my blog and didn’t think I’d return either. In the end I decided to and told myself I would continue with my blog whilst I was still enjoying it. Looking forward to reading some more of your posts.
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That’s all that matters in the end isn’t it – whether you enjoy it or not. If you can find that focus, it’s so much easier.
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Welcome back! Congrats on the house move, that’s so exciting. Looking forward to more posts from you xx
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Thank you so much!! I’m excited to be back!
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Yes, I can see how these changes would keep you from blogging. But if you start up again, we’ll be here. If not, I get it… sometimes you need to walk away…
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I honestly thought this was going to be the time that I walked away, but seem to have found my way back for the time at least. Thank you!
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I relate to this so much. I’ve been struggling coming up with any type of discussion post and feel like I’m drowning. I want to get my blog to the point where I’m making money but it’s a struggle. I want to take a break so bad but I also feel like if I did then I’d be wasting time from getting my blog to where I want and I’d also be wasting money since my hosting was just renewed. The struggle!
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I really struggled with justifying taking a break once I started to self-host because of the same reason, but at the end of the day I was getting no enjoyment out of it and I think it showed. You have to do what is right for you: sometimes a break for even a month can revitalise you and give you loads of new ideas. Good luck!
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Congrats on the new house! It’s no wonder you had to take time off for that, I can imagine it was so time consuming and stressful but what a great achievement! It’s nice to have you back though! 🙂 xxxx
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It definitely felt like having to learn how to adult properly, for sure. Aww, thank you – it is good to be back, I must admit.
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I was in a blogging slump couple months ago, so I understand. I don’t have much recommendations, unfortunately, for dealing with it. All I do is just ride it out and follow my mood and throw up a book tag every now and then. I think they come in handy when in a blogging slump because they are so quick, but I wasn’t even in the mood for that either couple months ago.
Sometimes it can be outside things that throw you in such a mood. You’re right about the time blogging requires and for me, I realized that I was doing too much. I was stressed and spent and didn’t realize it, so I took of break from everything while the slump was going and was able to figure out things from there.
Btw, newly living on your own is a huge adjustment. I hope it goes well and smoothly for you. 🙂
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I think sometimes all we can do is ride out the mood and hope that it’s enough. Each time I’ve had a slump, my mood has eventually gone ‘no you want to do this’, although this time I honestly thought that wouldn’t happen. Tags are a good idea – I should find some to have on stand-by for sure. Thank you!! I’m slowly getting used to it.
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Welcome back to blogging, it’s so nice to be reading one of your posts again! It definitely sounds like you had a lot going on these past couple of months, so it’s totally understandable and even healthy to take a break. Looking forward to your reviews!
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Ahh thank you, I’ve been so touched by everyone’s welcome back messages. Yeah bit too much to be able to keep the love of blogging alive as well, for sure. Hopefully I’m back on track now!
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So so glad to see you back Lindsey, missed your posts so much!! First of all congratulation on the house, it must be an exciting time! I can totally relate in being stuck in a wrath of just doing blog admin and that for sure can such any motivation! Nice taht everything is settling xx
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Ahh thank you so much!! It is exciting, just a few more changes than I was anticipating. Yeah I’m trying some new approaches to see if I can find the love and the balance again.
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Welcome back, Linsey. You’re right, as a hobby ourbook blogs shouldn’t be a drain or strain. I think we all lament over numbers and would love big figures on our stats, but hey, book blogs just don’t get as many as lifestyle, beauty or travel blogs.
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Nope, they don’t, but as long as the love for it remains, I guess that is the part to focus on! Thank you so much!
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We’re so glad you returned to blogging! We totally understand that it can be hard, but we’re happy you want to continue with books.
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Ahh thank you! It is good to be back, I just need to find a way this time of making sure the passion stays there and I’m enjoying what I’m doing without letting it overwhelm me.
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