Guest post by Ryan of Planting Dollars
Bloggers need vacations. Sure we can spit out excellent content for a few weeks or months straight without having to scratch our heads too hard, but constantly focusing on the same thing drives anyone a bit crazy. Vacations are the time to step away, forget about the next list to write or guest post to accept for at least a week and just let go. I took such a vacation about a week ago and it was amazing. However, it left me with a bit of a blogging hangover. Although asprin works great in real life it doesn’t hold much affect for getting back into the swing of things at your blog.
So below I’ve listed 7 Ways to overcome your blogging hangover.
1. Remind yourself of why you started – A lot of bloggers tend to lose direction. That’s why I created a purpose for my blog and I understand fully why I blog. These are then laid out into goals which give me benchmarks to shoot for. Having these remind me of why I blog, without them you’ll find it harder to get back on the ol horse since you’re not quite sure why you’re doing it in the first place.
2. Talk to your blogging buddies - You probably haven’t talked in a week or so. Shoot em a quick email letting them know you’re still alive and didn’t get eatin by a shark while surfing! This will also rekindle discussion and spark new ideas for posts.
3. Remind them that you’re on vacation or tell them in a post before you take off – I forgot to do this and got a few emails/comments from people asking if I had died or simply quit blogging. Nope, neither, fortunately! If you go on vacation your readers will understand, even if you do decide not to have automated posts.
4. Gain motivation by seeing what’s changed over the past week – If you check the blogosphere everyday you’re going to get bored. Blogs move fast, but every 24 hours is a little too fast for my taste. A weeks worth of post from everyone will leave you with plenty to counter argue or give you inspiration for new ideas.
5. Get your brain moving again – Drink a ton of water and exercise! I always write the best posts after a good workout at the gym or when I’m done being active with friends tossing a football around or maybe playing some disc golf. If your vacation didn’t involve much physical activity, make sure you get on a regime or simply go for a walk to get those endorphins up.
6. Re-Commit for a certain time period – If you start blogging again without another benchmark or vacation in sight you’ll probably go a bit crazy. For me I have a three year goal, but have it split into 3 month markers. Every 3 months I’ll check my progress on my site(s) and blog(s) to assess how they’re doing. It also gives me a time to bask in the glory of my accomplishments ;) If you work on your blog for a long period of time without looking back to see how far you’ve come. Look at how you’ve grown and use that to propel you towards even more growth.
7. Leave Vacation on Vacation – Any successful blogger will tell you to treat it like a business so once the vacation is over, leave the beach towel and sunscreen in Florida, don’t bring it back to the office. Personally I’m an advocate for work hard, play hard, so if you played your heart out while on vacation (and didn’t check your email every 5 minutes) I’m willing to bet that you’re ready to get back to work.
So there you have it. After taking a week long (or more) vacation from your blog, realize that you can jump right in after a quick nap, a little water, a few aspirin, and this post ;) . We’re all human and need to take a break occasionally, the same goes for our blogs. After recharging and relaxing realize that the party was fun, but it’s time to jump back on where you left off.
Ryan runs PlantingDollars.com where he discusses financial freedom and achieving your passions. He’s also building a travel niche website about Waikiki Beach which is where he moved to pursue his passion of scuba diving.
About Kiesha Easley
Twitter: areyagreen
says:
Love the title of this post. At creative meeting this morning, we defined “Creative.”
Here’s one take: Seeing what is not there.
Areya Green recently posted..Melaleuca Warms Up the Morning with New Hot Cereals
agree with you kiesha. Bloggers need leave for few days.
Eric Murphy recently posted..Nokia N70 Black Music Edition(Unlocked Triband)2MP CAMERA,FM,GSM PHONE
Taking vacation is best way of re-gaining energy and interest to continue the work, the same apply to the bloggers.
.-= Ashutosh´s last blog ..Icons in Google Search left Sidebar =-.
Great post Ryan. I took off during the month of February and announced it on my blog. My core readership is from Mauritius (small island in the Indian Ocean) and I live in France. So, during the holidays I went back there and spent 3 weeks. I met some of the bloggers I connected with over the web and talked about everything but blogging or business.
When I came back I was freshened, my blogging took a new level and the response to my posts went up. Moving away really did me good.
.-= Sachin @ Web Design Mauritius´s last blog ..Beware of blogging burnout. =-.
Great advice kieshaeasley. thanks :)
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..33% Discount Offer on $365K Blog Traffic Formula =-.
Hey Ryan.
Wonderful post and I am completely agree that bloggers needs to overcome from blogging hangover.
It happens with me also, many times it happens that I went for outing with family at certain place and I started thinking about “How if I make my new post on this place” as I also have one blog on places in my state where I am living.. and friends and family start screaming on me “plz… come out of your blogging!!!!”
so sometimes my hangover for blogging becomes headache for my family and friends..
I have found that talking with my blogging friends always gets my mind back into the game and helps me remind me why I started blogging.
What I struggle at is having the same time commitment.
.-= Derek Jensen´s last blog ..How Blogging as a Hobby Transformed My Future =-.
Wow – these are pretty cool .. and right on target I think.
I think most of us would be lying if we didn’t admit to going through this at some time or another.
Real bloggers don’t need vacation. The more you look at your adsense page impressions, the more you feel depressed and want to keep blogging in order to get the number up. lol
Vacation will be very nice but bloggers just can’t afford such a luxury.
.-= http://www.desperatejournalism.com´s last blog ..Desperate Journalism : Wikileaks The Art Of Deadly Journalism =-.
How come every time I find a new blog and start reading a catchy post I find out that Ryan guest wrote it?!
Great post, Ryan! Burning out is something I deal with every day… actually, more like every second.
As for the rest of this site, it looks killer. I’ll have to keep it on my daily-read list.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Lee! I know! Isn’t Ryan a great writer! I’m super honored to be able to share this awesome guest post.
I love reading Ryan’s stuff, too! Thanks for “sharing” him with us!
.-= Lee | Search Engine Viking´s last blog ..March 2010 Goals: How I Did =-.
Thanks a lot for the advise. I couldn’t agree more on the last point. If you try blogging as a business, then things will become alot easier to manage. But I’m sure it’s a lot more fan than a job. :)
.-= Chris@ designing logo´s last blog ..How to run a successful logo design contest =-.
Great advice here!
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..Is that contestant on American Idol a Christian Scorecard =-.