Sometimes You Just Need A Break: why i took a week off from blogging
I don’t normally blog much on the weekends. In fact, I try and be intentional about not blogging on the weekend unless there is a good reason or something that I really feel like I want to share. So when I didn’t post much two weekends ago, that was normal.
However, on Monday or at least Tuesday I would have jumped back into the game.
I like to post at least 3-5 times a week.
But Monday I was sick and spent all Memorial Day in bed watching reruns of Kitchen Nightmare and The Voice on Hulu. Truthfully, the last thing I wanted to do was try and compose a coherent thought…and so I didn’t.
I didn’t on Monday, and I didn’t on Tuesday and by the time Wednesday rolled around I began wanting to post again. I began worrying about my blog stats and I even began missing some of the interaction I regularly enjoy from the community of bloggers that frequent 24/7 Life.
However, it also felt good to take a step back.
Not that there is anything wrong with blogging or social media, in fact I am a huge proponent of social media and the connection that can take place via the “interweb.” Nevertheless, I think there is a great deal of value in disengaging from time to time.
It’s nice to unplug.
Now truth be told, I didn’t completely avoid my blog or Twitter or Facebook, but I significantly cut back my usage and in fact haven’t written a blog post or really even thought about blog content, until today.
I think those of us who regularly engage in social media and take advantage of it need to check out every so often.
We need to reengage with sleep, a good book, the outdoors, our families and friends, God, etc.
When was the last time you checked out?
Do your blog stats prevent your from doing so?
Are you afraid people will stop following you on Twitter?
Are you afraid you’re going to miss out on what’s going on in the lives of your jr. high classmates on Facebook?
If so, check out now. Do not post a comment, do not pass go and most definitely do not collect $200.00. It’s time for you to take a social media break.
If on the other hand you’ve taken a break recently, I’d love to hear why and what your experience was like.
Posted on June 6th, 2011 by David | 18 Comments »
I’m with you – I’ll break from blogging on the weekends and certainly cut back on the social media as well. Gotta get that family time in. And, if we have a vacation or something planned, more than likely I’m turning off my phone.
I really love social media but like you said Dustin, sometimes you just have to “get that family time in.” Plus I think it’s go to step back and get a fresh perspective on how I’m using social media and how I can use it more effectively.
This social media has become a part of my life. I don’t do much on it on the weekends. I may respond to a tweet or two but keep it very light. When I’m reading, writing or studying, all goes off.
Good to have you back David.
I’m right there with you Moe. It’s funny how engaged you can be with other people all around the world via various social media platforms. It’s great to be back!
I find it refreshing to completely unplug every now and then. I did it for a week about a month back. I cut off the Internet completely. It was amazing!
If I lose followers or readers, maybe they didn’t really care about what I was writing in the first place. I’m learning not to let anyone else dictate what I do with my time, effort or energy.
I’m glad you enjoyed the break, David!
Tony I love your point about not letting other people dictate what you do with your time, effort or energy. It’s really easy to allow other people or other things to do that and we can become so overloaded that we miss out on what really matters. Thanks for the great insight!
It is definitely important to unplug or turn off if it is taking over your life and you find you can’t keep up with it all – but I think it’s individual. And I think it’s good time management. For me – I am self-employed and set my own hours. I am very disciplined about my time – but it is my own. My computer is on all day – I choose when I answer emails or comments so that I can teach in my office and write articles – I have to be careful about Skype too because people want to chat with me and often times it just isn’t a good time for me. Mornings are the time that I write and also connect with my many friends through social networking. I have found a good balance between the two but it is always a choice whether to stay connected or walk away. Most people struggle with the guilt and so they have to completely pull out. If you can find the balance between the two – then that’s a WIN for everybody. For me – I am an encourager and so I find that it is an energy giver when I pour into others and when I write. I find that I always have something to say and that I feel truly inspired by doing it. It has become a passion. I also have a lot more time to devote to things like comments, chatting and writing because of my season in life. Turning away from that would not be life giving to me – I feel no need to disconnect from talking and encouraging my friends. Things like Skype and instant chat I have to be careful with – don’t do instant chat at all for that reason – too distracting from what I’m trying to do. But I would probably not be so quick to remove myself from my friends – or students and families who need to get a hold of me for various other reasons during the day. I’ve seen others have to do this – or go on a “fast” from facebook – just don’t really relate because of the above reason. I’m thankful for social networking – it has allowed me an incredible ministry opportunity and I am in constant communication from people that Greg and I thought we would never see or hear from again in our early ministry life. It has become an important part of our lives and I’ve met and communicate with the most incredible people in the blogging community that have become like family to me. You have a great blog here David – and I know that God is speaking through you to help encourage and reach those around you! Great to have you back
Hi Cindy, I definitely agree that it’s individual the degree to which you need to disengage and I fully believe in the ability to genuinely connect and relate to people via social media. I would simply say that there are times, whether it’s for an hour, or a day, or a week, or longer that sometimes we just need to put aside technology and really evaluate how we’re using it and what our goals are behind using it. This is true of a lot of things, I just happened to need to take a little time away from social media in this case to reengage in other areas of life and to evaluate how I am using the great tool that is social media.
I appreciate your comment about the blog and I truly do hope that God speaks through it and ministers to others.
David…I took a break awhile back for an entire week as well. I felt like I was starting to get so pulled into the blogosphere that every comment was either driving me crazy or making me happy-I was relying on it too much to drive my mood. I really needed God to show me what He wanted for my blog. Actually, I wrote a post about it. http://popparables.com/2011/03/bloggy-obedience-school/
Like a lot of things in life, blogging is super fun! But, you can’t spend all your time doing it. Although I would love to on some days. Hope your time away was well spent. Surely you got lots of pics of your cute girly!
Keri, I can definitely relate to everything you said. It is so easy (at least for me) to get consumed with stats and comments and tweets, etc. that it can impact your mood or focus. Blogging is definitely fun, but it does need to be handled with care. I appreciate the link to your post.
My time away was good and I did get some great pics!
I’ve taken about 2 weeks off of commenting. I feel a little guilty because I loving being a part of the community and supporting other bloggers, but there comes a point when it reaches dis-economies of scale.
I’ve felt the same guilt KC because there is such a great community and I enjoy being a part of if so much. But like a true MBA grad you pointed out how it can reach “dis-economies” of scale…(whatever that means)
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Glad you got to take a break. I took one a couple of weeks ago when I went on a vacation with the family. I enjoyed stepping back and taking a breather so to speak. I was able to come back refreshed…
It really was a time of refreshment and I think I needed it. My schedule has been so busy lately that I just haven’t had the time or energy to post and comment like I would like. This week in particular has been extremely busy! I’m hoping I’ll have a little more time next week to re-engage even more.
That’s funny, I just took a week off this past week and write about it on my blog. I used the time off to intentionally reflect and dream a little. Then I read this! Ha! Great minds…
Great minds indeed! haha!
I agree that sometimes it’s important to step back, reflect, regroup and assess where you’re at and where you’re wanting to go. I, like you Dustin, am a dreamer and when I don’t have time to dream I end up feeling rundown and frustrated. That’s a valuable part of keeping my sanity.
Great perspective David! It is easy to feel guilty for taking a break – or, afraid that you might miss something. And yet, that is exactly what we need from time to time.
I took a week off from reading and commenting last week – mostly because of an intense week with a huge Vacation Bible School at my church. Instead of engaging in other blogs, I took the opportunity to blog each day about the event.
I will be taking time off from almost all electronics later this week and next week. Bittersweet though – will miss the online community; but, looking forward to time doing out-of-the-ordinary-routine things.
Hi Steven, thanks for visiting the site. You are right on about it being bittersweet. I really enjoy the online community and connecting with people like yourself. However, sometimes we just have to step back and take a deep breathe…and be okay with not reading, writing, or commenting on people’s blogs.
I hope you have a great rest of your day!