Taking Breaks & Why It Matters

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Since starting my book blog in December, I’ve always been extremely paranoid about leaving it on the back burner and letting this secret part of my life fade into oblivion. As bloggers, we invest so much time and energy into our blogs that we often let it overrun other priorities, turning a passionate activity into a chore. 

relax-gif-2.gifI decided to take a break from blogging during my university’s final exams so that I could focus on grades. I knew that it was the best decision for my academic life, but I was worried–What if taking a break leads to stopping blogging entirely? How much would I miss? What if my friends forgot about me?

Step away from the book community for a second, and you miss so much. tenor.gifFOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, is such a pervasive feeling throughout every activity we invest ourselves in and every community we join, especially the book community on Twitter. As much as I’m an extrovert who loves engaging with others, I feel so pressured to constantly be interacting with others and staying up to date with the latest trends.

Part of me already feels bad for being unable to read the latest books when they’re released (Looking at you Children of Blood and Bone & To Kill a Kingdom). Another part of me feels like my growth in this community is hindered because I’m unable to devote my entire time to it.

So how has this break helped me? 

Well firstly, I got the grades I wanted! I was able to focus on studying without planning the next blog post in the back of my mind. The second I was able to accept the fact that I wasn’t going to write a post I felt a weight being lifted off my shoulders.When-Getting-Home-ExhaustingMore importantly, it really forced me to remember why this blog exists–to share my passion. I love reading, and I love being able to talk about it with everyone in this community. Personally, I always find myself comparing myself to others. But that’s so dumb! My success and another person’s success are not mutually exclusive. We’re supposed to be a supportive, loving family. My mindset hasn’t always reflected that in the past, but I’m ready for change.

I’m ready to spread the love and to squeal about our favorite books. I’m ready to have our hearts broken by beautiful writing and imperfect characters together. I’m ready to reignite my passion.  girl-reading-book-animation-21

How has blogging been for you lately? What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments! 💕

 

 

38 thoughts on “Taking Breaks & Why It Matters”

  1. I have been feeling so guilty putting my blog on the back burner these past weeks as I went through my midterms for spring quarter, but this post has helped me to realize I’m not alone and its okay to take breaks. This community is about sharing our passions and supporting one another, even when we’re not active 24/7. I’m really glad your finals went well and thank you for sharing your thoughts and emotions.

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  2. Congratulations on your good grades Tiffany! 🙂 You were definitely missed, but those are much more important ♥ I’ve been reevaluating how often I post and how much time I put into blogging so that I can avoid burnout. And I totally understand the fear of missing out: will my stats suffer? will people find other bloggers to follow? Sometimes it helps to just remind myself that being happy doing this is more important than any numbers I might compile 🙂

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  3. Great post, Tiffany! And congratulations on getting the grades you wanted, that’s such a great accomplishment. ❤

    I relate to your feelings so much, even though I've only started blogging. It's nice to hear someone else is going through the same things. I'm so happy you're back now, though, and I hope you get around to reading To Kill a Kingdom soon, I really liked it. 😊

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    1. Thanks Lily!! Honestly, I felt the same thing even when I started blogging because we always want to see our blog grow. It’s an ambitious feeling but it can also be pretty toxic to what is a great environment </3 I hope you know you're doing amazingly well, and we're all so excited to see where you go/grow 😉 And ahhh!! I'm going to the library today so that is part of my haul~

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  4. This is such a wonderful post ❤ I'm so glad that this break helped you and that you did great on your exams, I'm so proud of you ❤
    Taking breaks is scary and FOMO is so, soooo really all the time. To be honest, even if I take a couple days' break only, the fear is still here and so real. But, like you said, it's so important to focus on ourselves and to take a breather every now and then 🙂

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    1. MARIE I’VE MISSED YOU ❤ It's really hard to convince yourself to take a break because of all the FOMO, but just got to remind ourselves that are friends will always be there ^_^ I'm sure the fear will creep up again every now and then, but like you said, just got to take a breather~ Hope you've been well ❤

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      1. Exactly. I forever struggle with that, too, but I guess… well, sometimes we just need a break too badly anyway, haha ❤ ❤
        I have missed you TONS, I hope that this break was good to you and I can't wait to read more of your posts again ❤

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    1. Thanks Kelly!! ❤ I think it's so easy to compare, but we just to remember why we love blogging and our reasons for starting/staying in the community 🙂 You're doing an amazing job Kelly~~

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  7. Aaah such a good post! I never know what’s going on within the community unless I check the groupchat on discord or scroll through twitter even then, I have no idea. But I totally get you, blogging is something we do for fun not as a chore. I think at the start I used to compare my blog to others now, not so much. I know where I want to go with my blog and I think once you know, where you want your blog to go, you’ll be fine.

    Can’t wait for more posts girl! (also may be planning to tag you in some stuff hehe)

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    1. Thanks girl!! (also yes pls tag me in stuff they’re honestly so fun) I think it’s amazing that you’ve decided where to take your blog and you’ve stopped comparing. I definitely still struggle with that, but seeing how positive and passionate bloggers are really inspires me~ ❤

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      1. whoop, you’re gonna regret saying for me to tag you in stuff because now you’re gonna get tagged in so many book tags xD

        eh, it takes time, I think if you know what you want your blog to look like, what content you want on it then you’ll realise it’s fine to be different. For instance I started off posting discussion posts, not book review that alone sets me apart from most of you guys as I don’t regularly post reviews

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  8. I honestly love this post !! Thank you

    sometimes, a break does help ! I felt kind of sluggish for a while and – no idea what happened – I just got it back and am on a streak ! Happy to hear it worked and you worked hard and got good grades xx

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  9. That’s a really great post! I always have a hard time taking a break when it comes to literally everyting, because the fear of missing out and no longer being up to date with everything weighs on me. I really love blogging, but I’m also thinking ahead to exam week, when I will have to take a break!

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    1. Congrats!! That’s great you were able to make that decision for yourself ❤ It's always important to put yourself first 🙂 Looking forward to your future posts~

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  11. This is such an important post. I had to take the back half of April off to prioritize research (and it paid off!), but it’s a tough thing to do without feeling really overwhelmed when you come back. It seems like it just isn’t talked enough about, even little pointers that say “hey, go take it easy for a little while!”

    And big congrats on getting the grades you were after! That’s always a pleasant surprise!

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  12. I find it hard not to compare my own blog with others or to forget on all the posts and news I might be missing out on if I step away from my blog for a little while, but it’s so very important to take breaks. I am glad it helped you focus and get the grades you wanted. Blogging should never become a chore anyway. This was a great post!!

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  13. This semester has been really hectic for me because I did additional things like projects, two extra courses out of college syllabus and I’ve also upped the notch in my bookstagram. This has led to my blog getting less attention and the thing is, I blogged frequently up until just a month back. It all became too much and I just lost interest in blogging. After a few days of feeling guilty, I decided to take an indeterminate break, meaning I blog when I want and don’t when I can’t/don’t want to. I’m not keeping a schedule anymore and I’m not feeling stressed about blogging frequently and I’m so much more relaxed now!

    Taking breaks definitely matters. I’m going back to blogging when I feel the itch.

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    1. Thanks so great to hear!! I’m so glad that you were able to find a happy medium that works for you and keeps you relaxed and happy ❤ It's honestly a scary thing to do because we're afraid of what might happen, but it's truly the best decision~

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  14. Thanks for sharing! I started a personal blog in March just for the heck of it because its been something I wanted to try for a while. Your blog has grown so much and it’s so cool to see what mine could potentially become. However, as a junior in a stressful American high school, life can get busy and I don’t have as much time to devote to this blog as I want. This really helped me. Gave you a follow, please check out my blog! It would mean a lot to me.

    Ashley
    https://alwayspresent7106.wordpress.com/

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    1. Congrats on starting your blog! ❤ Haha I definitely remember junior year being super busy and stressful, but I hope senior year gets better for you 🙂 I stopped by your blog, and it's really cute ^_^ Wishing you all the best in your blogging journey~

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  15. I have been on the longest hiatus ever. I try to come back and then end up only posting once that month…so here I am trying again! haha I do think breaks are healthy though. They’re needed especially for people who have been blogging for a long time – it’s a lot of time commitment.

    Lovely post & I love your blog! So cute 🙂

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  16. Great post! Sometimes we have to let the blogging or whatever it is kind of percolate (can’t think of the right word haha) or sit while we do other important stuff, but it’s always there for us to come back to. Glad you got the grades you wanted and are back rejuvenated. Happy reading!

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    1. Aww thank you! I I definitely agree that sometimes our best ideas can come to us while we take some time away from blogging. It lets us focus on the tasks we need to tackle outside, but it’s great to always have a reminder that this community, our blog, and books will be there when we return ^_^

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