What going offline taught me

So I'm back. 

After one whole month of no blogging, no reviewing, no blog-related tweeting/e-mailing and most importantly a month of doing exactly what I pleased I'm back.

So settle in because in this half blogging lesson/half life lesson post I'm going to tell you about my experience on going offline and why I decided to take the plunge.

With exams coming up and a reading/blogging slump looming I was forced to take a break. And with a little help from Miranti's post at Pen & Peplum on Planning for a time offline I was able to make this sabbatical a great one.

Taking a step back made me look at things in a different perspective. I started realizing that blogging had become a chore for me because I was continuing do things that I didn't really enjoy doing. 

Everyone were doing so many amazing things on their blogs and I was feeling just stuck in this rut. 

Then it  hit me-I needed a time out ASAP.

So now that I'm back all I can say you HAVE to give it a go. Going offline may have been the best thing I ever did this year. 

And here's what I've learnt-

• Let It Go:

Last year this time around, Rachel and I hosted the Indie Self-Published Author Event. And thanks to all the authors, bloggers and readers who participated it was EPIC. So I felt like should be done this year too but I just couldn't seem to go through with it and kept beating myself up about it. But you know what? I decided to just let it go. And it feels so good to not have the event hanging over my head. Let go off the things that make you miserable and allocate more of your time for things that bring your joy instead. Simplify. De-Clutter. And cleanse.

• You are still here:

You know what? You are awesome. Yep, I'm talking to you. 

When I decided to take a break my first thoughts were: What if my readers stopped reading my blog? What if readers are annoyed my lack of posts and unfollow? What about the connections I've made?

I was worried that going offline would mean that I'd lose my readers. So if you are reading this-THANK YOU. Seriously. I'm sending you a bazillion virtual hugs, cookies and kittens(that is if you are a cat person or puppies, if you are dog person. But if you are neither, I'm sorry but I'm all out of baby pandas).

• I'm awesome and so are you:

Give your work due credit. Stop undermining yourself and stop trying to implement something just because it's working for someone else. Get away from the internet and seek inspiration from your own life. Write. Just write even if you do not end up hitting that publish button. Squeeze some time for yourself away from all the noise and allow yourself to find your voice. There will always be a risk of losing your readers so don't let something that you can't control hold you back.

When I took a step back what I realized was I had gotten too far away from what I loved about blogging in the first place. I was trying so hard to play the game of please-the-reader and my content was taking a nose-dive. 

So taking a step back has allowed me to reset my priorities and decide what direction I want this blog to take. There will be changes, some small and some big(I'm working on taking some huge leaps). I'm hoping to create more meaningful and strong relationships with my readers. And above all, I'm striving to do the things that me happy.

Over to you:

If you have been thinking of taking a break whether it's a day/week or a month all I can say is go for it! And for those who are just back from a break, I'd love to hear about your experience. So leave your thoughts in comments section/tweet at me/e-mail me because I'd love to continue our talk.

Have a beautiful week!  :)

xoxo

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