Three weeks.
That’s how long it’s been since my last post, but it wasn’t the plan.
When I decided to take some time off from blogging at the end of December, I was hoping a break would be just what I needed to recharge my batteries.
I was beginning to feel burned out from juggling the demands of motherhood and work as we rounded the corner on our fourth month of living with my parents. All of the stress was stifling my creativity… which made writing a challenge… which added to my stress… and so on.
Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, I deleted the Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone to minimize distractions. (Not Instagram, though. I have too much fun sharing my photos.) I didn’t log into my dashboard or check my stats on Google Analytics.
I needed a quiet mind in order to make room for new, inspired ideas.
Unfortunately, my big plan backfired. Not only was I unable to quiet my mind (the harder I tried not to think about blogging, the more I thought about it), but as the end of winter break grew nearer, I still felt drained. Because I had slowed down to almost a full stop, I hardly had energy to pick up where I left off.
And then, we all got sick. Every single one of us. A week-plus of coughing and fevers and sinusitis and bronchitis and ear infections. A household on antibiotics.
Nobody slept well.
Nobody worked.
Everybody felt miserable.
Thankfully, we’re all on the mend. Not 100% yet, but much better.
But writing still feels like a challenge to me because during my last three weeks of inertia, I seem to have lost my momentum.
The minute that we lose momentum, we lose the thread. We become extremely vulnerable to distraction and defeat. Our inner critic awakens, and we start second-guessing ourselves, doubting the possibility of success. Other people’s demands creep in, vying for our attention and focus.
This is so true for me. Can you relate?
One way to build momentum for creative projects, according to the article, is to set small, achievable goals. The idea is that experiencing incremental success creates confidence, and confidence creates momentum.
With that in mind, I’m considering cutting back my posting to three times a week for a while. It’s not because I’m trying to slow down or quit. I’m just trying to set myself up for success as I get back into the swing of things.
Which brings me to a question: How often do you go online to read your favorite blogs, including A Girl Named PJ? Daily? A few times a week? Only on weekends?
(skateboarding images by Jordan Voth)
I check in with my Bloglovin feed daily (actually, multiple times a day!) but if someone doesn’t post one day, I don’t even notice. I just catch them the next day–or the day after that!
I think it’s easier to overlook a missed day (or three weeks!) when you’re following a blog’s feed rather than visiting their homepage. If I had to enter a blog’s URL every time I wanted to check to see if there was something new, I might begin cutting back my visits if I noticed they stopped posting regularly.
Hi PJ,
It seems like an eternity since we worked together at SR, but I still check in on your blog often and enjoy your writing! I visit the blogs I follow a couple of times a week. Good luck finding your momentum!
Take care!
It has been an eternity! Thanks so much for following along — and even more so for commenting. I really appreciate it!
Oh, PJ, I can relate. I started a new job back in October and completely lost interest in anything creative. I haven’t tweeted in months (months!). I stopped drawing. I stopped blogging completely, although, I kept up with reading blogs and Instagram. Part of me feels sad about this. I used to love Twitter, etc. But I think you nailed it with this post. What’s really happened is I’ve lost momentum and now I’m struggling to get it going again. I’m hoping that attending a blogging event and a Creative Morning talk later this month will help. (A chapter just started in San Diego!)
Maybe Alt will help you get back on track? Keep us posted, okay?
First, congratulations on your new job! I don’t know about you, but I find that the more stressed I am, the less creative I feel. I would think that even the positive stress associated with starting a new job could have the same effect.
Since a body at rest stays at rest, I’ll bet that attend that blogging event and talk will help jumpstart your momentum. I’m hoping that Alt does the same for me!
I think momentum is a huge influence on productivity. Take that needlepoint I worked on consecutively for weeks – finished almost half of it and the other half has been staring at me to finish over last (gulp) 5 years? I pick it up here and there, but never seem to have the drive, time, motivation to get it done. This is just one example. It’s hard to balance taking a well-deserved break to then letting too much time slip by.
I think the ALT summit you will attend will help tremendously. Sometimes being forced to get out of the house and learn something new brings you back out of the dark. Wishing you much luck!
And in regards to blogs, I don’t use a feed, so I do manually look a few times a week at the sites I want to read. It helps to get email notifications or Facebook updates to remind me new content is available.
Somewhere I have an unfinished scarf that I started when I was pregnant with Levi…