Is It Time to Take a Break? Three Signs of Unhealthy Blogging Habits

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“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.”  ― Carl Gustav Jung

Unhealthy Blogging Habits

Contrary to popular opinion, one can have too much of a good thing! If you don’t believe me, go see how many pies you can eat before you hit that gut-bursting wall. This fundamental truth applies to blogging too; In healthy doses, blogging can be just what a person needs to stay connected with others, to share their soul with the world or to voice important messages. Yet, I would argue, like any other social media, there can come a time when it’s a good idea to walk away for a while to re-adjust your mental and emotional state before returning. I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing one of these moments.

WalkAway

So let’s talk about what those unhealthy blogging habits might look like…

You May Lose Interest In Blogging

If blogging stops being fun for you and begins to feel more like a job, then this could be a sign that you might need to let up on the metaphorical gas peddle a little bit and either pull back your blogging demands a bit or just stop blogging entirely for a little while. If blogging isn’t fun for you and it’s not paying your bills, then it’s not worth causing yourself too much stress if you’re in a funk.

Blogging can be addictive, but if you’re not careful, a blog can cause you to burnout! We get a nice little dopamine rush when we share ourselves with others and we’re rewarded with likes and comments. If you happen to be a person with low self-esteem or perhaps the rest of your life isn’t quite where you’d like it to be, then blogging could end up being a band-aid solution to cover for some of that other stuff. We each have a duty to care for our true selves and lives outside of the blogosphere, because that’s where real change is made. So, don’t ignore those feelings… 

Overwhelmed

 

When You Obsessively Focus On Stats

There have been times in the past where I’ve put too much emphasis on fixating on my stats, likes, comments, followers etc. I was tackling blogging like a business, and I wanted to make sure my business was moving in the right direction. I’ve checked my phone dozens of times in a single day before, and because I checked it so often it didn’t even seem like there was that much going on. It’s kind of like opening your Christmas presents over the course of an entire week, rather than just binge-gifting on Christmas morning.

Smarties
“One smarty every minute or all the smarties right now?”

When a fun hobby turns into something obsessive compulsive and it stops being pleasurable, than it’s a good idea to take a break to gain some perspective. Perhaps I was looking a little too hard for validation of my hard work but in doing that I was also losing sight of why I loved blogging in the first place. At least if you are able to recognize this in yourself, you can try to set new boundaries with your time and energy so that doesn’t happen again. You could save yourself a lot of grief in the long run.

When People Start To Irritate You

Blogging could be described as a sort of job, and other bloggers could be like your co-workers. Even though they’re great fun at times, we are dealing with a whole slew of other humans on here and people are complicated. Humans have the ability to be a little frustrating at times, and hell, I can be frustrating at times! Even the best of us can rub others the wrong way on occasion. If we’re overwhelmed by our own issues with anxiety or depression, we can have trouble looking outwardly towards others and focus too deeply on our own inner worlds too, which can also be a problem. If we can’t muster the energy to be happy about our own lives so much, it’s hard to get excited for other peoples.

Wolf3
One can get a little snappy

Sometimes finding your motivation to be more empathetic and friendly with others again, means needing to step back and pay some attention to those areas inside of yourself that are wanting of your attention. Our own moods and feelings can all be screaming out to us for something, but the question is, “what is our body trying to tell us?”. If you’re able to identify growing areas of stress in your life and address those issues before you’re forced to, then you’re going to be able to save yourself a world of pain!

To Sum It All Up

That’s it for my advice on when it’s a good time to take a blogging break. Sometimes it’s difficult to set boundaries with unhealthy behaviors while you’re in the middle of it, and stepping aside to get some perspective can really help you to move forward in a better direction. If something which was once a passion and pleasure, becomes a chore for you then that’s a red-flag that something needs to change sooner rather than later. Listen to your own mind and body, and see what they are trying to tell you! Wishing you all the best ❤

What Habit Would You Add? Leave a comment below!

 

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Published by The Wolf Boy

Philosophy and English Student. Crypto Enthusiast. Philosopher. Writer. Father. Rebel. Stoic.

Published

36 thoughts on “Is It Time to Take a Break? Three Signs of Unhealthy Blogging Habits”

  4. I don’t participate in many prompts, so this is just speculation, but I can see how regularly participating in a lot of prompts could start to feel like an obligation over time and contribute to burnout.

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. These are great suggestions. I tend not to look at stats whatsoever, but I giggled when I read the section head – when people start to irrate you. Yes, it’s likely time to stop them. Congratulations on your success.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. On this site, since November 2016. I had another blog before and I blogged at my workplace as well. I do it for pleasure and to recommend books to the masses – or at least those who read my blog. How about yourself?

        Liked by 1 person

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