Hello everyone, I’m back. Some of you may not have known that I was gone at all. Good! That’s how it’s supposed to be. This is what happened:
In early October I took two weeks vacation. I do this every year. And although I always tell myself I’ll keep up with my blogging when I do, I always end up just getting busy, distracted, or just plain lazy and neglect my blog for two weeks except for airing episode reviews.
This means I don’t write new posts, I don’t format and schedule already written ones, and I don’t keep up with my comments as much or keep up with everyone else’s blogs except when I have some downtime. Ironically, I have less downtime during vacation…
So far, that’s no biggie. Like I said, I do this every year, and let’s face it, it’s not like I operate without ever taking vacations. I make sure I have all my posts scheduled ahead of time. I might do a weekly check-in. It’s all fine ‘n dandy.
But then, right as I was getting back to business, I got sick. Nothing serious, I only caught the flu, but oh boy, it was a mighty flu. I was kind of out of it for a couple of days and then I was completely out of it for another 4 days or so. There was one day when I honestly congratulated myself for getting from my bedroom to my living room. It was a mighty feat!
Thankfully I can work from home so I still managed to catch up on some of my office work but I was more sluggish than I would have liked. And once the day job was done I was completely drained, I had absolutely nothing left over for even watching anime, let alone blogging. So one more week of nothing but the minimum it was and this was a problem.
I hadn’t planned for that extra week. I was getting dangerously low on prescheduled posts and I was starting to feel really behind. Like I wouldn’t be able to catch up again. Catch up on what?… I’m not sure. It just felt like the blogging world had gone on without me and I was too far behind for some reason. Cool posts had come out that I had missed them completely, big anime news had flown under my now super-high radar and I was out of the loop. Yes, I know this is no different from usual but bear with me!
Let me just say what some of you are thinking, this is a silly way to feel. It really is and I know that. Even when I’m super invested in my blogging I miss posts and news all the time. And I have a huge backlog of posts I can draw from when I get low so it’s not that big a deal. I can also cut down on my blogging days, as I have been thinking of doing for a while. None of these issues I was having had any reasonable grounding, but I still felt that way. The thought of getting back to my blog became more daunting with each passing day.
I have a feeling that a lot of people who just disappear from the blogging landscape go through something like this. They plan on writing one day but life happens and they can’t and then if they don’t get back to it quickly enough, they feel like it’s suddenly a much bigger task than it is and eventually, they just don’t feel up to it at all.
Then again maybe it’s just me.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not exactly what you would describe as the most patient of fellows. Especially when it comes to myself. So I went through an accelerated version of this. And then, I got to the other side. I just missed blogging.
I have made it no secret that I might not be the best fit for blogging, for many reasons. But there are also a lot of aspects f blogging, and specifically, anime blogging, that I enjoy a lot. And I can once again say, that not only are these aspects more than enough to keep me coming back, but I also can’t really get them elsewhere.
Even when I was super sick and pitying myself, thinking how stupid my obituary was going to be having to point out that in the middle of everything going on in the world I manage to die from a simple cold, when I was watching new seasonal episodes and reviewing them afterwards, I was excited to see what the comments would be. I was still trying to choose screencaps that would convey the episode best and that my readers would like to see. And it made watching those episodes all the more fun.
I think I appreciated it even more since I wasn’t doing any other blog “work” at the time. It sort of stood out.
But even this. By “this” I mean this very post. The act of sitting down and just writing what’s on my mind to share with you all. It’s really great. There’s a catharsis to it. And yeah, I wasn’t up to it a few days ago but now that I am, it’s just fun. Like talking to a friend after a while. Maybe it’s a little awkward and maybe I’m droning on for too long, I do that. But it’s also refreshing. It makes me just a little happier for the rest of my day.
That’s a feeling that can get lost or buried if you get too worked up in the other stuff. You know, you chase deadlines trying to make sure your post goes off on a self-imposed schedule no one else will keep you to. Or you are focused on your stats and/or SEO and forget to enjoy those less measurable successes.
Taking a scheduled and planned vacation is one thing. But this little extra time off, really reminded me of what I loved about blogging in the first place. I hope the high lasts for a while.
However, it can go the other way. I’m not going to lie, it was nice to just do nothing much on Saturday. Taking a “me” day and not even opening my blog. I usually take half the day just for formatting posts. I could easily see a world where I decide that all my Saturdays should be entirely for “me”. Not that blogging isn’t for me but you know what I mean.
And it was also great to just read a couple of chapters of manga (I’m currently reading Tokyo Tereraba Girls and I’m really into it) instead of sitting in front of a blank page trying to coax inspiration out. I’m not a natural writer and writing posts is occasionally very challenging for me. On the other hand, reading manga is usually enjoyable and always easy, especially when I come across a title like this!
Honestly, had I come down with something a bit worse than the flu and been out of circulation for longer, I don’t know what would have happened.
I originally had titled this post: I Accidentally Took Three Weeks Off Blogging and This Is What I Learned but I realized as I was writing it, that I really hadn’t learned much at all. I had been lucky in that I managed to get reinvigorated by my break but it’s not like I can say the same will happen for you. Heck, I can’t even say if the same will happen for me next time. It’s just a lucky break. But it’s a lucky break I wanted to share with you all.
And I hope whatever time off you take, whether planned or not, it ends up reinvigorating you as well!
We all need a break once in a while. Besides my Friday posts, I take a break from reviewing content. I am sorry to hear you got sick.
Welcome back, and I’m glad that you’re feeling better! The flu is no joke…I caught it once while I was a student, and I could barely set foot outside the house for an entire week. Take care of yourself, and stay safe!
Thank you Martin!
Hello and Welcome back, Irina And sounds like you had the flu that starts weak, then ends up coming back with full force. I had the flu, like those, and they are the worst as you think you are in the clear, to be out of luck.
And for being behind on blogging. When I get behind on blogging, it gets a little demotivating as I tend to fall behind due to life and such. I get stressed over nothing since it’s a feeling of trying to upkeep your blog posts. It is not a silly way of thinking, but that’s my opinion.
“The thought of getting back to my blog became more daunting with each passing day.” this is something that clicks with me. When I take a break from coding some games, it starts to feel strange or like I am out of my element to the point where I end up putting off coding before I put it off again.
That feeling is the worst, and I learned you have to try to push through it to put a dent in the daunting emotion to stop it. I’m not huge in the blogging sphere. I feel the same way about blogging as well, as I do with coding when i get behind on that.
“However, it can go the other way. I’m not going to lie, it was nice to just do nothing much on Saturday. Taking a “me” day and not even opening my blog. I usually take half the day just for formatting posts. I could easily see a world where I decide that all my Saturdays should be entirely for “me”. Not that blogging isn’t for me, but you know what I mean.”
That is something everyone does or needs. There are times when you need a break and time for yourself to catch up on something you enjoy. It is a good thing as it gives you time to think and if not that, a way to recharge your energy.
But I am glad you are well and glad you are back. I did not noticed you were gone. I should hang around WordPress more to stay in the loop, haha. And before I end this comment, it’s interesting to see into one’s life and to know we are all rad people at the end of the day. ^^
Oh wow, it must be sooo challenging with coding. I can’t even imagine. It’s really amazing that you can keep your motivation up!
Time off… What’s that?… Oh right. It’s that alien concept my doctor and caregiver keep talking about… Sounds boring. I’ll take time off when I’m dead. Or Thursday for Thanksgiving aka I never feel well after a day in the house of the BRAINWASHER. Sigh.
What do you do for work?
Well, I for one am thrilled you’re back – not that I knew you were gone but had you really left us forever and ever I would really deeply have missed your posts. But a bit of time off gives perspective, and it also let’s you “feel that feeling” – it’s like the thing where you decide which one you want by picking one just in your head and then realizing how you feel, regret or joy and then you know which one you really do want. Speaking of rambling and making no sense. As a Master Procrastinator I definatley know that feeling of putting something off until it becomes insurmountable – or seems like it. So there is something learned, after all. You leanred you can live without blogging – but you live better WITH it. So there.
Very well put Foovay. Right this little break was all for that purpose. Yay
I’ll miss you a little if you do take a small step back. But above all, I hope you find a balance that can totally satisfy you. (Assuming that is even possible! 😇)
For what it’s worth, if ever you went MIA for an extended period of them, I’d be very happy to hear from you again, however long it takes. And I’m sure I don’t only speak for myself.
Have a nice evening Rin-chan
Awww thanks Ramon
Sad you were sick, but glad you’re better.
Thank you!
I totally know what you mean about feeling out of the loop even when it might not be completely true. Monday is usually my big blogging day, I get Mondays off work so I usually publish a post, write a post, and read/comment on other blogs the most on Mondays. Well, this past Monday my brother abducted me to Ikea to help him pick out furniture. We don’t actually live any where near the store, so it’s a bit of a road trip to get there. It took all day, and I did have a lot of fun, but the very next day I felt so out of touch with my blog! It was only one day, but I felt so behind. There were dozens of blog posts I needed to read, there’s a post I need to write, there’s comments I need to share! I’m pretty sure no one noticed my absence, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t notice.
The dreaded Ikea abduction strikes again. We’ve all been victims!
But yeah, it’s crazy how quickly this weird blogging pressure can build up
That pingback looks suspicious…
Very glad to hear that you’re feeling better! I didn’t think you were gone over the last couple of weeks, but something felt different. Maybe I’m just projecting what you just shared back over my experience, thought. But I’m glad you’re feeling better!
I’m also glad you still enjoy blogging! That realization (re-realization?) had to be a great feeling. It comes through in your writing, too. It’s one of the reasons your posts are so much fun to read!
That pingback is suspicious indeed!
Thank you Crow ❤️
You avoided being derailed. Good on you.
This reminds me, I should use scheduling more instead of manually publishing every post. I wonder I haven’t done that yet?
Some people really dislike scheduling for some reason