I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for a long time, but I had no idea where to begin or how to talk about how I was feeling. This year has been a whirlwind for more reasons than one, and somewhere along the line I lost my spark with blogging. I stopped being consistent with my posts, I’d go days, even weeks, without opening Instagram, and just completely let PLH go. And it’s not that I had forgotten about it; not even close. I just…couldn’t bring myself to work on it anymore. I had lost all motivation and drive. I had gotten wrapped up in the comparison game, that is way too easy to fall into in 2018. So today’s post is going to be a bit of a chit chat with you guys about the “Blogging Blues”. To illuminate how I’ve been feeling, why I stopped posting and what you can expect from me in the future.
Blogger Burnout is REAL
When I started my blog, I was in a relatively easy job that didn’t demand much of me. My workload had been steadily decreasing, and I was only in the office from about 10am to 5pm (and that’s being generous). I’d go to work, work on a couple of projects for the day and browse my favorite blogs until it was time to go home. So blogging was easy and fun because I could put so much of my time, energy and creativity into it, that I wasn’t using at my day job.
But this winter, I started a new job. And I quickly realized that it was much more demanding than my previous one. MUCH more demanding. Suddenly I was in the office from 9am until about 7/7:30pm. Sometimes even later than that. And my days were no longer filled with the occasional project in between browsing my favorite blogs; they were filled with project after project after project and by the end of the day, I was BEAT. And then when the weekends would come, I’d spend those days recovering from the work week and getting some much-needed “me time”, and end up not doing any blog work at all. So you can see how this cycle has gotten a bit out of hand, right?
I just got tired of working and spinning my wheels for what seemed like “nothing”. Which brings me to my next point…
The Comparison Game & Why It’s So Dangerous
I’ll be the first person to tell you that the comparison game is a fugly slut and that you can’t trust her, *Regina George voice*.
However, I fell victim to her HARD this year. I had seen so much growth over the first few months of my blogging journey and had expected even more growth this year. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened like I’d imagined and I found myself falling victim to all of the doubts. “Why is she growing faster than me?” “How does she get so many likes and comments?” “I can’t afford to post a new outfit everyday so why should I even bother?”
I started to question myself and my blog. Was I putting in all this work for nothing? Maybe I’m not good enough or cool enough or pretty enough to “make it” in this industry. Not to mention that my growth on Instagram all but stopped completely which DID NOT help. It was torturous, getting excited to see 20 new followers one day just to wake up the next day and see that my numbers dropped right back down anyway. I started to question why I should even post in the first place if it didn’t make a difference and help my following grow. So I gave in, and I stopped posting altogether. I let the comparison game and the blogging blues win.
What’s Next for PLH?
So what’s going on now? Well first and foremost I want to say that if you’re reading this, thank you! Writing is therapeutic for me but it also means a lot that people take the time to read my blog and keep up with me.
And on a more positive note, I wanted to announce that PLH is getting a makeover! This will be the last post on the site as it is now and tomorrow I’ll be closing it to the public while I rework some things and create a new space that I love. The site as it is right now was great when I started the blog (I loved it!) but I feel like I’ve outgrown it and am ready to redesign it and reinvigorate PLH. So bear with me while I work all of this out. My hope is to get the site back up some time in the next two weeks when it is absolutely perfect. I’m so excited for this rebrand and next chapter for PLH. I hope that you guys will stick with me and I can’t wait to show you my new vision for this space and my brand, that I think you’ll love.
In the meantime, make sure that you join my #NewsletterSquad to keep up and get notified as soon as the new site launches! Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.
Until then,
Xo Kacie
blogging bluesblogging tipslife as a bloggerrebrandSunday chatthe comparison game
