I feel like I’m getting obsessed with reading and commenting on blogs! So many good ones to discover… on such a fascinating range of topics. Just wondering if people make themselves have time away from this WordPress World- any feedback or suggestions for me? Thanks in advance, gabrielle Down Under : )
Published on May 27, 2017
Fellow bloggers: do you have a rest day?
bone&silver 
I wish I had more time to comment on blogs I follow — life has been quite busy recently. I enjoy reading other people’s blogs, and try to catch up whenever I have a free minute. But I totally agree that time off is good too. My goal is to eventually get organized enough that I can take one day a week off (perhaps Sunday) from ALL internet and work activities…
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Yes- it’s Sat night here in Oz, & I was just thinking ‘Maybe I should stay completely off the Internet on Sunday…’, hence my post 😃
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I was like this when I first started blogging almost 2 years ago. I was CONSTANTLY online checking my blog, trying to find new ones to read, checking my stats. Of course, I didn’t have a job then so it was quite easy to have most of the day sucked into it. But then I totally crashed a few months later. It was impossible to keep it all up. I actually signed out of WordPress, turned off my email notifications and wouldn’t let myself check anything for an entire weekend. Ever since then I’ve been getting better. I don’t search out new blogs anymore (which I should! Goodness I totally should!!) but find them through other blogs that I follow, or if someone finds my blog then I’ll go check out theirs. It’s all about getting that balance. It’s nice to just shut everything down for a few days. I know I still have to sometimes.
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Yes! Completely me at the moment- only working part time, & so easy with a smartphone to just hook in all the time! I’ve had this blog for a couple of years, posting irregularly, but for the last few months have gotten more committed about it… now I’m starting to feel like I’m a bit out of balance. God knows how people manage thousands of Followers etc etc!
Thanks so much for your support & advice 😊
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Omg I know! I only follow a handful of blogs (like less than 70) and even at that I feel overwhelmed some days. Im glad I get all new posts emailed to me so if I need a break I can catch up later.
I hooe you find a balance again!
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Thanks honey 👍🏼😊🙏🏼
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I try to have one full day a week that I unplug from the blogging world. But it is hard to find balance some weeks.
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Great advice, thank you. I think I should do that… I just don’t want to miss any great posts/poems/confessions/fun/teachings by all you bloggers, you’re all so good! 😍
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I know I feel the exact same way! I love our world-wide community! 🤗
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No rest for the inquisitive and the industrious.
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Haha, true! Nor the slightly obsessive compulsively curious
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Hi,
I returned to blogging after a lengthy hiatus. I missed it. I missed the community. I only follow a limited number of people and these I always make to time to comment or like. They are my blogging buddies and we are a community. For me blogging is a hobby. I don’t watch TV so I either help to manage one of the top writing forums: writingforums.com. (I’m PiP,) or I write poetry or I blog.
When I was a child I had penfriends from around the world. Now I have penfiends who’s letters to the world appear in my RSS feed.
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Thank you for commenting- sounds like you have a good balance going 😊
I too only follow a limited number: I’m only interested in genuine connections, readers, & followers/following. It’s easy to tell when someone is just ‘liking’ 10 posts to get your attention, then following without ever commenting- I’m not interested.
Blogging is a waaaaaaaaay better hobby than TV that’s for sure! 👍🏼
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LOL Ah he stopped by your blog as well. 10 likes on 10 separate posts in under a minute. I swore when I saw it. Before I follow anyone I check their about page. I read some of their blog posts and see how they connect with their readers.
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Absolutely! Yes, I do that too- we must be from the ‘old blog school’ of etiquette 😘
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I think you need a balance, be selective in who you follow, if I follow someone I like to read what they write 😃I’ve just followed you so that tattooed lady from England is watching 👀
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*gulp
I’ll be on my best behavior I promise 😘
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😏 time will tell 😇🤣😂
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It’s a balance between reading and writing for me and at times a struggle with my busy work life. I feel compelled to write but equally I want to give feedback and read the body of my fellow bloggers work. A challenge at times and with enjoying it this much, I wish I could do this full time and ditch the day job. It is where my passion lies,
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Yes, I feel the same pull, & also interest in interacting with the blogs I’m following. Day jobs are so annoying! 🙄
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So true and they only get in the way 😉
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I’ve noticed people suddenly liking a lot of my posts all in one go, but naively thought ‘Gosh! They must think I’m really good!’ Hahaha! Now I realise why they do it – duh! I’ve been blogging for just over a year and am very slowly building a following. I’m sure I’d build it faster if I followed all of the blogging ‘rules’, but don’t really want to become a slave to it – I refuse to add more words in to posts to reach a certain preferred word count, and I absolutely am not going to start shoe-horning keywords in to appease the gods of Google. I only follow a handful of bloggers because I’m genuinely interested in what they write, and I don’t automatically follow new followers back. Bit like Twitter. I write humour so a blog about recipes or clothes just doesn’t interest me. Am I a rude rebel or just being honest? 🙂
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Honesty is good! I’m pretty much the same- I think it;s called being discerning (happens as you get older I believe…) : ) Thanks for commenting
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Stick to your guns! I mean carry on, be true to yourself, that’s best. Interesting point about one person liking a run of your posts. I do this sometimes when I discover a blog and like it — at the time, I make a meal of exploring it. But after that first encounter, I’ll just be reading the current post and sometimes liking it. Nobody reads an entire backlist of blog posts, I’m sure, because a blog is a kind of conversation. You meet someone: you gather background information about them at the start, and then you read or follow on a more casual basis. That would be the norm, I think, purely because of the problems highlighted by BoneandSilver.
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It will probably change for you over time… as you know, finding bliss and engaging with the writer and other commenters is a way to attract others to your own blog. Over time you may find a rhythm with blogs you follow.
For me I don’t have as much to find or comment on others blogs, given my own writing, and because I try to reply to all the comments on mine.
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Lol “bliss” should be “blogs”… but finding bliss is good too!
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Thanks Ann! I so appreciate getting advice from older more experienced bloggers… and I think the ‘bliss’ autocorrect is perfect : ) Blessings, gabrielle
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I try to have off days or at least try to have a couple of days without reading anything on WP. I have also limited to 2 or 3 new posts a week. At one point I wasn’t reading or watching TV and I love reading and TV and I felt like you said unbalanced. Good luck!
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Thanks for sharing your experience- yes, I’m trying to do at least one day on weekends WP free (but I just don’t want to miss anything! So many fascinating bloggers… It’s always about finding the balance isn’t it, in everything 😊
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It is indeed…when I hadn’t read a book for over two months I knew I had to cut back… I usually read one a week or so… I hadn’t even started anyway. Balance is key
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Me too, me too (precisely the comment you can live without). I’m getting better at postponing my blog-reading to one day a week… but even so I’m sloppy. Trying to train myself not to feel pressured. Good luck!
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Thanks for commenting Rachel- that’s a good point, to not put pressure on myself to be all over everything/everyone… 😊
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You have a life 🙂
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Hahaha 😋
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I’ve become completely obsessed with writing. I spend more time than I should, but think that it’s more healthy to be here than on Facebook, which I’ve never much enjoyed. Glad to have re-discovered you.
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Yeah, me too! Sometimes I have to make myself stop… but maybe that’s a true writer 😊? Thanks for the Follow 👍🏼
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