In this guest post by Andrew Rondeau of WeBuildYourBlog.com, Andrew takes a look at the importance of turning off your blogging brain…something that is vital to blogging success.
If you’re anything like me, as a busy blogger sometimes you find it hard to switch off. We all go through times when we feel overwhelmed by everything we need to do, and teaching ourselves to relax and walk away from work is a tough lesson to learn.
Knowing when to find and use your personal power-down button is as much a critical part of being a small business owner as managing your finances and payment solutions, like using the Cloudpay services that excel at this. Unless we learn to do this well, we’re at risk of burnout, meaning we stand to lose all the benefits of working for ourselves and wind up wondering where it all went wrong, as we flounder about wondering why our home life is failing and our customers are walking away.
Why it’s important to relax sometimes
Think of people you know who are not that great at switching off. We all know someone, and know the effect they have on people around them. Being in a constant state of stress about what needs to be done, and feeling overwhelmed, rubs off on those around you.
A friend of mine works in a busy environment as an alternative therapist. Instead of exuding calm as these people are supposed to do, she runs about tearing her hair out and periodically bursting in to tears, in between bouts of cursing and freaking out.
She is a great example of how being too stressed and not switching off actively affects other people. Her customers and colleagues walk away from her with a sense of confusion, wondering why she is so stressed all the time. She inspires about as much faith as the e-mails you get promising you a million dollars if you send your bank details to someone in Nigeria.
The trouble is, stressed people make other people stressed.
Whether you work in a predominantly online environment, or meet customers face to face, it’s important to keep calm and relaxed in order to inspire faith in others. If you are calm, you look competent. If you are always frazzled, you come across as being someone who doesn’t know how to manage themselves, and probably their business too.
Keeping calm and carrying on – personal benefits
Not only is learning to switch off actually good for your business, it’s also good for yourself, for a number of reasons. All the basics like getting enough sleep, taking time out to exercise and getting a healthy dose of culture all contribute towards making you a happier, more competent person.
This in turn makes you a better business owner. People who get out and do things away from work tend to make great bloggers, because they have interesting anecdotes and are positive. Holing up in your darkened room fire-fighting your things to do list will sap all your creativity quite quickly and make you a boring blogger.
Happy people attract happy people. It’s a well-known fact that we humans respond well to people who are positive and chilled out, and we warm easily to people who smile and seem confident and relaxed.
If all this hasn’t inspired you to kick back and take some time out, then go back and read it again.
The main message here?
Being lazy sometimes, sleeping too much and having fun will enhance your business. Fact.
Andrew Rondeau blogs over at WeBuildYourBlog.com on blogging and provides a service to setup your own successful blog.
17 comments
Thanks for the great guest post Andrew! You are dead on with this one. I have found that if you do not force yourself to turn off your brain for a little while and relax, content and business management starts to suffer in the long run. Sometimes taking a break is just as important as working hard.
My motto: work hard, play hard
Robb,
Thanks for publishing my post!
You have to take breaks and get away from the work – several times a day – even for just a few minutes, each time. Well I have to. When I do, I come back energized.
Andrew
Andrew, great post. It’s important to know that rest and relaxing is a big part of success just as much as working hard.
Sometimes all I need is to walk away from something for a lil bit to come at it with new eyes and new view, to see my way thru it.
John,
Good approach. Sometimes, it might take me a good nights sleep!
Andrew
Great advice right there Andrew!
“Whether you work in a predominantly online environment, or meet customers face to face, it’s important to keep calm and relaxed in order to inspire faith in others.”
It is absolutely important to have breaks some times. And it is important to not be stressed out all the time, as some people are.
I may be a little guilty of not enjoying enough time to relax and just chill, as we constantly seek to enhance our lives in terms of monetary benefits. But we forget that sometimes, other things in our lives (non-monetary) are just as important, if not more.
“It’s a well-known fact that we humans respond well to people who are positive and chilled out”
You are absolutely right on this one. I have experienced this. People really like positive people, and they gravitate towards them more.
Have a great day!
Nabeel
Nabeel,
I find it is important to surround myself with positive people. I don’t tolerate negative people, unfortunately!
Andrew
I find that Facebook and Twitter have sort of become my oltteus for those many random thoughts that fly around in my head and have nowhere to go. Also the ‘moments’ that happen throughout a day or week are shared more on Twitter/FB than on my personal blog. I’ve gotten away from writing there atm, but I’m not sure the blame can be entirely laid on the doorsteps of twitter and facebook. I’ve always gone in cycles with my blogging. Sometimes the ideas flow faster than I can blog them and I post almost daily, and sometimes I got nuthin’ and the blog goes quiet for a while. I’ve been like that since well before twitter/FB came along.
Hey Andrew,
Glad to see you here man.
And really nice post. I’ve to agree with you R”est and relaxing is important part of blogging”. grrreat post man.
Thanks for sharing this great Post. Retweeted
~Dev
Dev
Thanks and thanks for the RT!
Andrew
Totally agree. I think that blogging and writing is a form of art and requires concentration and a fresh mind. The most frustrating thing I find sometimes is that I’m just too tired to write quality articles when I’ve got the time but then the muse takes me when I’m at work and not able to do anything about it (aside from jot down notes!) 🙂
Have you tried to write article after article after article when you do have the energy?
That way you may have enough articles to keep you going until your get that energy spurt again!
Andrew
For me…it is extremely hard to turn it off. Being as new to blogging as I am and still always searching for the secret sauce that will really pick up the blog and take it on an adventure, makes it hard.
I find that, for me to take breaks, I have to leave a world in which I have access to the internet. I spent 3 days at the lake this weekend with nothing more than my phone with no internet support. It felt great, but now that I’m back, I find it difficult to get the momentum back that I had before this past weekend…
Mike
Mike’s Brew Review
Mike,
Firstly, let me tell you a secret…there is no ‘secret sauce that will really pick up the blog’.
I’m sorry to have to break it to you!
It takes hard work, dedication and a variety of activities to get your blog noticed. But get the momentum and into a consistent way of working and eventually it will happen – just not overnight.
Secondly, see if you can take a few short breaks during the day. Ten minutes here and there – just go and do something else…you may find you come back with extra vigour.
All the best,
Andrew
Well, by secret sauce, I mean what kinds of things work and what don’t work…consistently.
What I find difficult in the blogging world / internet lifestyle is that to actually get into it, you either have to have a brilliant idea or be willing to grind. When you have a full time day job and only so many hours to dedicate to your blog to get it going, its hard to take breaks when everyone around you is telling you to bust your ass. I mean, “hard work” and “dedication” doesn’t sound like taking a break to me. I may take it to literal, but its hard to turn off when all you want is your blog to be successful and it isn’t there yet.
Just my thoughts.
Mike
Mike’s Brew Review
Mike,
I started my internet business 3 years ago while working full-time. For 2 years I built my business up in the evenings and weekends. One year ago, I gave up the 9-5 to solely work on my on-line business.
It does take hard work – but you can work, say 7pm to 11pm and every hour take a 15 minutes break.
Andrew
Great post, Andrew!
I take breaks whenever I just feel tossed around. Sometimes my blog gets so wrapped around my time that I can’t focus on anything else. That’s something bloggers have to deal with, but it can be the death of your blog. You need some time to relax and think. Otherwise, you’ll be hitting your head against the wall trying to get something to switch on.
Thanks, Joe.
I work hard almost everyday on my on-line business. Some days it is easier to take breask than other – I admit that!
Andrew