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.
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