What To Do When It Is All Too Much :: Part 2-Blogging


I recently shared about how I had the privilege of meeting a whole bunch of fantastic local bloggers.  I left on a blogging high full of ideas, networking, and big dreams.  And then I came home to reality.

I then followed that up by getting blocked from Pinterest {in case you missed Part 1 to this little series, you can read it here}...and wrote a little rant about that.

And then I read this post from The Nester about how many summers she has left with her kids and how she chooses to step away from certain aspects of her blog to focus on her family all the while still create good writing blog content over the summer {Other fantastic and related posts by her can be found here and here}. 

And then it got me thinking.  I get so down on myself about the time I spend online sometimes.  Some of it is wonderful, productive, and filling.  And a lot of it unfortunately is wasteful, draining, and unsatisfying.

So I am reconsidering how I spend my time online.  What benefits me the most?  What gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment?  What social networks actually provide benefit to my blog for the time I put into them?


First, I love my blog.  I love writing.  I love sharing.  But it is almost because of these other outside platforms that I feel like I need to connect in that keeps me from giving my time and energy into good blog content. 

While at the recent blog meet up one of the topics of conversation was on getting more followers.  Blogging has changed a lot since I started.  If you were around back then you can attest as well that there was not nearly the same amount of pressure that their is now to grow your blog, have high quality photography, and daily wow-worthy content.

My advice to new bloggers was to be true to yourself.  To not feel pressured that your blog is not growing at the rate you want it to or that certain readers don't love the direction you decide to take your blog.  Because at the end of the day it has to be what you are passionate about that fuels what you blog about.

So I decided I should probably be taking my own advice.  And for me personally, I have felt distracted by other elements online that it has kept me from feeling as passionate and excited as I once was about blogging. 


I want to fuel that fire again for blogging.  I want to create good content that is from my heart without worrying if it will get pinned, how many people "like" it on Facebook, how many comments it gets, or how others may choose to respond in a negative way. 

So call me old fashioned...but I am going to attempt to go back to my old ways of blogging.  Blogging about what I want when I want...and not worrying so much about being noticed.  I used to blog anonymously...no name, no picture.  My friends and family didn't know I blogged.  It was a bit embarrassing really.  But I did it because I loved it.  I am ready to go back to that old Domestic Fashionista that started this blog.

Making time for the small and beautiful things of life...

Do you ever feel pressured to blog a certain way or are hesitant about truly sharing what is on your heart?  What keeps you from blogging this way?

Another good read on unplugging can be found here.

14 comments

  1. This is a great post...and it is important to keep your eye on why you started blogging in the first place. I started blogging to keep record of things my family and I were doing...Bree wasn't a year old yet, and I thought it would be a pretty good idea to start documenting her life.

    Sometimes I feel pressured to write posts with great insight on heavy topics...things that I see other 'mommy bloggers' writing about. If you notice, most Mommy Bloggers, do not post things about being a Mommy...but rather about products and other Mommy's who let their children run rapid at play groups.

    But I don't consider myself a Mommy Blogger...I'm just a blogger and I blog about anything that I want to blog about. It feels good to get comments, and have new followers...but I'm not going to allow myself to get all caught up with that.

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  2. I am so with you girl... it can be very easy to get caught up in everything about connecting with others - but you have to just be true to yourself and blog about the things that you want! I love following along with you and think you're a great writer!

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  3. When you do anything in life for attention, following, praise, or thanks, that is when it becomes more of a job than a passion. The best creations and the most inspirational works come from those who were just being who they are and loving what they do.
    Like you said, I have had to learn to take my own advice. I, too, have to just write whatever I want even if I am the only one who reads it!
    So just be you, I have enjoyed your blog for a long time, and I am always excited to see what you post next!!!

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  4. This is a great post Ashley! I totally know what you mean, with all the other "stuff" online, it's so easy to lose sight of why you even started blogging in the first place. I think that your blog is awesome, and I love seeing all your photos and ideas because it's clear it's something that you are passionate about. Trying to find balance with blogging and life is a work in progress, so I think it's great that you are making a concious effort to really think about what's important...happy Monday! :)

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  5. I've been feeling the same way. I have been recently losing followers because I'm doing a "rebranding". Not only with the blog, but with myself. It's sad to lose followers, but the blog is evolving with me. I'm excited for you! Sometimes it's hard to find blogs that feel "authentic", if you know what I mean.

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  6. So true Ashley! I've definitely felt myself getting drained from not only having to create content but plug it on facebook, twitter, pinterest as well as keeping my bloglovin unread count down to 1 (I mean, I hate little numbered alerts!). It's tough. But I'm glad you're taking time to reassess what works best for you and I think it's important to do. I definitely wish we could just clone ourselves and do it all but at the end of the day, we should just do what makes us happiest. :)

    Evani
    http://www.simplyevani.com

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  7. As usual, I totally agree. I can't remember when it was, but I decided a year or so ago that I wasn't going to worry about followers or hits or ad revenue anymore, and I can't tell you how liberating that was. Of course I still want people to read, and I get sad if posts get few comments, but the whole mindset shift has been much healthier. It let me take time off from the blog a few times in the last year and not freak out about it (though, honestly, I did wonder if readers would come back -- thankfully they did!). Plus, as you said, I just feel so much happier when I'm writing about the things that I want to write about, even if I notice, for example, that I get way more comments on home decor posts than on food posts. C'est la vie!

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  8. Great post! Yes I am hesitant to share a lot. A lot of it is because it's not just my life but my family as well. I hear you about the overload of social media. It's too much! That's why I'm the "occasional blogger."

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  9. I will agree, I used to do my self-portrait photography in secret... But then I found friends and family liked to use it as a way to connect to me... Which was fun, but got in the way when I wanted to be free and without filter. But now that I've taken a break from regular posting, I've found that most my family and friends have stopped checking it (none of them were registered bloggers or users at the sites I use to post my photography, so they couldn't "add" me to a list of followers... They just checked my websites daily or whenever they expected updates) So now I feel like I've gained some of that freedom back, which is nice! =D

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  10. Bravo! All this social media stuff is so overwhelming. I do miss the old days, when some kind comments and maybe a blog party a week were all you needed to connect and grow. :s

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  11. I agree with you. Blogging is fun... facebook is easy... as for the rest of it, who has time?

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  12. Hello Hello! I am BACK! Life as been a whirlwind, and how appriocate I come back to a post like this!!! Thank you! Also saw that there was a Meet n Greet up in El Dorado, I can't believe I missed it! So can't wait for the September one! Well I will back following your blog again, pop over once in a while and say Hi on mine! Hugs!

    ~ Robyn (Happy House of Haas)

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  13. Well, I only have 10 "followers," so I can't really relate to trying to meet other people's expectations, but I wanted to share a story. I read a horror story about someone's photos being stolen from their blog and used on billboards in another county. It was a family photo and it was advertising some photo printing place. The lady only found out about it because someone she knew traveled there and happened to see it. Since then, I've been terrified about people stealing photos of my family. Honestly, I really don't know how to prevent it...
    I love your post though and I've been feeling the same way for awhile, especially about Facebook. Maybe I'll make the leap...

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  14. I guess the most liberating thing about not having a lot of followers is that I'm sort of used to not getting a lot of comments. In fact, I'm always thrilled when someone leaves a comment, isn't that funny? I noticed that I started to get really down early on, about my "hits" etc...and the more I focused on getting followers the worse I felt. So I stopped. I'm trying to simply write quality posts that feel alive and relevant to me. And I'm trying to support other bloggers. And hopefully, at some point that kind of positive energy will come back to me. I feel better about the whole blogging thing when I stop caring so much. Does that make sense? Anyway, thanks for your perspective, as usual it's thought-provoking. Leslie (aka Gwen Moss blog)

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