5 Little Goals to Help me Switch off From Blogging

24th February 2018

The work/life balance is something that I’m sure we all think about at some point, and wonder if we’re getting it right. It can be tough in today’s online world meaning we are potentially contactable at all times of the day.

It’s a really hard thing to get right I think. If you care about your work, or if it is super stressful then it can be so hard to switch off in the evenings and at the weekend. The 9-5 job role isn’t so typical anymore, and many people work longer hours or carry on doing some work at home on days off.

I love blogging so much. It is a massive part of my life, and one I am so grateful for. But with blogging, there is so often no balance at all. Your work carries on over into nearly all aspects of your life, you are always switched on, thinking about keeping social media updated and taking photos of things you are doing in daily life. I think it’s so important to take some time away sometimes, and to remember that everything you do doesn’t have to be content for your blog. It can be really hard when you’re doing something that would make a great post, but obviously spending time with your family and being present is so much more important, and needs to happen regularly.

Being a parent and blogging can be difficult, as you so often have to fit it all in around your child, and nursery or school time, often working late at night to get things done. So there is no clear boundary between the working day and the rest of your life. But that also means that you can work around your family and be there for the school pickups and work almost completely on your own time, so it is completely worth it to me.

I do find it hard to switch off from blogging, and not feel guilty about just sitting and watching tv for a bit in the evening when there are posts that need writing and promoting. And of course there are some evenings that I do work. But I do really need that downtime; to just relax and attempt to switch off from the blogging world and social media.

Here are some little things I would like to do to help me switch off from blogging and work.

Put my phone down once my daughter is home

We all have email on our phones now, and I know I check them far too much, plus go on social media far too often. Blogging is always a part of my life, but I need to escape from the online world sometimes, and the simplest way for me to do that is to put down my phone more often. Sometimes I do need to work even after picking Ava up, but when it’s not necessary I need to put my phone down out the way, and ignore it.

Leave my camera at home on a day out

Unless the day out is specifically blog related I need to try and completely forget about blogging the fun day out, and actually live it. This is a lot harder because I use my phone as my camera so much now, but I do find that if I’m having loads of fun I do leave my phone in my pocket more, whereas if there’s a camera hanging on my shoulder I’m more likely to use it. I do love taking photos, but I don’t want for that to be the focus on family days out.

Start using my office

I’ve talked about this before, but I have a room with a desk that I set up specifically to use for work, and yet I still sit at the table in my dining room! I think I just find it more convenient being close to the kitchen (food! tea!) and having everything there. But it also means that I am constantly seeing those review products that need photographing, and my laptop and to-do list, making me feel guilty and not be able to switch off from any blogging stuff I need to do.  As part of that I really need to organise all off my paperwork and things I am sent more effectively. I end up with a big pile of papers and notebooks and lists and end up searching for the bit I need (and therefore wasting time). I want to get something like these magazine racks to help keep all my work in order, as well as any general household paperwork which I’m terrible at keeping in order.

Take a proper lunch break

I pretty much always just grab some lunch quickly and then sit back in front of my laptop to eat it, which can’t be particularly healthy. I just always feel like I’m running out of time to get everything done before picking Ava up. But we need a break from working so that we can retain focus and be more productive, so I really want to walk away from the laptop, and sit down somewhere else to eat, or even nip out and get something sometimes. Actually using my office will help with this too I think.

Read more

I would really like to spend more time reading books, and I have been getting better at this recently. When I read I really do switch off and escape from real life, work and all of the stressors, and I find it really helps me feel better and more relaxed. It’s so good for me to just immerse myself in that world for a little while, forget everything, and not check my social networks for a while. When I’m watching something on Netflix, I still find myself checking my phone regularly, hoping for an amazing email to come through, or reading more thrilling updates on social media. But when I’m into a book I really do tend to leave my phone alone for a while and it helps me wind down. I’m trying to get into the habit of reading a bit every night before bed and I really think it will help me shut off.

 

It’s so important to try and maintain some kind of work/life balance – we don’t live to work, do we? Obviously the majority of us need to work, but it is everything else in our lives that is really important – our families, friends, and actually living our lives. It’s hard when we spend so many of the hours we have each week at work, but that just means that we really need to make those other hours count and attempt to switch off from ‘work’.

Blogging can be tied up with almost every part of our lives, so it is so hard to take a proper break from it and focus on other things in our life. But I really want to try and keep some of it more separate and hopefully these things will help me do that.

Do you find it hard to ‘switch off’ from work? Do you have any great ways of helping you do it?

This is a collaborative post.

2 responses to “5 Little Goals to Help me Switch off From Blogging”

  1. Great tips. I need to start putting in place a schedule or timings to do things so I am not getting overwhelmed and disorganised. Having a lunch break is great because that time away to refuel I find would actually help me be proactive in the afternoon. 🙂 x

  2. I recently took a bit of hiatus from blogging because it was all getting a bit much for me… but I feel like I needed that time to really find balance, as well as refuel and refocus. Although it can be hard to switch off at times, I’m definitely doing it a lot more x

    http://www.sheintheknow.co.uk

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