I have a lot to talk about this week! It is one of those occasions where the thoughts about what I am going to write about have been whirring around my mind for the last few hours. The majority of the time this is not the case, and I don’t know what I am going to write about until I sit down. Does anyone else write like this?
The reason I have something to talk about this week is that I have been on holiday! I have spent a week in a cabin in the woods in Snowdonia national park with my family and partners. We were very fortunate with our break in that the tourist season had not started yet and the weather was perfect – for me, not too hot, but sunny. Also, we had a hot-tub; which is a vital piece of equipment after a long day hiking.
I want to continue on last weeks idea of holidays/vacations and their importance in preventing burn-out. There was one important idea that I overlooked when I wrote that piece; I overlooked the possibility of me not wanting to return!
Motivationally speaking, not wanting to return from holiday is probably a sign that the thing you’re going back to isn’t at the top of the list of things you want to do. I would much rather be climbing mountains and exploring the beautiful landscape in Snowdonia than doing lab-work in a repetitively dull, but convenient, minor-metropolis.
Given what I have just said, I pose the following question: Can a holiday/vacation be a bad thing?
Before this week I would have thought that the positives vastly outweigh the negatives; however, if you’re unconsciously taking a break to get away from the toil of your daily life, then there may be an argument to be made that a break is not what you need. ‘Papering over the cracks’ is a phrase that comes to mind.
I remember that last week I was talking about how I had organised things so that when I come back, I can hit the ground running. I had filled my diary so that I would jump straight back into my work as if nothing had happened. This seemed, at the time, like the optimal thing to do; however, on reflection, it just made feel as if I wanted to return even less as I had a mountain of work to return to. Maybe it would have been better to have a much gentler return to work. I could have given myself a nice light workload to return to, but I have set things up so that I am jumping in mid-flow.
What we have here folks is the classic illustration of the yin and yang, the up and down, positive and negative, swings and roundabouts etcetera.
Upon arriving home, I have spent a considerable amount of time on ‘general blog maintenance’. I have been updating broken links and correcting any errors that have been pointed out by you lovely people. I have also spent some time seeking out new blogs that I can take inspiration from. It has been a relatively long time since I gave my blog some TLC, so I am going to dedicate this weekend to improve my blog.
I want to improve my site from a visual perspective, so if you have any tips, please comment below!
I am going for a minimalist look with a site that is as easy to navigate as possible.
How much time do you spend on improving your product blog?
Hope you had a lovely break. Well thanks to you l’ve spent at least a couple of hours a day marketing my Blog and I got new likes🤩
LikeLike
A couple of hours, wow! You must be getting good at it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I too write like that! 😊
LikeLike
Love the photographs and would enjoy seeing more, woven into your personal story. Clean unfussy images can be minimalist, especially if monochrome.
LikeLike
Thanks Marilyn I will take that onboard!
LikeLike
I spend little time relegated to window dressing my blog. I too prefer a very minimalist approach. I do not mind the lackluster of appearance as long as functionality is all correct. I focus more on my content. If my content does not keep your attention, my color scheme won’t make a difference. Of course, I am not trying to drive metrics like views and likes to monetize my blog, so having a more mundane look does not undermine my goals.
LikeLike
I do want to improve my blog, but it does take a lot of time. Mostly I try to think of new ideas for the types of post I can have 🙂
LikeLike
I have a list of ideas that I want to write about, but I rarely get around to it anymore!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, life is busy 🙂
LikeLike
Generally when I sit down to blog I have a good idea of what I want to say, because it’s about the things I love and am working on. So that I love my blog more when I log into it, I have a picture of one of the favorite things I’ve knitted, that makes my blog peaceful and inviting for me :). I’m not a minimalist, I’m like my craft room, rather chaotic :P. But I know where everything is. Occasionally I look around my craft room and have an organized moment and organize it, and it looks great, but it doesn’t stay that way. It’s frequently hard to stay on task (ADHD) as I flit from one thing to another and unless I can see what I went in for, I will more than likely forget what I needed. When everything is organized it’s out of sight, and truly for me, out of sight is out of mind, lol.
My favorite thing to call vacation is an attitude adjustment :).
LikeLiked by 3 people
My girlfriend has just started getting into dressmaking, so my office is starting to get a bit chaotic. There are often pins in the carpet. I think I have an idea what your craft room looks like 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
hahaha
LikeLike
I typically spend a couple of hours on the weekends working on improving my blog, but I must admit that it’s still a bit difficult to figure out what improvements to actually make. My minimalist approach is basically the foundation of all improvements that I make so I think I’m focusing more on content than anything else!
LikeLike
Unlike in my real life, when it comes to website navigation I definitely prefer practicality over aesthetic. If the content is interesting, there doesn’t need to be much else. Also, I definitely feel you on the whole not wanting to come back thing. Has hit me especially hard the last few times I’ve been away.
LikeLike
I usually spend a few minutes fixing it up when I think it needs to. Otherwise it’s ok to just post. I changed the colors recently because I saw it was a drab gray hahahahaha! I spend more time posting than promoting, and I think I should do more of the latter, but I’m a little shy about it. Geh. Also, not wanting to come back from vacation is natural. Hahahaha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m on vacation and enjoying it 🙂
As for blogging, I write for myself usually to vent feelings, so I don’t feel a need to market. But I care about my blog being user friendly.
I read a dozen or so bloggers around some niche topics so I’m always on the lookout for more. Both people on an established topic and topics to read.
LikeLike
Glad you had such a great time! Yeah…a small drawback to vacations is the not wanting to go back to work.
Also I spend not enough time on my blog woops.
LikeLike
snowdonia park is one of the most beautiful “places” i have ever been fortunate enough to see! i am enjoying your blog immensely. thanks much!
LikeLike
I liked hearing you.
Behind the details…
I saw you beyond the lab coat.
The adventurous mountaineer returning to a hot tub 😊
I read it and I liked it 😊
LikeLike
I like my blog to reflect who I am and what I like! 😎
LikeLike
When I write, I always have something I want to write about first, but often, that something is of much too great importance and I don’t know where to go with it. As I struggle, something much more lighthearted, and better, just happens to fall out, often having little to do with the original intent.
LikeLiked by 1 person