Break Time

 45 Comments on Break Time 0 1116

image for taking a blog break postBlogs are like unfinished chores.

They wait for us.

Where ever we left off is where they’ll be when we return.

You know, kind of like when you leave the dishes in the sink or don’t fold the laundry. Unless a loved one feels ambitious and takes care of it, the chore(s) will be there.

Waiting.

Today’s Lesson

From past blogging experience, I’ve noticed December is a slow month for blogging.

Many bloggers either cut back on publishing or take a few weeks off during the holidays.

Some will put up a post stating they’re on hiatus, whereas others just leave their latest post up.

Although there’s no right or wrong way to go on hiatus, I think it’s smart to let our blogging buddies know we’re taking a break.

After all, we certainly don’t want them to assume we quit.

That’s what I’m doing.

I’m taking a break.

I’ll still be around the blogosphere, working behind the scenes of my blogs, visiting other blogs and sharing tidbits on Facebook, but mostly I will be offline, enjoying the Christmas season.

I’ll resume my semi weekly posting schedule in January.

How about you?

Today’s Assignment

Will your blogging schedule change during the holidays?

If so, how will you let your readers know?

Care to share?

~Barbara

45 thoughts on “Break Time”

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  3. Oh Barbara,
    I am off for holiday from next week..and yes I think my posting schedule might change…but I’m still not sure.
    I think like you, I will let my readers/buddies know when the hiatus happens.
    By the by.. I will still be stalking you on facebook 😉 The online party is always ON on FB!
    Love you lots..and lots of warm hugs coming your way this cold wintery day.
    Z~

  4. Given the fact I’m finishing Big Huge Holiday Profits (and reeeeealllly want to get it done asap) methinks I do not see a break anytime in the future…..

    But kudos to you for taking a very well deserved break indeed!

  5. Hi Barbara,

    I think taking a break from blogging right now is a great idea. So many people are off and doing other things that reading blogs is a low priority anyway.

    I want to take a break too but am not sure if I should before school lets out. I am thinking to going down to one post a week though.

    One thing I will be doing is taking a break from my Teaching Tip Tuesday series during Christmas vacation.

    Like you say, it is important to let our readers know what we are doing. Thanks for letting us all know. I hope you have a great holiday season!

  6. My blogging has shifted more to my “Daily Observations from The Civil War” blog at http://dotcw.com . Going back to work six weeks earlier than anticipated has really put a crimp in my plans to get ahead of events as our little group blogs our way through the sesquicentennial of the American civil war.

    So, yes, I’m taking somewhat of a break from Exit78, not posting at the same frequency as before, but I will try to get a few done.

  7. We all need a break from time to time and why not take it at the best time of the year!

    Happy Holidays to you and your family and enjoy the break.

    see ya on the other side! 😀

  9. Hi Barbara .. have fun and enjoy the family Christmas time – I’ll catch you around somewhere .. I’ll still post a few things .. as my blogging schedule has been pretty eclectic recently .. and I’ll do some preparing for the new year etc ..

    Just enjoy yourself .. and everyone else too .. Happy Holiday times .. a chance to read, learn and grow .. cheers Hilary

  10. Me too, Barbara! One post left to go. I’m looking forward to the break and in fact, am planning on not being on Facebook or Twitter either. I may pop into Facebook once in a while but my goal is to stay offline, with the exception of email. I will still be reachable for friends that way and business is still on, of course.

    Have a fabulous Christmas my friend. I know it is one of your favourite holidays. I can just imagine your home beautifully decorated. See you next year! 🙂

  11. I make about twenty posts on my blog daily during the week days, i dont think i can afford to take a break, lol. no break at all. even on xmas day

  12. If it were up to me, then I would actually like to post more, because I think puppets and Christmas mix real well. However, how much I post is still more of a function of how occupied I am.

    To stretch your metaphor even more, is asking for guest posts like asking someone to come over to my house and do my dishes? XD

  13. Yes! I don’t plan on posting during my kids’ winter break. Enjoy your break, Barbara. It’s well-deserved.

  14. Yes, it’s tough to blog in December, especially when you have a pretty Christmas tree to stare at. I just blogged about that, and something tells me my next blog might not be on schedule. I’m more in the mood for listening. Bring on the podcasts.

  15. Hi Barbara! You just have yourself an awesome holiday season! Lots of Merry, and a sack of HoHoHo! (no not the junk food HoHo’s – ha!)

    I try to schedule blogs in advance and since it’s only once a week anyway, that is really not hard to do. I do it most of the summer when I’m up at the lake. But yes I know December is generally a slow month so I’ll do some videos to fill in the slots.

    With Winter Solstice coming up, you’ve gotta know I’m busy with finishing up THIS quarter and planning for next! So it’s wrap up time, and not just presents!
    Holiday Hugs
    suZen

  16. I guess it depends if you are posting regularly (like you) or every so often (like me). I am still trying to play catch up with 4 or 5 articles I have in the pipeline, and I haven’t posted a new article for a month or so (updated one article last week to keep interest up). I don’t think that my blog readers will be surprised if I don’t post anything for a while, although I will try to complete my todo list of articles to be able to post more regularly next year (yep, already working on my new year resolutions)

  18. No change for me. 5 posts a week for the entire month of December. What I might cut back on a bit is the social media aspect of blogging.

    Have a great holiday season, Barbara, and see you when you get back.

  19. I haven’t quite planned what I am going to do. But now that you’ve asked, it got me thinking. It looks like I am set to travel for the last one week of December. I may just take a break then.

    Enjoy your break! It’s well deserved!

  21. On my several blogs I also tend to take longer breaks. December is certainly one of the months (along with another summer break) when my activity goes down. Have a very nice holiday season!

  22. I have two more posts I want to get up for sure, but will be taking a break until the new year too. I am making a bit of a card for Biking Architect and then waiting for the New Year….amazingly enough after 2 years of writing that blog we finally are up to about 200 visitors a month – still almost zero comments???

    I hope you have a lovely holiday and good celebration with your family and friends.

    I too will be lurking around – hard to stop reading some of the special posts offered up this time of the year.

  23. I have trouble posting regularly at anytime, not just during holidays! It’s better to post consistently but I’d rather post something useful than just throw some junk on my blog, so I usually just wait until I have the time.

  24. Barbara, I recently took an unplanned break from blogging due to health issues. I really ought to have let my readers know what was going on because now I’m struggling to get them all back again! So, lesson learned! 😛

    Having said that, I am grateful to those who have stuck by me. Their loyalty is something that I should not ever take for granted. 🙂

    As for the Christmas break thing. I’m thinking that I should probably do the same. I don’t wanna waste great material on a field of crickets! 😛

  25. Barbara — First of all, I hope you have a very restful holiday with lots of happiness and joy to decorate it:~)

    In answer to your question, I do plan to cut back on my posting during the holidays. I think it’s a time when family should take more of a center stage.

    I plan to catch up on my reading, drink hot apple cider and eat lots of sugar cookies. After all, we have something to add to our New Year’s resolutions, right?

    Have a good one and enjoy yourself and your family!!

  26. Hi Barbara

    I was thinking of doing a Christmas thank you post to thank everyone who has commented on my blog.

    Blogs are great but not much fun without comments.

    Have a good break Barbara.

    See you in 2011

    Keith

  28. I hope you have a good time this holiday and enjoy it with your family. As for me, I will still have time to write, because I have lots of inspiration this season. See you next year! 🙂

  29. I’m really tired by the end of the year. Most probably I will stop writing but I’m not sure. Blogging is fun for me so if I have something interesting – I’ll write. Moreover, I can’t live without blogs and forums and the internet in general.
    Merry Christmas!!!!!!

  30. Hi Barbara and Happy Holidays! I have decided NOT to allow my blog to take over my life. During the holidays, I definitely cut back on my blogging schedule and I also take other shortcuts like re-using old content (with minor twists!)

  32. Well I picked up the pen to write but it didn’t show up on the screen! lol So I’ll just type! : )
    Ok, so I am not very funny..
    Everyone deserves a break! That’s why all the way at the beginning of each year, I schedule my vacation surrounding the holidays to allow time for preparing for the holidays and new year!
    Happy Holidays!

  33. Happy Holidays Barbara. I think we all need a blogging break from time to time.

    Just don’t leave it too long or it might be hard to get back into it. I did that with my weight loss blog and didn’t post anything for 6 months. (that killed the blog and my motivation) But, 2011 is a whole new year and I’ll be back at on Jan 2nd, or 3rd depending on the New Year’s parties 🙂

    Enjoy your time off,
    Steve

  34. Hi Barbara and Happy Holidays! I have decided NOT to allow my blog to take over my life. During the holidays, I definitely cut back on my blogging schedule and I also take other shortcuts like re-using old content (with minor twists!)

  37. We’ve found breaks to be critical to our blogging. We used to post if we were inspired, or not, due to a sense of obligation. Now we don’t. I am sure our inconsistency has cost us readers and is making it harder to build as fast as we’d like, but it keeps us authentic which is more important to us. It also keeps things fun!!

  38. Happy break! Hope you are having a lovely time with your family.

    I too am taking a posting break until after the New Year. So nice to spend time with family.
    xoxo

  39. Happy New Year to you Barbara.

    Yes, I have noticed over the years that bloggers tend to slow down during Xmas – New Year break and that’s also the time when my bogs get the least traffic. There are however, people like problogger who keeps a number of scheduled posts to keep the posting frequency unaffected.

  41. Barbara, Looks like you’re back now 🙂 December has been always a slower month for me too. For too many reason. Mainly holiday and preparation for Christmas etc..

  42. Hi All,

    Happy New Year!

    As you can see, I’m back from my blogging break and back to posting again.

    Although I usually answer each of your comments individually, for this post, I’ll just say, “thank you for your comments and the well wishes”. Your input is most appreciated.

    Here’s hoping you all have a very happy and prosperous 2011.

    Happy Blogging!

    I’ll see you soon!

  43. Is that you Barbara?

    My guess is that you are tired of just sitting and relaxing and can’t wait to hit that keyboard. LOL

    Or perhaps not.

    Waiting for your first 2011 post.

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