I’m Baaaack! Part 2: What it Means for the Blog

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on August 2, 2014 | 9 Comments


In yesterday’s post, I gave you some insight as to what’s been going on in my life since I’ve been gone. (Today’s post is much shorter, I promise!) Today, I’m going to talk about what coming back means for Novel Heartbeat.

Before I found the house, I was burnt out. I took a short break back in March, then I went on vacation. I came back for a week or two, then the house hunting started and I disappeared for good. During this long break, I feel like I’ve rekindled the desire to blog. BUT – I want to change some things so I don’t get burnt out again.

I am no longer going to pressure myself to write 2 reviews a week, or have a discussion every single week. I also won’t pressure myself to have 4+ posts a week. If I only post once or twice a week sometimes, it’s okay!

I’m still going to stick to my original schedule, as follows:

  • Monday: Review
  • Tuesday: Open (for now)
  • Wednesday: Discussion
  • Thursday: Life of a Blogger
  • Friday: Review
  • Saturday: Personal posts
  • Sunday: Heartbeat Weekly

The difference now is: I won’t push myself to do every one, every week. This is just saying that if I post a discussion, it will be on a Wednesday. If I post something about my personal life, it will be on a Saturday. The only ones that will definitely be every single week are Life of a Blogger and Heartbeat Weekly. I may miss the occasional HW if nothing is going on, but I will definitely strive to do it 95% of the time.

may start taking guest posts on occasion to change things up a bit. If you’re interested, let me know! I’d also like to bring back my old blogger spotlight feature (it’s now called Welcome to the Family), but I’ve been saying that for quite some time now. I need to revamp it a bit and come up with some new exciting questions first, and I’ve been too lazy >.<

In general, I need to be a lot more laid back about blogging. I was stressing myself out trying to return every comment, post every other day, and stick to my schedule to a T, and it was too much. I felt pressured to blog, so it wasn’t fun anymore. I don’t want that to happen again! There may be some weeks I only have two posts a week, but I’m looking for quality over quantity. I hope that you will all stick with me no matter what, but in the end – and I’m not ashamed to say this – it’s my blog and no one else’s.

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the 2nd annual Beat the Heat Readathon on the sidebar, it starts Monday!

Jessi (Geo)

Posted in: Blog Stuff | Tags:

Subscribe to Novel Heartbeat to get more posts like this!

9 responses to “I’m Baaaack! Part 2: What it Means for the Blog

  1. Melissa @ Writer Grrl Reads

    Sounds like a very balanced approach! I, too, have struggled with the drive to generate content and it can be stressful. I like your approach that you’ll post when and if you want, following a schedule. And, honestly, two reviews a week would be a lot! I don’t think I could read at that pace, especially when life is as busy as yours has been. Anywho, glad to have you back!!!!!

  2. After reading part one…you sure had a busy time of it there!! It’s good to see you scaling back and relaxing. We’re just glad to see you back!!

  3. I totally get how easy it is to get stressed out blogging. I do it for fun, but I’m also a perfectionist, so I have a hard time breaking free from my schedule. So great mentality to embrace – I hope it helps you keep blogging fun! Good to have you back :)

  4. Yay! Glad you’re back! :) And your new, stress-free(er) schedule sounds fab! I might need to take a leaf out of your book. If you do open up your Welcome to the Family post again, please let me know, would love to take part :) R x

  5. Christina R.

    You’re totally right to want to focus on making blogging fun for you. A couple of reviews a week are more then enough and there’s not reason to do all the blog posts!!

    Glad your house is coming along! :)

Leave a Reply to Christina R. Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.