Learning How to Step Away & Keep your Balance

I consider this blog to be a very important part of my life.  I love spending the time generating awesome content for you all & I love the dedication I put into Five Sixteenths.  Before you get too worried, no I am not taking a break from blogging...now that I have a momentum going I don't see stopping anytime soon.  This post is a post about encouraging you (& myself) to step away from blogging sometimes.

I go out to look for something that makes me feel small.  This usually clears my head & levels my thoughts

While I am not getting paid to write this blog, I act like I am.  (Just like I pretend I am blogging to 3000 followers!)  This means I dedicate probably about 40 hours a week generating things for this blog.  Since I just got really excited about Blogging eCourses & eBooks I've been spending a lot of time with my head buried in my laptop.  While this isn't good for my posture it's also not good for my relationships.  There were times when I was ignoring Zach because I had to blog something or was working on a blog design.  I am very thankful that he is understanding & wants me to be successful at the things I want to do with my life (after all, he did buy me a kiln!!).  With him gone, I've now got more time to blog & spend with my room mates.  I found that generally with this more time, I was spending it (again) buried in my laptop.  I don't want my real life relationships to suffer because I want to succeed here.  It's about balance.

I couldn't imagine living any where with out water to wade in.

So on Monday, I decided to take up an offer to go see Avengers & to head to the beach.  The whole time I tried not to think about what I could be blogging & it was hard!  I did take pictures of this trip, which means I was thinking about blogging, but I was also thinking about documenting my trip.  I tried not to think of time restraints, I tried not to check my watch, I tried not to hurry the movie a long.  I even pulled out my instax camera & took a few shots...talk about analog!  This break was great for me.

It's important to remember that blogging is a hobby & that I am not getting paid for it. Though I'd like to turn it into a source of income one day, blogging is not the top priority.   Taking a break to smell the roses & just enjoy life is something I want to strive toward as I go on this summer.  I don't want to coop myself up all day in my room with my computer & only venture out to take outfit photos.....I want to live!  I have friends & a family I need to spend time with.  I also need to spend some quality time with Me, Myself, & I.

This filter is called Nostalgia & it's one of my faves on Camera+

On the flip side of all of this, blogging is my responsibility (for lack of a better word) & I take it seriously.  And I know if I want to succeed I have to say no to hanging out sometime.  It's important for me to live up to what I expect my blog to be, not only for you but because I set out on this journey & I really love it!  I need time to dedicate to making Five Sixteenths better!

So mainly this post is about keeping a balance & keeping a promise to myself to put work down and to just have fun for a little while..even if it's only for an afternoon!

How do you keep a blogging balance?  Do you feel blogging is a responsibility of yours or is it something that is just fun?

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