While I was busy stressing over my exams, I still worried about my blog. Although I’ve learned how to deal with blogger guilt, I kept asking myself a lot of questions. Will I be able to blog as much as I used to? Should I increase my publishing rate again? Do I really enjoy blogging when I stress myself over how much I should post?
Most of the time, my answer was “No”. That’s why I decided to write down a set of ‘rules’ to follow soon after my hiatus. Instead of collecting practical tips for beating the stress (I’m still preoccupied with that, though) while trying to keep my blog activity high, I chose to rethink everything and adopt a more laid-back approach to my hobby (that’s an important word to keep in mind).
Well, these are not exactly ‘rules’, more like positive statements. That’s why I turned it into a manifesto which anyone in my situation can follow. My intention with the Manifesto for the Empowerment of the Stressed Blogger (MESB) is to offer a motivating plan for a compromise, a healthy balance, between blogging and life (work, study, family, etc.). The final aim is to instil confidence in my (and our) abilities, to limit the stress and to increase the enjoyment of blogging. That’s what I call empowerment.
Interestingly, after I had already decided to write a manifesto, I stumbled upon the Slow Blog Manifesto. I found Anne R. Allen’s post where she explains the benefits of blogging less and, although they’re geared towards book authors who blog, I found most of the reasons to be relatable.
Now here is my own 5-point MESB!