Caught Up

When I first started this blog, it was with the goal of sharing my random knowledge of Army things and housewife hacks to help people out. There was no editorial calendar. I blogged when I found the time between changing two sets of diapers and missing my husband’s phone calls coming from Afghanistan.

I quickly realized that there were many perks to this blogging gig. Companies were willing to send me products for free, and all I had to do was write about them! In the beginning, I’d take any opportunity offered to me.

The more my blog grew, the more impressive the free items were. Eventually, I even started making some money here and there!

Along with the continued growth, came the desire for more of it. It didn’t take much for me to realize that blogging could become a real paying job.

As I started to grow my blog further, I became much more selective of the sponsored opportunities offered to me. If it wasn’t something I actually had an interest in, I had no desire to write about it.

And then I hit a wall.

Even with only taking opportunities that interested me, I quickly became burnt out. Some networks have very particular requirements, and I found myself struggling to meet deadlines.

Juggling three kids with their schooling and extracurricular activities, plus a house, and a volunteer position, while also trying to manage full-time blogging (and the social media that come along with it) was exhausting.

Trying to live a bloggable life was exhausting.

Where can we go today, so that I can photograph things that people want to see? What kind of kid craft can we make to share on the internet? I have to take photos of this recipe I’m making, so that I can share it on my blog.

There were nights that I’d stay up until midnight or later, because I simply wasn’t able to carve out an hour or two of time during the day to dedicate to blogging.

I got caught up in all the hoopla of blogging that I forgot why I started blogging in the first place, and what it was that I loved about blogging. Taking some time off and not having to worry about taking photos of every single waking moment or every dish on the table was remarkably refreshing.

I’ve lessened the sponsored load, and will be even more selective of those types of campaigns in the future. I’ve set up a manageable calendar and schedule to avoid becoming overwhelmed again. Now, all I have to do is catch up on the lives of my favorite bloggers, that I’ve missed reading about for a month!