Image from twomangoes.com.

I honestly did not intend to go “dark” for a whole month when I last posted on June 7. But one thing led to another, and so today I am ending a longer-than-expected hiatus. Did you miss me?

The second week of June brought a “perfect storm”of deadlines for my budding solo PR practice; and since JMC brings home the bacon, I reluctantly put aside blogging that week. I had two big projects due at the same time, plus I was beginning work with a new client. Such is the nature of this business.

In the third week of June, more work and then a trip to Greensville Correctional Center with my Kairos prison ministry team.

I then spent almost a week working on a proposal. Another fun aspect of my independent life. I finished work on that opus just as the real perfect storm, the so-called derecho, hit the D.C. area on June 29 and knocked out power to 1.5 million households and businesses.

Rereading my last post before I vanished, I see my topic that day was prescient. I wrote about “Facebook fatigue” and complained that a social media malaise had come over me.

In reality, I think I needed a break from blogging, and work seemed like a pretty good reason to lay down my blogging pen.

So what lessons have I learned from my summer break?

It’s okay to let go. I did not miss the blog that much once I got over the initial tinge of guilt from not posting. It was good to let go for a while and not worry about feeding the monster I had created. In the week that I had so much work, I realized that I had been spending way too much time on my posts, to the point that it took me half a day or longer to research, write and post one. Do that twice a week, and it adds up to some real time.

You can’t be perfect. A blog is a blog, so why obsess over it? But, of course, that’s exactly what I had been doing. I’d think about topics. Whether what I was writing was original. What people would think about it. Which photos to use, even what size they should be. So I have vowed to be more relaxed and less consumed by my blogging. (Now how long will that last?)

Understand your priorities. My blog is not a paying gig, but my clients are. Even when I do pro bono work, I must meet real deadlines. You can’t exactly put those on hold while you write a blog post. Ditto with your family, friends and volunteer commitments. Be careful what you sacrifice when you “fit” blogging into your schedule.

All things in moderation. When I’ve tried for the 20th time to get something to look right in WordPress, I need to take a little chill break. Go out and smell the roses…and remind myself that it’s okay to do that.

You gotta have willpower. Blogging is like exercising, dieting or any other endeavor that requires willpower and determination to succeed. It’s easy to lose your motivation, to get “flabby” and just stop doing it. No one is making you blog. But like anything worth doing, sooner or later you need to get back to it. I realized if I didn’t start blogging again—and soon—I might not ever get back in the ring, and I didn’t like that prospect.

So I’m back…