It was a Wednesday night, and I was struggling to come up with a post for Thursday morning. I’ve been consistently hitting my Monday and Thursday deadlines for months. (Even though I was writing a lot of them at the last minute) But this felt like the first time I wasn’t actually going to have anything for post day. I struggled with what to write about all night, and suddenly it was 10:00 pm. That’s when I realized, it’s okay.
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You’re the boss
One of the first things that made me realize it’s okay to miss a blog post day was the fact that no one was going to fire me if I didn’t post. And no one is going to give me an F. I’m the boss. It’s a weird feeling when you’re used to reporting to someone else your whole life.
My dad runs his own business, and the thing that popped into my head that night was him telling my husband that he left work early and came home because he got mad at something or someone. “You can do that when you’re the boss.”
What’s the point of being the boss if you don’t allow yourself some freedom? Or grace? Ruth Sukoup always talks about allowing yourself grace because grace is different than excuses. Grace says I’ll finish this tomorrow to allow myself to have some time to myself. Excuses will eventually lead to nothing getting done. It’s a tricky thing to be able to differentiate.
It won’t affect your blog like you think it will
I spent the night thinking “Everyone is counting on me.” Then I realized, no they’re not! No one reads my blog that religiously. Not even my BFF. (Unless she does. Then hi, Corrie!)
No one is going to complain that I don’t have a new blog post that day. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone is really going to notice. And if they do, they’re just going to say “huh, nothing new today.” and go back to their Facebook newsfeed of politics and cat videos. I realized this because there are a few podcasts that I follow that haven’t posted anything new in weeks, but it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. So it must be the same for my readers.
Sure you won’t get a surge of page views, but hopefully, your numbers will stay consistent. And no you won’t have fresh affiliate links, but you probably have a bunch on your blog already that you can promote again. If you take an old post and promote it in its place, it’ll be like a brand new post for readers who haven’t seen it yet!
You can work on other aspects of your blog
If you’re planning to miss a blog post, you might as well work on other aspects of your blog. Had I known all of this, I would’ve worked on writing my book or continuing the Book Boss course on how to write and launch an ebook.
Or I could have worked on making more resources for my upcoming resource library for subscribers. I also need to work on setting up my email sequences on ConvertKit.
If you use your time to set up more important things on your blog or build your products, it’s not a waste of time.
Are you okay if you miss a blog post every once in a while?
Let me know in the comments below!
Ashley | Spit Up and Sit Ups says
I agree! I have posts topics planned, but if I miss a deadline I’m okay. Like you said, I’m the boss. I control my business.The world will still turn if I’m not into writing for a day.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Exactly!
Samantha says
I’m a new blogger and am so glad to read this!! Thank you for writing and sharing it.
Stephanie Chrystal says
Great post Niki! We often forget that we’re the boss and that we can give ourselves permission to change the rules for a week. The funning thing is if a friend or fellow blogger came to us about skipping a blog post, we would tell them that it’s no big deal. Yet, we struggle to do the same for ourselves. Thanks for the encouragement and have a great day!
heidi says
I run four blogs and I actually don’t adhere to a posting schedule. I agree with you that its ok to miss it and what’s great is we aren’t punching a clock. On average I would say I post twice a week with some more often. I believe the quality means alot more than the quantity. By the way, I love your podcast post and I’m posting it to my Facebook Group
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thanks so much!
Dawn says
This is a great perspective. I have a blog and feel I fail at it. I was just doing monthly posts and I have totally fallen off. Needless to say, I have no subscribers. Possibly, the reason for my lack of committing to a set post day is just this, fear I cannot meet that goal. It’s great to hear that it would be ok. Thanks! I may be ready for that commitment, now.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Glad I could help!
Emma @ Muddy Boots and Diamonds says
Agreed! And thank you for this post. I think bloggers need to hear this more 🙂 I think we put more pressure on ourselves than our audience does. I did really well following a schedule last month, but just couldn’t think of anything super compelling to write this month. I’d rather write something of quality than than a bunch of posts that are written for the sake of a schedule. It’s summer and my kids need me more, so instead of coming up with a bunch of new stuff, I worked on reviving old posts and getting them out to new audiences.
Kira | A Better Life Lived says
Couldn’t agree more! For me, it’s less about not having an idea or wanting to write and more often that something else is just more important in the moment. I blog about resetting priorities and living according to them, with family being one of those priorities. Can’t very well blog that authentically if my family is always on the back burner to the blog. Sometimes we just know we need to skip a post for some reason, and as long as that doesn’t snowball into several posts and no work on the blog whatsoever, I think that’s okay!
Smartybuddy says
Agree, same goes for Pinterest and twitter posts! Sometimes sales are generated by other means, and churning “tired” posts does not equal revenue or audience participation! Get some rest! — Smarty Buddy App Team
Marjie Mare says
I am so glad to read your post. I am moving this weekend and it’s hard to keep up with my 2 blogs, between packing and getting everything together, I have no time to focus the way I used to. Your words are taking my guilt away.