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Learning The Art of Slowing Down

Okay, I have a confession to make. I am the most impatient person I know when it comes to life goals. Generally speaking I have a decent amount of patience. If you knew me personally, you wouldn’t think of me as a particularly impatient person. You could keep me waiting for an hour and would get away with very few sarcastic comments. But when it comes to producing measurable results around something I’m overly passionate about, I place a massive amount of pressure on myself to the point that I can get burned out very quickly.

This past year hasn’t been easy and I wasn’t expecting it to be either. When I quit my job last year to transition to a career as a full-time writer and blogger, I knew that my path wasn’t going to be straightforward for two reasons- one, I was learning by doing and making a whole lot of mistakes along the way and two, I would have to accept that I would not be making half as much money as I did in my finance career. Of course there are far more important things than money but money is quite important as well and anyone who says otherwise is either lying or enlightened to a point that’s beyond my comprehension.

But I wanted what I wanted- to wake up everyday and create something I loved and was proud of, and the freedom to travel as often and for as long as I pleased. So I rolled up my sleeves, enrolled myself in travel writing & social media courses, spent hours wrapping my head around the technical aspects of running a blog, put a conscious effort to better my writing, learnt new skills like photography, video, and marketing, and hustled like I’d never done in my life. And the results were encouraging- I got published in several online and some print magazines, my social media channels grew, my writing got better and I worked with a host of tourism boards, luxury hotels and tour companies. I even contributed a regular travel feature to a local print magazine in the UAE, where I’m based.

So far so good, right?

In spite of all this, I began to feel dissatisfied. Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t growing fast enough. At others, I felt like I’d taken on too much. I compared myself to my peers and that can be a disastrous thing to do in blogging or writing. I spent less and less time with my family and friends and began to obsess about my work to the point that the thought of it no longer excited me. And that was also because I wasn’t writing the kind of stories I wanted to write-other contractual obligations and freelance work that paid better took precedence.
Guess what happened next?
Writers block. Burn out. A strong desire to travel to take time off everything.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve realized that I need to slow down. My best friend has been telling me for a long time that maybe I’ve taken on too much. She’s almost always right and it’s only recently that I’ve started to accept that this time is no exception.

I don’t want my personal relationships to suffer. I don’t want to feel disconnected with the people I truly care about. I don’t want to constantly think about how to grow my social media channels, where to pitch my writings, or how to get new clients, not every minute of the day or right before I fall asleep. And I definitely don’t want to skip my workouts and meals, because I’m too busy working on the blog or my writing.

So, I’ve slowly begun to take it a little easier. I don’t beat myself up over some extra TV or music time. I take naps in the middle of the day when I really want to. I try to meet up with friends as often as I can and at least every other day. I’m still working hard, still learning every day and still hustling. But I’ve started to set aside time for my relationships and myself. I’m also slowly accepting that maybe my progress will be even slower this way, but at least I’ll still love what I do and why I do it. It was always about telling the best stories I could tell and inspiring others to believe that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. It was never about winning popularity contests or being famous. Heck, I hate the limelight.

As I’m learning to slow down and accept that things don’t always go as fast or where you want them to, especially when it involves the creative process, I’m beginning to discover the joy of letting go. Que sera, sera- and it’s liberatingSometimes it’s important to step back and look at your life from the outside to get some perspective. I thought I was marching down a path with conviction but eventually realized that the pace was going to burn me out and I wouldn’t get very far.

So I’m slowing down- because I’m not in a race. I’ll let you know how it goes. 

Have you ever gone through a phase like that? Or learned something from letting go? Fellow bloggers and freelancers, how do you deal with work/life balance?

I would love to hear about it in the comments – maybe your story could inspire me.

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Learning to Slow Down

 

Vinita

Wednesday 24th of January 2018

Great post! I am completely agree with your words. Good luck on your journey

Liezel Malherbe

Friday 16th of September 2016

I am currently experiencing exactly this blogging burnout you mentioned and I do think it is time to rearrange, step back and gain new perspective. Thanks for the piece!

Natasha Amar

Friday 16th of September 2016

Thanks Liezel, I hope you get through it and come out with more clarity about why you like to blog and the direction you want it to take.

nikita yadav

Friday 1st of April 2016

Hello,

I think it was one of the reasons why I almost quit blogging full-time. But it’s all about keeping the balance. Great article!

Natasha Amar

Friday 1st of April 2016

Thank you Nikita, I hope you've found yours :)

Ruben Arribas

Wednesday 23rd of December 2015

Great post! I totally agree with you! I learnt to slow down in my trips. And I still learning everyday to be more patient! If I didn't start traveling, I wouldnt be so patient as I am now

Sierra

Wednesday 16th of December 2015

This is not only an encouraging post, but a great reminder! Thanks for sharing with such authenticity and realizing that it is important to take time to refuel oneself, or (as a dear friend of mine likes to say), to get your "sparkle" back.

It is about sharing stories to inspire others. Not the popularity. Not the limelight. Amen, sister!

Good luck and keep blogging true!

Natasha Amar

Wednesday 16th of December 2015

Thanks for the nice comment Sierra. That's a nice way to put it- we all need to get our sparkle back ;)

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