It’s been a while since my last blog post. In the past few weeks I’ve been a bit more silent and posted less on here. Those of you who subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram already know that there have been some big changes in my life lately. So I’ve been taking some time to focus on my life, took a break from bookstagram and have been less present online.
The main reason form my absence is that my workload increased quite a lot in the past few weeks. I’m working two jobs, having this blog and my bookstagram. Lately I also started a podcast with a friend and I began my master’s degree. In the past few weeks I’ve been trying to handle so many different things at once that my mental health had taken a bad toll because of this.
Despite my efforts to take good care of myself and my wellbeing I eventually decided that I needed to make some changes in my routine and reduce my workload. My mental health is my first priority after all. I started by working less hours but I also knew that that wouldn’t be enough.
So after lots of agonizing and weighing work, my studies and all my projects against one another I’ve decided that I won’t continue my bookstagram account as I did before. The decision wasn’t the easiest for me because this account, creating content and being part of the bookstagram community was bringing me a lot of joy.
But in the past month I often didn’t have the time to create content that I liked or was passionate about due to my other responsibilities. I’ll keep the account because despite the pressure of social media it’s still a fun hobby for me and something I really like to do. But I will change how I create content and what kind of content I create.
Too often I let imaginary rules that I set for myself, the pressure to be consistent and only post content that performs well influence me. So I set myself a new resolution: From now on I’ll try to post only when I feel like posting and only whatever I feel like posting.
While I’m writing this I’ve been on a break for a couple of weeks and it feels really liberating. Not thinking about content production, photos, captions or stories for once feels a bit like getting off the hamster wheel. I have much more time to read, take care of myself and tend to my studies.
Breaking with these same old routines also gives me the mental capacity to think about if and how I want to continue my Instagram presence. Taking a break from bookstagram made me realized that the persona that I constructed for myself on there doesn’t feel right for me anymore. My life is changing and my Instagram account will have to change with it.
As for now I will stay on a break from bookstagram. It feels right for me at the moment. Being on a break from the constant cycle of content production gives me the mental space for other things. Although I’d probably return some day and still post occasionally until then, having the freedom to focus on myself and other things is just what I need right now.
There will definitely be some changes when it comes to my Instagram account. Maybe they will also affect this blog. I don’t know where they will take me but I’m looking forward to find out. And I hope some of you do too.
