on twitter and taking time off

I participate in a weekly twitter chat with a bunch of other bloggers called #AltChat. This week’s topic was avoiding creative burnout and began with a discussion of the well-known John Lennon quote: “Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.” After a few minutes of chat between participants, new questions are asked. Last week’s questions were about wasting time, relaxing, taking time off, and favorite summer activities.  The last question was perhaps the best: What can you do this week to waste a little time in a healthy way?

I love participating in these chats because there are always little gems from like-minded women and from creative people who might have a different spin than your own. This week, one of my favorite discussion points to follow was brought up by Monique of Antisparkle. Her point was that there seems to be a non-stop force, even in the creative space, that requires us to keep up all day and all night. I think some of this comes from our own drive to be successful, to be first, and to be creative in the oversaturated, short-attention span world that is social media. But some of it might just be habit. Am I really that busy? Do I really need to be that busy? Will you stop reading my blog if I take a break? Can I take a break without apologizing for it? Can I chose to live life for a bit, without the camera lens and without the (self-imposed) pressure of that next post? Will it make me a better writer/photographer/creative?

It may not make me a better writer/photographer/creative, but it will hopefully make me a better parent and a better human. So I am going to do it. This week, you will find me scarce. No menu reviews. No regularly scheduled posts. I may post here or there but I will not keep a schedule (most of you are wondering whether I really keep a schedule now – hey, I try). I’ll post some updates on Instagram. I might pin some things to Pinterest. Let’s get inspired together. Send me links to the things that get you inspired. Tag me on Instagram with inspiration. I’d love that. Have a restful week.