When your writing plan did not go as expected, what should you do? While writing a blog, the most important thing to follow is to be regular with posts. There should be a frequency with which one’s posts arrive at the website. But, this article is not about how to be consistent with the posts. On the contrary, this post is all about how to cope up with missed deadlines. Here, I will share my story and perspectives in coping up with the extended breaks.
It’s been a month since my last post on this website. And, it was my conscious call to take a break from blogging as I had 2 other priorities. First, I would like to have more time to develop a case study for my PhD preparation. Second, I decided to shift my home from the city I live to my native town. Both priorities involve mental and physical works. So, I took the final call to pause writing for a while. One might ask why should I not manage writing along with immediate priorities? I evaluated the option but I couldn’t do justice to the writing as I need at least 2 hours to publish a post on the website. As these posts are the record of my decision making and progress at a given time in the past, I don’t wish to compromise on the quality of writing.
Many people like me take breaks while writing blogs or doing activities. To those people the crucial question to ask before taking a break is,
“Am I prepared to accept the possibility of relapse?”
By relapse, I mean returning to an undesired former state. For example, I started this website in May 2021. However, I intended to start the website a year before it. The gap between my intention and the execution is the result of my procrastination. I could repeat the procrastination as soon as I intend to resume after the break. In the worst-case scenario, I might even stop updating my website and move on to some other things quoting a few other priorities. After all, priorities are subjective. This possibility of relapse towards an undesired state of mind is what one should keep in mind before taking a break.
So, how does this mindset of accepting relapse help? When we see relapse as one of the possibilities, our planning changes accordingly. We try our best to avoid relapsing as the intention of a break is not to end the activity. As a consequence, we end up tracking our mindset every day during the break to ensure we are not heading towards relapse. For example, from day 1 of my break, I keep remembering that it is a temporary break. I like to publish posts. During this period, I have noted down the interesting events that could be written down as posts after my break. So, as you see, I was conscious about my activities, and I keep preparing for a return. This mindset helps us negate the possibility of relapse.
People who completely ignore the paused activity have a high probability of extending their breaks or tendency to give up the activity. So, one must always consider the possibility of relapse and think about the paused activity to keep the motivation up and running. During my break, I have seen 2 good documentaries and 2 movies that I can share with my readers. From my priorities, I have learnt a few lessons that are worth sharing on the website. Though I crossed the deadline to resume back, I kept my motivation to write alive because I have stories to tell. so, that’s the reason I am writing today without any hiccups like I used to write a month back. And, I am confident that I will continue publishing the posts.
In summary, consider the possibility of relapse before taking a break from an activity. Keep thinking about the activity in break and be cautious of falling into the trap of unending procrastination.
Thanks for reading the full article. I hope the message helps you to prepare for your breaks. As I mentioned, I have a few interesting stories to share with you in the upcoming posts. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions regarding the article, please share them in the comments section.
FLOWS THROUGH 