By now you guys have probably begun to understand that I love to talk. Love it, love it, love it. Before going into photographer meet-ups, I have to remind myself to shut up and LISTEN every once in a while, because every time there’s even a slight lull in conversation, I feel like it’s my duty to fill the void with more talking. And sometimes that results in subpar conversation, because when you’re talking just to fill dead space, you sometimes ramble on without purpose, without any substance behind your words.

That’s kind of how I’ve been feeling lately about my blog. As much as I love talking, I think I love writing more- when I’m in a writing groove, I can crank out 5-6 GOOD blog posts in one day and have them stored up for later. But when I’m not in a writing mood? My blog becomes a burden, a weight hanging over my head, something I have to complete before I can move on with the rest of my day. On days like that, it can take me three to four hours to finally get my blog posted because I get distracted more easily (Facebook is the BANE of my work day productivity), and it’s time wasted that I could have spent editing, answering emails, exploring new ideas, etc.

When I first made the commitment to blog five times a week, it was for a couple of reasons- 1) because I love to write, 2) because I love feedback/creating conversation with my audience, and 3) because most of my favorite photographers were already doing it, and it was working really well for them.

But lately I’ve had to step back and ask myself if this is working anymore, blogging every weekday. I love writing, but when it becomes an obligation or a burden, it’s not enjoyable anymore, meaning my reason #1 is no longer true, at least for that day. And if I don’t feel like I have anything of substance to say, I don’t put as much effort into my posts, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm from my audience, meaning that reason #2 is shot as well. And when it comes to #3, sure, blogging daily works well for those other photographers. But I’m not them, I’m Abby Grace, and perhaps this just isn’t what’s going to work for ME. And most importantly, I don’t think I’m honoring the Lord with the precious time I’ve been given by wasting half of a day on social media, just to avoid having to write my blog post.

So here’s what I’m thinking; I’m going to cut back to 3-4 blog posts a week for a month-long trial period. Some of you are probably wondering why I felt the need to “announce” that I’m doing this, but it’s because I’ve committed to blogging 5x a week before (and because I believe in consistency) that I wanted to clarify that the coming month is INTENTIONAL, and not just me failing to follow through.

My blog has been such a large part of how my business has grown over the past 2+ years that I’ve been writing, and contemplating any sort of change scares me. I mean, you’re talking to the girl who actually lost sleep last year over whether or not to remove the watermark from my blogged images- I have a really hard time making decisions when it comes to changing anything in my business. If blogging has equaled success in the past, will changing the frequency mean that I fail? I hope not, but I don’t know. That’s what the trial period is for.  What I DO know is that I want to enjoy writing again, and I want my writing to be intentional and worthy of reading, rather than throwing up a sorry excuse for a blog post simply because I made a promise almost two years ago to do so. And so when September 13 rolls around, I’ll reevaluate.

Happy Tuesday, friends. And a huge thanks to the sweetheart that is Annamarie for being the one to inspire me to go from considering making a change (for the past six months) to actually DOING something about it.