I took a break from Steemit this summer. A long break. A much-needed break, where I (mostly) stepped away from all things digital and spent time focusing on my family, basking in the summer sun and reconnecting with nature. It was lovely, and I don鈥檛 regret a single moment of it.
We all need a break sometimes.
But when I returned to Steemit this past week, something had changed. I felt disconnected from the community, from the many relationships I had begun to form. I felt like I was brand new here, as though I was starting this journey all over again. I began to worry that taking a break was a mistake. I began to fear that I had been away too long, that perhaps Steemit had forgotten about me.
Melodramatic? Maybe. But not entirely wrong.
I still don't regret taking a break. But I now realize that I could have done it a lot better. Here's are three things I did wrong, and what I learned in the process.
For the most part, I stopped creating new content for Steemit over the summer. That's fine. But I also stopped reading other people's content. And I stopped engaging in comments and discussions. I ghosted Steemit. I disconnected from the community. And now that I've returned, I feel like I've walked into a class reunion and am trying to make small talk with people I haven't spoken to in 20 years.
I care about the success of this site and as a result, I feel it's my responsibility to encourage those who participate in it by actively supporting their work. Plus, I really enjoy reading and commenting on the content shared here. While I absolutely loved reconnecting with family and friends in-person during my social media break, I missed the online community I discovered here.
Since I wasn't reading content or engaging with my fellow Steemians, it's no surprise that I also failed to upvote. Now, I know my allotment of the Steemit pie is small, but it's still so so important that we all do our share to ensure other content creators are justly rewarded. It may only be a few cents here and there, but it still makes a difference to Steemit's financial success and it's membership's morale.
Ok. Not everything I posted this summer was garbage. In fact, I think many of the few posts I managed to create were pretty good. But many were also crap -- and certainly not up to the standard I'd like to maintain.
Part of this is because I'm still trying to figure out who I am as a Steemian, and what I have to offer the community, so there's sure to be some trial and error as I test out different things. But the biggest reason I resorted to tossing up some shit posts this summer was because I gave in to my vacation guilt and the anxiety-driven need to do something even remotely productive. Because sometimes, even though our souls reassure us that taking a break is a good thing to do, our brains simply can't shut off the ingrained message that we must always be doing something.
Courtesy of GraphicStock.com
I know I'll take breaks from Steemit in the future, but next time, I'll try not to cut myself off from the site entirely. I may not post new content, but I can certainly spare a few minutes of time to upvote and comment on the work of others.
@redhens. You may also enjoy some of my other recent posts, including: