My latest batch of posts was largely about focusing on your main profit driver.
For high-content publishers like yours truly, it means focusing on publishing as much great content targeting low competition keywords as possible
The strategy still holds. I haven’t had some epiphany since yesterday changing that.
In fact, my epiphany in this biz was embracing that strategy.
Still, today I‘m going to toss a wrench in your masterplan, just because it’s Summer (at least where I live).
No matter how much you love this work (and I love it) and no matter how motivated you are to grow it to Hearst Publishing levels, there will come a time when you hit a mental wall.
You might lose motivation.
As a friend in this business recently said on the FS forum, you get the blahs.
This can happen whether things are going spectacularly well, you’re in a plateau or you’ve hit tough times.
It happens to me a couple or few times per year.
I can muscle through or declare “I‘m done” and take a break.
It’s a sign that I need a break. A vacation. I need to check out.
Thing is, it’s hard to disengage from this work. We’re never “done“.
But I‘ve been at this long enough to know that if I don’t take a break, I really won’t get much done.
Vacations are tough though, at least the first two to three days.
I fret about problems arising. I monitor emails. My brain is still in work-mode. I continue adding to my to-do list.
But something magical happens on day 2, 3 or 4.
I check out. I stop thinking about it.
I stop monitoring emails.
I stop caring. No, I don’t give up; I stop caring knowing that in one or two weeks I‘ll return.
This cycle happens every time without fail.
For the rest of vacation, I relax and enjoy the vacation. It feels great to fully disengage.
What’s really cool about loving my work and business is that I don’t get a case of the Sundays.
If you have or had a job you didn’t like, you know what I‘m talking about. Sunday comes around and you don’t want to go to work on Monday.
Same thing can happen with vacations. The end approaches and you don’t want it to end.
Fortunately, and I‘m very, very grateful about this, but I don’t get that.
As much as I love vacations and time with my family, as the end of vacation approaches, I start getting excited about returning to work.
I know I‘ll be refreshed and energized. I‘ll tackle things with renewed vigor.
I often return with some great ideas that occur to me while relaxed and disengaged.
While taking a week or two off may seem unproductive because it’s time lost, in the long run, it can make a big positive difference.
We are not machines.
If you’ve hit a wall or have the blahs, it’s okay to step away for a week or two.
The internet isn’t going away.
The internet will function just fine without you.
Your sites will be okay without new content for a week or two or three.
I often step away from Fat Stacks for weeks at a time. Nobody cares. Out of sight, out of mind.
When I return to FS with a flurry of emails, blog posts, vids and podcasts, people return.
This reminds me, if you can’t stomach the thought of no new content hitting your site for a week or two, remember you can schedule content in advance
Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.
