Pace Yourself!

There is no denying that being active on Steemit can become very addicting. Whether it is the rush of trying to get that trending post for fame, getting paid for you content or the freedom to express yourself, once you start Steemin' you will get hooked.

And there is a lot to do on the Steem blockchain. In the beginning a lot of your time will go into trying to make sense of it all, coming to grips with all the different features. Then you will realize that your journey has just started and that understanding how Steemit works is just the beginning.

To become successful you will need to engage, comment, interact with your fellow Steemians and create quality content. To keep your payouts coming you will also need to keep posting regularly. Most people on Steemit will tell you that you need to post at least once a day.

When I started back in June 2017, I used to post everyday, twice if time allowed. I was able to keep this up until december 2017. Before december I was postin’ no matter what, even when I was on vacation, even when I was sick, I just had to get my Steemit post out….

It was also during that period that I was working on my template for Steemit, thinking about a layout, creating a theme for my posts. So even when I was not curating, commenting on the platform I was busy working on pics, banners and other graphics.

What started as a hobby with benefits turned into something much more serious. The change was gradual, it used to be that I spent 2- 3 hours on my post but then it became 4-6 and before I knew it everything was about Steemit. When I woke up I checked my post for comments and replies, check out the latest tidbits, every chance I got, I was on my phone Steemin’ away.

But something was wrong, the more time I spent Steemin’ the harder it became. I felt like I was in a downward spiral. I just couldn’t push myself to post as frequently anymore. I wouldn’t call it a burnout or something like that but the truth is that the motivation to Steem had gone.

So I took a vacation of sorts, some time away from my favorite past time. I stopped actively posting for about 2 months.

What I realized during my time away from Steemit is that this is not a sprint but a marathon, it is about the long term involvement. I tried to do everything at once while I should have taken a more conservative approach. I pushed myself too hard and paid the price for it.

Posting and being active daily is fine if you are in a position to do so but if you aren’t do not push yourself too hard. Taking a break from time to time can help your creativity and will help you avoid situations like mine where you just can’t get yourself pumped up enough to post anymore.

If I had paced myself I could have avoided being away from Steemit for two months.

It’s hard if you are used to post daily, it may feel weird not submitting that daily post and chances are you might feel guilty not reaching out to your followers. But in the long run it wil help you to preserve all that positive energy.

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