It’s official: I lost my fight with the burnout monster. I have allowed this blog to die a slow, disrespectful death, and I haven’t kept up with anything blog-related, including my staff writing, tweeting and commenting.

When I posted my last post (on September 5th…a full 2 months ago), I had every intention of picking up this little blog, dusting it off and getting back to business as usual. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was short one very key ingredient for a successful return recipe: Action.

I’ve talked about it multiple times here on the Happy Homeowner, but I’ve never spelled it out quite like this:

Intention is nothing without action.

The best laid plans can easily go awry when there’s no concrete plan for action. And that’s just what I was lacking–a plan for how to get myself out of the burnout mud, get back on the horse and make this blog everything I had dreamed it to be just a few short months ago.

While I was gathering/organizing my thoughts for what I’d write in this post weeks ago, I did a bit of research and found this gem from an article in Scientific American: “It’s okay to get stressed, but you also have to find time during the day to rest,” [Agneta Sandström says]. Just as your muscles can get tired, so can your brain. “We need to think about how much the brain can cope with during a normal workday,” [she says].

It was as if the clouds parted and the sun shined down on me–I was doing too much, spinning my wheels in 57 directions yet not really going anywhere. And that stressed the (insert expletive here) out of me.

I’d lost sense of what I was truly doing and where I was going. In turn, I lost interest in my passion for blogging and connecting with other bloggers–I basically dropped everything non-work related like a bad habit.

Thankfully, that loss was temporary because I’m ready more than ever to make this blog the best it can be. While I can say this over and over and in multiple ways, I’ll simply begin with my content  plan moving forward as I’m thinking a bit of structure will help me navigate my way back to the path I’d be on P.B. (pre-burnout).

New content on The Happy Homeowner

Here’s what you can find daily moving forward on the Happy Homeowner (At the very least, posts will be published on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday):

Sunday: Miscellaneous updates/meal planning/etc.
Monday: Money Mondays
Tuesday: Shopping/deals/discounts
Wednesday: Money-themed miscellaneous
Thursday: PF Miscellaneous
Friday: Friday Link Love
Saturday: DIY projects, fitness or things that make me laugh

Think of this blog as a personal finance blog with flair–a bit of money, a bit of lifestyle, all wrapped together in a cute, teal bow. Looking forward to the next chapter with all of you!

Let me know your thoughts about these new changes!

 

Photo credit: Maria Rey