I know. It’s been ages since anything new has appeared on A Simple Homestead. Right about the time I finished the camping series and released a new pattern. How nice of me to entice people to start following this site … and then disappear.
Why? Well, the short version would be to say “life happened”. In reality it is a bit more complicated. Sure, my day time job became an insanity race this summer – and that meant that I had little brain power or energy left after work hours.
A better truth would be that I have been in a funk for close to a year now. I wouldn’t call it depression. I’ve been down that road before and this wasn’t like that.*** (see below)
More likely a severe case of overwhelm. It was roughly two years ago I started building A Simple Homestead – both the homesteading blog and my design business. I was listening to and reading lots of information about general business, craft businesses and even specifically yarn-related ones. And if absorbing some information is good, then more is better, right?
Nope. Nope. And NOPE.
I found myself constantly feeling there were so many more ideas I should incorporate:
- You need a newsletter to stay in touch with your people (well, I did listen to this one 🙂 )
- All the great blogs are on Instagram!
- To get your products visible you need to be on Pinterest!
- Facebook ads are where you’ll find your customers!
- You really need to create an online course – and a webinar to bring people in!
Shall I go on?
Too many voices telling me which way to go.
Tara Swiger is one of the few that gives advice that I should have paid attention to. To paraphrase: “Pick One. Just one. And then concentrate on that until you become consistent. Only then should you think about adding anything else!“
So what does that mean for A Simple Homestead? It means I am going back to the basics. I have silenced (unsubscribed from) those unnecessary voices. I’m going to concentrate on writing for this site and my design work. There will probably be more Instagram pics again because I love that site :-).
I will be back real soon with an actual homestead update. I promise!
*** Mental Health is a serious issue and often misunderstood. If you are experiencing any signs of depression including:
- Feeling sad, tearful, empty or hopeless
- Irritability or anger
- Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much
- Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
- Trouble concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
- Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide
(See this link for more symptoms and further information)
Please, please, PLEASE seek help! Talk to a doctor, a friend, a counselor, or a minister / priest. Call the helpline at the National Institute of Mental Illness: 800-950-6264. Or even call 911. If you are having thoughts of suicide do it immediately. Life is precious… and so are you!