I Turned Off Comments On Today's Post and Future Ones...Temporarily

I feel guilty. And I'm not sure it's something I can totally control.
I feel guilty for:

Not reading enough blogs. (I do want to read so many blogs but it gets out of control.)

Not commenting on enough blogs. (I don't comment as much as I'd like to. And I feel guilty about that.)

Not responding to comments promptly enough. (While I'll do my best to reply quickly, sometimes my hectic schedule will prevent me from getting to you as promptly as I'd like-I feel guilty about that.)

I do feel really bad when I don't get around to visiting the sites of people that comment on my blog.

I've very reluctantly decided to disable comments on today's post and future ones...for now. TEMPORARILY. You know, I wouldn't have done so if I did not need to.
Yes, I will most definitely turn on the comments, but not for the next few weeks at least.

Don't get me wrong, I love blogging. I really do. And I love reading my readers' comments. You inspire me and you support me and I'm so thankful for having you as my blogging friends.
Also, as a blogger, I love receiving comments from people and interacting with them - It's always nice to be acknowledged. And I've enjoyed great discussions with other bloggers and readers as well.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that blogging takes hard work and dedication but even though I enjoy it so much there are so much more things that need to get done, including my photography improvement.

Although I'd love to get back to all of my fellow bloggers, I've still got a schedule to follow and things need to get done. I've also taken a step back from several social media platforms e.g. pinterest, twitter, tumblr. I simply do not have the energy to do everything. In all honesty, I have to prioritize my life and I often get stressed out; I'm worried about upsetting my readers for not responding to their comments...

I think it's probably best to disable comments on a few posts TEMPORARILY (so not to offend my fellow bloggers if I didn't reply to their comments) until I can.

That is not to say I will not comment on your posts. I will. I'll still be a regular reader/commenter.
See you around the blogosphere! xx

P.S. I do hope that you all understand and will continue visiting and reading my blog.

P.P.S. People can still e-mail me if they need any help or just to chat...

(Top photo via Jeffbullas.com , bottom photo via Experience Farm)

Is Blogging Taking Over Your Life?

Is blogging taking over your life? Does blogging ever leave you feeling overwhelmed? Does it prevent you from living your life? You're not alone.

You've got to take back control.

Blogging does have a way of controlling us instead of us controlling blogging. Lately, I found myself rushing from task-to-task and pushing past my limits working at 110% for week on end. I would like to confess: I am a terrible manager of time. Effective time management is something that I struggle with.

Blogging is fun but it takes hard dedication and a lot of sacrifice. Just get up earlier to write a post and read blogs, which means that you're only getting five hours of sleep at night. Should we be sacrificing our health?

There has to be a balance between blogging and living your life. When we focus our life on blogging...we forget to live. However, it's very hard to balancing it all with our life and still stay sane.
It's taken a few months, but I now feel that I've just about got the life-blogging balance right.

If you have a big dream for your blog or you want to grow your blog but struggle to get the balance right, here are 3 tips that I, personally, found to be the most useful and effective tips for a better life-blogging balance- Having been at blogging for four years and counting, I've learned a few things that might help.

Set Priorities-Do Less-Take a Break

-Set Priorities: Yes, prioritizing is key to balancing life and blogging. (Acknowledging that you have responsibilities, but also carve out time for yourself.)

-Do Less: Slow down. ( Notice what needs to be done.) This is a really helpful and effective strategy recommended by blogger Leo Babauta .

-Take a Break: Sometimes, you just need a break - from everything! (Clear your mind and refresh yourself to refocus. To regroup.)

I love blogging. I wouldn't trade it for the world. And I love all the people I've met through blogging. I haven't just made useful acquaintances, I have made friends. And I'm immensely grateful for the continuing support and engagement of a growing readership.
But down deep I know that if I want to keep loving blogging, I need to take a step back and assess my priorities.

How do you balance life and blogging? xx

(Top cartoon by David Walker , bottom cartoon via bloggingpro.com , illustration by Cem Kiziltug )

Linking to: Nablopomo at Blogher.com

and Wednesday Around the World 

Add Cute Social Media Buttons to Your Blog - Going Social + Photos of the Week

Found on athgo

Hello, friends. How are you? Yeah. It's good to be back. So in the last post I mentioned making some changes in an effort to refresh my blog.

What changed? To begin with, I've decided to change my social media approach regarding my blog and integrate social media into my site.

Found on VIRALBLOG

I'm happy to announce that CUT and DRY is finally getting social! There is no doubt that blogs are indeed social media. What I really want to say is that I finally realized that social media is important and I really need to get more actively involved with my social media platforms. Keep in mind that integrating your blog with social media is a great way to maximize your web traffic to your site. So, find some social media icons you like and add them to your site.
Speaking of, social media buttons are easy to set up, most importantly, eye-catching enough to draw reader to your social networks profiles. They also let the visitor stay on the site and share the content on their social media profiles with just a click.

In this post you'll also find some pretty Free Social Media Buttons for your blog. Just for fun!
I've done the rounds of searching for cute social media icons that are free and I found these super lovely sets of social media buttons for you. 
  
Honestly, I can't count the amount of time I have spent surfing on different social media platforms  over the past couple of weeks.
There are probably so many social media channels out there that you can choose from but the trick here is to ensure that every engagement done has a high chance of success as it can be really hard to figure out which ones to use. Is it worth the time investment? How to use them?

Found on Graphic Mania net

Social media can be tricky. Because it can be so time-consuming, but it is still well worth it!
Social networks have become a part of everyone's life- in fact, social media has become a natural part of our daily browsing. Engaging in social media is key to achieving visibility, and for building new on-line relationships.
So I picked...
three social media channels- the ones that work best for me. Remember, you don't need to be everywhere.
Who can actually have time to be active on every social media platform? Who can keep up with it all, it's simply impossible. In trying to be everywhere, we are nowhere. Pick the ones you find suit your blog best. Better to use one or two social media platforms really effectively than it is to spread yourself too thin.

I use Google Plus a lot. I find that Google+ is usually the one I go "easy" on. I keep myself maximum active on G+ just because I love it. We first crossed paths late in 2012 and haven't looked back since.

I don't use Twitter as much and find that there is a little to no activity on my account there in terms of following.

Pinterest, which I use sporadically- I need to reactivate my Pinterest acoount- is a virtual pin board for images, where you categorize things that you love. Pinterest can be a great way to find inspiration...