There’s no denying that 2020 has been quite the year. Everyone from every facet in my life has admitted to being burned out, whether it be with work, school, blogging, reading, etc. Just two-ish months into a shiny new decade and everything we knew was flipped upside down, and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that this year has made me reevaluate things. 2020 has made me lean into the unexpected little joys that I love (inside jokes with my husband, old reality tv, organizing my home, etc) and dread things I didn’t realize I would find so difficult (daily monotony, the exhaustion of going outside and disinfecting every inch of myself when I came back inside, simply checking the news). While most (if not all) of our personal lives have been in upheaval this year, I always felt guilt in letting that seep into my blog in any way- after all, it’s a hobby that’s done completely indoors and that, theoretically, shouldn’t be impacted by the pandemic or the rest of the nonsense that happened this year.
Yet despite this reasoning, I did find my creativity take a bit of a hit. It was hard to follow the business as usual schedule when it felt like everything was on fire (somewhat literally at times here on the West Coast). From COVID to wildfires, political unrest to shocking loss after loss, living in a state of sustained panic and collective societal anxiety did not make for the most productive year, creatively. I found myself honestly more anxious on weekends and in evenings when I had free time during which I could have been reading or blogging, when my mind wasn’t blissfully absorbed by my job. At times, blogging felt like I was just shouting into the void of the internet which had become a collective dumping ground for our emotions and collective trauma that we were all experiencing (and still are experiencing) from being confined to our homes.
Now with the holiday season upon us and a few solid weeks off of work to really reevaluate both my hobbies and what the future holds for me in 2021 and beyond (especially since we won’t be stopping quarantine in our household anytime soon), I’ve decided that after nearly 7 years of blogging it’s time to shake things up a little bit. I am not the same person I was back in 2014, and the world is certainly not the same place. I look back at where I started on this blogging journey and am simultaneously so proud of myself (I had no idea what I was doing and now book blogging is so natural) and yet frustrated because there’s so much more I feel this space can be, and so much more I want to talk about and share.
Moving into 2021, Girl in the Pages will still primarily put out bookish content (it’s my first love, after all!) but I’ve also decided to incorporate more lifestyle and beauty content too. I feel like I used to do this every once in a while when I’d highlight different trips and bookish conventions I went to, and it kept my blog feeling fresh and exciting. With travel being discouraged for the foreseeable future, I’d love to feature some of the other things I’m indulging in while stuck at home, especially my love for things such as makeup, clothing, fitness, organization, and more!
If you’ve read this far, I want to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you for staying with me for this long, and for your support and readership over the past 7 years. The online book community has been such a wonderful addition to my life and so many wonderful memories and friendships have come from it. I hope you’ll stick around in 2021 (and beyond!) to continue to share in my love of books but also be open to chatting with me about other content!
I can’t wait to see all of your new content in 2021! I personally love when my favorite book bloggers incorporate more lifestyle posts into their repertoire! And I can totally relate regarding 2020 being a disaster- I too felt creatively stifled for most of the year but I’ve been having a lot of fun blogging again!
Thank you so much Kristin! <333 I just feel like my life has changed so much from when I started this blog and I'm excited to talk about books BUT there are other things I want to chat about too! Honestly, since I decided to do this it's like my passion for blogging has been reignited again! Also I LOVE your new blog design!
I hear you on 2020 being a year of burnout. I feel like we’ve been functioning in a state of emergency ever since the pandemic began (if not before that) and it was inevitable. I’ve spent way less time blogging and both living it and missing it deeply. I am here for any changes you might want to do, it’s all about changing and growing as you do.
Aw, thank you so much Becky, I so appreciate that!
I’m a bit of an organisation geek so definitely a yes to that kind of content! I like reading lifestyle stuff.
Thank you so much!
I always love reading your Disney trips content and just lifestyle content in general as it feels like we’re getting to know the person behind the blog!
Thank you so much, Tasya! I can’t wait to go back to Disney so I have more to post about…hopefully in 2022!
Yesss, I love to hear it! I’ve been trying to do this slowly over the years too!
I love that you do more lifestyle stuff on your blog! Honestly I think it’s super interesting to see what people are up to outside of books!
I completely agree, the 2020-pandemic-burnout was (and still is) so real. I think I only posted a handful of times during this whole year and i want to do better going into 2021 because I really miss blogging. And in about a month I’ll finally have the time! I’m so excited to see your new content (organization, yes please!) and I hope it’ll bring more happiness to your life! We all need a little bit more of that, I think 🙂
Totally agree! Honestly two months into 2021 and the burnout is still here (I long for the days when I spend more than a few minutes outside my house every week!) but at least there *seems* to be a light at the end of the tunnel!