Grace Bonney, pro blogger at design*sponge, wrote about the lessons she learned from breaking through business and blogging plateaus in her recent column on Slate's BizBoxBlog.
At least a few times a year I think about closing up shop and going to do something completely different (culinary school, a graduate program, running away to work at a cheese shop in Montmartre) but I always manage to find a way to pull myself out and find a new project that excites me and makes things new again. How did I get out? I rely upon a series of time-tested methods for dragging myself out of business-boredom.
What does Grace recommend?
- Take a break, like a day or ten, to chill out and smell the roses.
- Talk to your peers in the business. The recent Science Blogging Conference was actually perfect in this regard.
- Talk to clients and customers for ideas.
- Research your niche to see what's new.
- Learn and try out new technical tricks, like podcasting, e-commerce, and hosting conferences.
- Don't try out all of your new ideas at once. Roll them out one at a time.
- Get in touch with what makes you happy. Maybe it's time to move on. Or maybe you're so brimming with new ideas that you can't wait to get started on the next big thing.