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Elan Creative Co.

whimsical graphic design

I’m taking a break

August 14, 2018

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. I work a lot. I love what I do and I’m always thinking about new ways to grow my business and help people improve their skills.

I don’t really take breaks. Yes, I try to work from 9 to 5 or 6 or 7 and I try to take the weekends off. But it’s not really like that. There are always emails and support requests that come after hours. And it’s hard for me to ignore them.

At the end of last year, after 7 years of freelancing, I managed to take 3 weeks off and travel through Asia. It was wonderful, but I still had to check my emails every morning. There are always important emails and I’m afraid of missing opportunities. 

I should have felt better after traveling and taking a couple of weeks off for the winter holidays, but things were even harder. I noticed that I don’t go out as much. I rarely do anything that’s not work-related. I always stress about new blog posts, videos, and products.

My business is doing better than ever, but it’s taking a toll on my personal life. I never even realized how much it harmed me because I was always thinking about business stuff.

So I’m taking a break

I like to talk a lot about breaks and the importance of mental health. Unfortunately, I’m not always following my advice.

In the past few years, I decided to let go of stressful projects. I rarely do custom designs and I focus on my products. It’s just not enough.

Right now, the best choice for me is to take a break from blogging and vlogging. I started to write less this year, but I still stress about it. I’m not sure how long this break will be or if I will ever come back to this.

I’m very happy that I managed to create content that still helps so many people. The one thing that keeps me going is hearing how much you love my posts and tutorials. I started this blog because I wanted to help people that are trying to grow a creative business, but I’m the one that needs help right now.

I’m also taking a break from YouTube. This one really hurts. I spent the past year filming and editing tutorials. I love doing that! I wasn’t expecting it to take off and it gave me so much confidence that I can do great things.

If you love my YouTube channel, I’m still working on something special and I hope to show it to you soon!

I’m not taking a break from work

I have so many plans for the following months. I’ve been thinking about finding a regular job and that doesn’t sound so scary right now. In fact, I already applied for a few jobs.

What I know for sure is that I don’t want to close my business right now. I’m still working on new products and small custom projects. I still have so many things left to do and I’m really looking forward to working on them.

I just need a break from all the other things like blogging, email marketing, and social media. These are things that help you grow your business. And at the same time, you have to spend more time worrying about them than you do working on new projects.

The best thing for me right now is to relax and try new things. I do hope to be able to come back and do everything I love without the pressure that I feel right now.

Until then, you can still find me on Instagram. I’ll try to share new projects and maybe I’ll even start a personal account.

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About Cristina Silvia

Hey there! I’m Cristina, and I’m a self-taught graphic designer and illustrator. With an everlasting love of all creative endeavors, I found joy in sharing with others what I’ve learned over the years and helping bloggers and entrepreneurs bring their dreams to life through beautiful designs.

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Comments

  1. Sandy says

    August 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    Oh I have been were you are now. Or at least it sounds like a record of me. Even if I love your blog and vlog and will miss you, you are doing the right thing. I hope I see you returning to the blog some day, you are really good at it. But your health comes first. Take care and try to just exhale. Lots of love

    • Cristina Silvia says

      August 21, 2018 at 5:12 pm

      Thank you for your kind words, Sandy! I’m going to miss you and everyone who reads this blog. I’m treating this as a break. I’d like to come back and I already have ideas for new posts, but right now I need this time away.

  2. cutequokka2 says

    December 6, 2018 at 8:24 am

    Thank you so much for your tutorials. I have learnt a lot and I have improved my illustrator skills a lot. I hope you could get well soon and make some awesome videos again. Thank you again!

    • Cristina Silvia says

      December 6, 2018 at 7:46 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m doing well, but I’m not sure when or if I’ll be back.

      • cutequokka2 says

        December 7, 2018 at 5:19 pm

        Hi! I am so glad to hear that. I think you might earn some income from patternbank, shutterstock , creative market and teepublic. You could see what is the most popular design from the sales of these platforms. I hope this advice could help you. Goodbye! Happy Friday!

  3. Jemima says

    January 14, 2019 at 12:51 am

    Cristina
    I have just found you! I am struggling to learn adobe illustrator. I have embarked on a surface design course and required to use illustrator… This is giving me a headache.

  4. Michelle says

    May 4, 2020 at 2:13 am

    I found your blog around a year ago and I really like it wishing you all the best!

    • Cristina Silvia says

      May 4, 2020 at 7:43 am

      Thank you, Michelle!

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