How to Take an End of Year Break as a Content Creator

What I Do Every Year

Michelle Jackson

Nov 22, 2023

∙ Paid

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January Calendar

Creators Getting Paid Mastermind-Begins after Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. Check the Black Friday Deals to get your spot. Limit to 15 spots.
Creating an Impactful (And Paid) Vision for Your Online Brand in 2024-Free Meetup on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST
In-Person workshop-How to Build and Grow a Newsletter that Pays (in 2024) I break down what works, what doesn’t and mistakes to avoid in 2024. Every person who runs an online brand who is serious about making money within their brand MUST have an email list or newsletter.
- Leave the workshop understanding how to monetize your specific newsletter
  - Learn Michelle’s affiliate strategy
  - Get a chance to ask Michelle questions specific to your newsletter
  - Learn how to “sell” within your newsletter
  - How often to send out your newsletter and more
  - Cost: $147
  - When: Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 10:00 am MTN/12:00 pm EST
    - Zoom details will be shared the week of the workshop
    - Plan for at least 1.5-2 hours

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Are You Taking a Break?

It is the day before Thanksgiving and I have been easing off on content creation and everything connected to it for the past couple of weeks. In fact, there are several times of year when I stop doing “front facing” work for my brand and take a rest. What do I mean by “front facing” work?

Livestreams
New content
Podcast interviews where I’m the guest
Collaborations
Running workshops (I wrapped things up a week ago)

Instead, I focus on taking the following actions at this time of year.

Batching content such as solo podcast episodes
Reviewing what worked and what didn’t work during the year
I’m in the process of interviewing experts for Creators Getting Paid and the Podcasters Getting Paid segment of the newsletter.
Prep work for any project that I’m working on in 2024.
Rest-I value resting as often as possible because creative work takes a lot of energy to do. Especially when you’re monetizing parts of that work.

How to Design these Breaks

This year I haven’t been as hardcore about my break as I usually am. Typically you won’t see me online anywhere and I head to the mountains for a few days to decompress. This year I’m still popping into Twitter Spaces because they have been really enjoyable to participate in. Typically, I would be completely off social media.

Step #1-Don’t Overthink the Break

We all need to rest throughout the year. You do not need to do the following as a content creator building an online brand.

Apologize for taking a break.
Explain why you’re taking a break
Make it a weird big deal.
Take too short of a break because you’re afraid that people will be upset that you’re taking a break.

Step #2-Announce That You’re Taking a Break

Typically I create content such as a podcast or some type of post that announces that I’m taking a break and when I “should” be returning to making content on my platform. At this time of year (the winter holiday season) most people are distracted by their own lives, family stuff, etc. and it’s the perfect time to disappear for several weeks.

Change your social media headers sharing that you’re on a break.
Run a YouTube Channel? Record a short episode reflecting on the year, etc.
Tell people when you see them in-person or virtually.
- Don’t make it a big deal or be weird about it. You’re taking a break from YOUR business that YOU’RE building.

Lean into the things that you value during that time:

Spending time with family and friends
Self-care
Going to the theater, watching sports live, volunteering
Travel
Naps
Enjoying the outdoors
Other creative pursuits

Step #3-Pay Attention

When you’re taking your time off, spend some time paying attention to how you’re feeling.

Are you anxious about being “missed” or having FOMO?
Are there other times of year when business slows down for whatever reason?
- Time of year-for me some parts of my brand are very slow during the summer. But, one of my brands picks up during the summer because it’s adjacent to the travel content space.