Over Coffee is a segment at A Novel Idea in where we discuss all things bookish. Ranging from events, book blogger tips, book releases and predictions, and how to’s.
Missed the last discussion? Find it here
Today’s topic is one that, sooner or later, we all experience. As bloggers, we are constantly working on posts, images, researching new ways to make our blog better, etc…And after a time, we begin to feel the effects of constantly working.
Running a blog is WORK. Whether you do it for free or are an affiliate blogger, running a blog requires dedication and lots of time. Things that you would’ve never put much thought into.
After a while, you feel uninspired, unable to focus on writing your blog posts, and on marketing your blog on social media. The feeling of it being a chore starts to settle in and you become unhappy with what you are doing.
Blogging Burn Out SUCKS
It stomps on all your hopes and aspirations for your blog, makes you tired and unable to share your creations with the world.
BUT FRET NOT!
There are things you can do to help fight the burn out!
Over Coffee: 4 tips on beating Blogging Burn Out
Take a break: It is okay to take a step away from blogging for a while to replenish your energy. Whether it be a few days to weeks and even months, whatever it takes to help you clear the fog and gain that energy back. Taking a break from blogging gives you a chance to be re-inspired, read for leisure, and removes that pressure we tend to put on ourselves to push out content. It allows us more time to dedicate to other projects we may have been juggling or even just veg out and do nothing.
However, if you’re the type to not take breaks for fear of falling out of habit then maybe the next few tips would work for you:
Change your schedule: Sometimes you need to spice up your routine and switch it around! Do you post everyday? Maybe shifting your schedule to every other day will help. Or maybe posting a few times a week instead might be better. Are you someone who posts constantly first thing in the morning? Try posting later in the day to give yourself some you time at the beginning of the day.
Moving your schedule around can give you a small restart on your routine and makes it more manageable and breaks the feeling of dread we begin to feel after a while of doing the same thing over and over and over again.
Invite Other bloggers to Guest Post: Listen, constantly coming up with content isn’t easy and like I mentioned before, it’s okay to take breaks. But if you are someone who doesn’t want to put a full stop to their blog, you can try inviting other bloggers to Guest Post.
You can provide them with a book tag, have them discuss a particular theme or interview them for a blogger feature segment.
Post Shorter Posts: Not a favorite of mine but sometimes there is no other choice but to do it. Posting shorter posts minimizes the time you spend over thinking about it and it teaches you to get your point across in a constrained word count. Some examples of short posts are: Bullet Point Reviews, Book Tags that have 5 or less prompts, or a quick Blogger/Blog update (no more than 2 paragraphs)
How do you deal with blogging burn out? Do you have your own advice for dealing with it?
Let me know in the comments below!
XOXOXO,
Jeimy
Ah I loved this post Jeimy! Blogging burn out is something I’ve experienced a lot in my nearly 3 years of blogging because I struggled to go on hiatus. Now though I’ve learned that it’s ok to take breaks, to just let the blog rest so you as the blogger can spend time resting. In the end it’s allowed my creativity to come back and flourish whereas before I was scrambling at dust for ideas haha.
Something I do if I can feel myself approach a burn out, is step back and ask myself why this burn out is approaching. Is it because I’m depleting my creativity pool and not replenishing it? Is it because I’ve pushed myself too much? Or is it because my head space and mindset have slipped and my body and mind are asking for a break from as many things, as I can give it? If it’s creativity I’m lacking I’ll take some time out to consume content and engage with others, whether its blogs, instagram, YouTube etc. If it’s me pushing myself too much I may take a few days/a week to decompress. If it’s the last one then I’ll shove myself into hiatus so I’m not putting pressure on myself to create content as that pressure doesn’t help.
Asking yourself questions is a great method on pin pointing the cause of burn out! Thank you for sharing that, Clo! I should ask myself more questions! haha
This is absolutely me right now, mixed with being overtired from work after working so much in times of the lockdown and never even stopped (really should’ve taken thoses vacations earlier.. mmmhrm)
I feel like memes can help, or events like the bookendings where you get prompts and all you need to do is fill the blanks — so that way it kind of “saves you” from thinking of the post itself and what imma gonna do and all that..
Memes and bookendings are a huge help!! Fill in the blanks are lifesaver when you dont have the energy to come up with something on your own or are looking for quick content that doesn’t require too much brain enerfy.
I hope things have eased up on your end, Kristina!!
i agree with these tips for sure. ive thrown my schedule away and instead just focusing on enjoying the content im creating, with the aim of 1 post a week 🙂 its definitely helped
<3 I'm about to throw the schedule away too but then I wouldnt have use of my planners D: #plannerproblems haha!
Enjoying your content is a MUST. I think prioritizing your enjoyment of your own content vs putting out content to meet a quota/schedule is much better!! I need to get on that boat! Sometimes I feel like I HAVE TO meet the schedule I set up for myself.
Thank you for reading <3
I totally agree that blogging is really hard work at times, and all the stress can catch up to you especially if life gets in the way as well. Unfortunately, this is a problem I frequently encounter and am still getting used to. Admittedly, I have this bad habit wherein I completely disappear from blogging and the community whenever I’m having a burnout. It seems like my defense mechanism for this is to abruptly take an indefinite hiatus and completely give up on blogging for a few months (even years), which I’ve done at least thrice now. 🥺 I know that it’s a bad approach to the situation so I’ll try other things when I have blogging burnout again. Your post has really been helpful! I have a pretty relaxed schedule, posting whenever I have something to share or if I’m feeling inspired. However, I haven’t done guest posts so I guess that’s something I have to try. Thanks so much for the tips, Jeimy! 💓
I’m glad this post helped you <3
It's okay to step back! Dont feel like it's a bad thing. We all cope with burn out in our own ways and sometimes we need to break things off with everything for a while. Even if that while is more than a few months.
There are other things you can do in the meantime 🙂 Not to mention, think of that long hiatus period as a journey to recharging. you'll have lots to talk about whenever you come back to the blogging world.
I think that the community is very forgiving from what I have experience and will always welcome you back with open arms.
Great tips. I am seriously trying hard to ward off the dreaded burn out, but in case I fail, I have your tips to fall back on. Thank you for sharing.
Im Happy that the tips are useful for you! I hope you find the energy to overcome the dreaded burn off!!! <3
Thank you for reading!