If you've ever suffered from bloggers burnout, you'll know that it's not a great situation to be in. Every blogger has the potential to burn themselves out, some more often than others. And if this is something you haven't yet experienced for yourself, let's hope you never have to.
Even if you haven't yet experienced bloggers burnout, it's better to be prepared for it just in case that day does come.
When you work or focus too hard on your blog, without taking time to rest properly, recuperate, and recharge your batteries, you end up running yourself into the ground.
Additionally, if you're skipping meals and not drinking enough water because you're so focused on your blog, you're going to mentally and physically drain yourself dry.
Eventually, you'll end up burned out.
I myself experienced 'burn out' back in 2013 for the first and only time in my almost 10-year blogging journey.
The long hours spent in front of my computer, isolating myself away from family and friends, day in and day out. Not eating and sleeping properly, and not even exercising soon took its toll on me.
I never thought I could experience 'burning out' for myself, to be honest. I just thought if I'm dedicated enough to blogging then why should it matter?
Eventually, I did find that wall, and I hit it very hard.
It was the Spring of 2013, after almost 3 years of flat out grinding nonstop, I hit the wall in blogging, and my creative mind, my motivation, my focus, and energy all simply came to a grinding halt.
To top it all off, this experience didn't just last a few days, it went on for three whole months.
In that time-span, I didn't write a single blog post, I didn't respond to a single comment, I couldn't be bothered with blog promotion. I just did nothing! I just woke up one morning in March and I couldn't be bothered!
Instead, my focus shifted to playing video games, reading comics, and watching movies.
Now and again I would try and focus on some blogging related activity, but I found myself procrastinating more and more on YouTube and social media.
I finally decided to do something about my situation and get back into enjoying working on my blog again.
I felt the need to, and for the most part, I still had a passion for blogging. If I didn't then I certainly wouldn't be still doing it today in 2019. That said, something wasn't quite making me feel energetic and motivated to blog.
So, in all it's glory, here are 10 wonderful things that helped me to find my rhythm and creative flow to fall in love with blogging again.
Yes... Consuming your soul...
When our two children were born we put them into a routine from day one, and seven years later, that routine has pretty much kept them and us in line.
As parents, we rarely need to keep our kids in a routine anymore because they do that themselves. The habit has become engrained.
When I finally got my act together to start blogging again in June of 2013, I decided to put myself into a similar routine.
Getting into, and maintaining, a rock-solid blogging routine can certainly help you to be more focused and motivated on your blogging activities.
I had to cultivate my routine around my lifestyle as a busy dad, of course. But also, around the times that I felt the most energized and motivated to blog.
I found, from my own personal experiences, that writing blog posts roughly the same time each week helped a lot. I tend to dedicate Monday and Tuesday mornings to writing content for my blog.
Takeaway tip: Put yourself into a routine and stick with it for as long as you can. Eventually it will become engrained.
Creating SMART daily goals will certainly help you get more done in your blogging week.
In addition, goal setting is a positive way to stay motivated, focused, and a great way to measure your success.
Having something to focus and aim for every day can completely dispel any possibility of suffering from bloggers burnout since your focus is on reaching your one goal for the day, and not trying to complete lots of disorganized things in a single day.
Takeaway tip: I use a blogging to-do list that consists of no more than 5 small reachable goals. Check out my Ultimate Pro Blog Planner Workbook to access the to-do list I use in my blogging.
What's the benefit of brainstorming for post ideas in advance?
Well, so that you can always have a list of topics to write about.
This was something I started doing a lot more of, and using my Blog Planner post ideas template to write ideas down meant that I could have access to a bunch of topics to write about anytime.
Takeaway tip: Spend 20 minutes each week finding topic ideas to add to your post topic list. Look through the comment section of your blog, social media posts, and visit blog community sites to see what's trending and whether you can create a post with your own spin and insights. Keep this list handy for the future.
Probably one of the most time-saving tactics I've ever done as a blogger is to schedule my blog writing.
At the beginning of each month, I pick out 4 blog post topics I want to write for the month. I then schedule them using CoSchedule.
As you know, my routine demands that I spend Monday creating content for my blog, I literally spend as much of the day writing content. So, by Wednesday at the latest, I have a post to publish.
Takeaway tip: Use a blog content scheduling tool like CoSchedule, or a free content calendar plugin to help you get organized with your blog writing.
I was clearly spending far too much time in front of my computer, so now I take longer and more frequent breaks in between sessions.
I love spending time outside so if I take a 15-minute break, I'll usually stand outside with a nice cup of green tea. A break means I can adjust my eyes, stretch my legs, and doing some simple breathing exercises.
After taking a short break, I head back in and carry on with my blogging.
Takeaway tip: Do something similar. Your health is far more important than ensuring you have a blog post published in time. A 15-minute break is short enough to recharge yourself, but not too long that you lose focus on what you were doing.
I created a dedicated guest blogging page to invite authentic, knowledgeable, experts to come and write on my blog.
I've' had some success with this and it means by allowing guest authors I can get back some time to focus on managing my blogging business.
Takeaway tip: Sometimes, when no matter how hard you try, you simply can't muster the motivation to write, or can't think of anything really worthy of putting words together for a blog post. In times like these, it's time to call in some guest writers. Quality guest posts can help to ensure that your blog stays updated with fresh content, while you get yourself organized and motivated for writing again. If you don't trust anyone to write quality content for your blog, consider hiring an expert writer.
Don't wait until it's too late. As I said at the start of this post, every blogger is perceptible to burning out, it's just a matter of time. When you work too hard or focus your efforts beyond what is considered normal, your body and mind will shut down.
Watch out for the signs, if you are starting to feel fatigued and begin losing motivation to blog, chances are that's a sign to change strategy.
Best of luck.
