A little over a week ago, I spent a large part of my weekend in front of the computer. I like to have a weekend every now and again that involves nothing but planned computer time – it’s a nice way for me to relax without having to worry about being anywhere or wearing myself out with social obligations. As the weekend wore on, I tweeted that I was getting blogged out.
I didn’t expect a reply, but @thatgrrl replied, “Don’t let your blog defeat you! lol Write about what blogged out means. Show that blog who’s boss!”
Not quite what I meant – it’s hard to convey exactly how you feel in 140 characters. I meant that I even though I had planned to spend the weekend surfing the net, I was tired and needed a nap and blogs just weren’t doing enough to keep me awake. But she did give me a great idea for a blog post.
With anything we do, not just blogging, I think we’re all susceptible to burnout, no matter how long we’ve been at it. It’s just mentioned more in the blogosphere because that’s what bloggers do. The key is knowing how to avoid it.
I read a few great posts over the weekend about this very topic. ProBlogger’s Avoid Blogger Burnout – 5 Tips to Save Your Sanity is geared towards the pros and wanna-be pros, but the tips can very easily apply to personal bloggers. The SITS Girls 10 Blogging Pitfalls You Should Avoid also covers some ways to keep the balance in your life to avoid becoming a slave to your blog.
Over the past few months, as I’ve gotten back into the blogging habit, I developed some ways to avoid getting blogged out:
- I schedule posts in advance of their posting date. This way I can have some new stuff planned and not worry about life getting in the way, or I can take time to just read what everyone else is writing. And while I’ve been ahead of the curve lately, I don’t worry about writing all my posts at once. I write them as they come, and it’s been enough lately that I’m constantly one step ahead.
- I’m sticking to a 3 post per week schedule, M-W-F for the most part. It’s somewhat flexible, so I can write on the fly or write a special post that for whatever reason can’t be scheduled on M-W-F, it allows for fairly evenly spaced posts so that something new comes out approximately every other day, and it’s not so often that I have trouble coming up with something new.
- I realized recently that writing before I sit down to read means that I produce better, more coherent posts, and I get them done faster. If I can remember to do that on a more regular basis, then writing won’t seem like such a chore.
- I know my limits. When I’ve had enough of the blogosphere for the time being, I step away from the computer. My blog doesn’t suffer from it – on the contrary, it helps my blog because it keeps my mind refreshed.
- I keep a notebook of ideas next to my computer so that I always have a source of inspiration.
- I don’t worry about stats, comments, or other metrics. Seeing lots of visitors on our blogs is exciting, and getting lots of comments is even more fun, but I don’t worry about it too much. I enjoy writing and having my own space in the blogosphere, which is what drew me to blogging in the first place. The rest of that stuff is just icing on the cake.
- I always make sure I’m having fun. I never want blogging to feel like an obligation – that goes for writing my blog and reading your blogs.
Have you ever been blogged out? What do you do to overcome it?
Other Posts Like Me:
- 10 Ways to Get Inspired to Blog
- Personal Blogging Crusader
- 10 Tips for Personal Bloggers
- About Pages for Personal Bloggers
- When You Don’t Feel Like Blogging
This is a great post! I have a few ways of combating burn out – but the main one is just to focus on the ‘creative’ moods. This morning, I was in the mood to write. I wanted to write about the struggles I’m facing right now, so I did. And as I was writing, my thought process branched out into several posts -and I now have several follow up posts all ready to go, whenever I choose.
I like this because it means that there’s none of that … blank, staring at my screen with nothing to write, scenarios in my imminent future. It happens, of course, but at least I have posts to tide me over until inspiration strikes again!
I make a lot of crazy notes which I later try to remember what it was about. Always something that came to me in a flash as I was reading something else or doing something else, etc. If I keep getting ideas I always have something else to write about, even when I think I am burnt out on the whole thing. I have also taken a vacation from it all when I wanted a break. I don’t push myself to write it when I really don’t want to. But, I do tend to keep posts already written that I can publish as needed.
That’s what I try to do – write when I’m inspired and schedule a bunch of stuff, and try not to sweat it if I got nothing or I need a break.