Dealing with blogger burn out

Job burn out. You’ve been doing your job for what feels like forever, and you feel like you’re in an unshakeable funk. It makes you wonder why you are doing what you are doing. It happens in all kinds of jobs, and there is nothing in the world like blogger burn out.

Burn out is hard in any job, but even more so when you are in a self-employed job where you are the one producing and responsible for your own pay check. If you are still at the stage where you are excited to get your hands on the key board, then you are not there yet. But, if you feel like you wonder what happened, you used to love blogging, in fact be excited to blog,you couldn’t wait to share… but now you dread having to come up with the next idea,feel like you are going through the motions, or even wonder if the not so fabulous money all of the time is worth it, this post is for you! Congratulations! You’ve hit blogger burn out!

I’ve been blogging for almost 9 years. I hit a massive burn out about year 6, and then again recently.

That’s the one thing they don’t tell you, that burn out isn’t a one time deal. You might go up and own many, many times, and it’s totally normal. Especially if you hit a funk when you are experiencing a plateau and feel like you are going no where, or if things have changed and you’ve hit a sudden revenue drop. It’s frustrating and makes you question what you are doing!

There are many ways to get back in your groove though and work through it. The thing is, if you truly loved blogging and sharing at one time and can’t see yourself doing anything else, there are ways to get that spark back.

Here are some simple tips that have helped me,I wanted to share them with you. I hope they can help you find your blogging mojo…

1.Take a break. Because sometimes you are over-hustled.

I know it sounds obvious, but sometimes you need to step away from the keyboard, and all of the social media junk. It can make your head swim and even make you feel like you aren’t enough and can contribute to burn out.  Take a full week break and take time to re-evaluate, and reassess before you throw in the towel.

2. Take on a new hobby

Seriously, I am not kidding. I know blogging used to be your hobby and now its your job. And sometimes that it’s just not as fun any more. So,It’s time to do something fun and gain a brand new perspective all for you and only you, not for the blog! It could be something creative, exercising (don’t roll your eyes) or even just scheduled library time, but sometimes something new sparks the creativity you need.

3. Start exercising(again no eye rolling)

There’s a reason it’s called blogger butt. Plus,sitting is the new smoking. Get out in the sun and walk. Go to the gym and move your muscles. Believe it or not, too much sitting can be depressing. Go move!

4. Meet people

We bloggers tend to be loners. That’s a bad thing sometimes, because it can become isolating. And you start having conversations and agreements with nobody.

Meet a friend, a blogger friend or you mom, but start getting out of the house on a regular basis.

5.Go places.

I had the biggest spark of creativity and motivation after I attended  a blogger conference. It’s a great way to find out new ideas, and things you didn’t even know that are going on. It can be informative as well as fun and you can come home renewed and refreshed. Enthusiasm is contagious.

6. Find a contributor or two

Sometimes the weight of production new,original content all of the time can be a huge load. By having a few extra posts in your back pocket, it’s good for you and for your contributors. You can help a smaller blog grow and have a few days of breathing room for yourself.

7. Change it up

Sometimes that burn out is also telling you you need to move onto something new. It might be a new series or even a new idea. Brainstorm on something that gets you excited! We all need to change with time to stay  current. Sometimes people go through several blog topics until they find the one that takes off. If you are feeling really restless, it might be time to change it up a little. Make it new and exciting again as a way to combat blogger burn out.

8. Diversify

Blogging income and social media come and go. Ad revenues go up and down and are always changing. Pinterest is a fickle thing, as is Facebook. You are more likely to make more money if you do more that just blog.  Sometimes doing other things takes the pressure off of blogging as the only source of income and makes it fun again.

Here are a few ways you can expand your brand and these are just a few:

Open a Society 6 shop

Etsy shop

Sell digital images

Ebooks

Sell stock photos

Have an Amazon affiliate’s shop

Do an e-course

Teach what you know in person

Video on Youtube

Have Instagram flash sales

Sell design services

There are so many ways! You just have to be willing to diversify and have your hands in many pots.

9.Look ahead to where you want to go, make a dream board.

I know that’s hard when you feel like quitting, but, sometimes getting a fresh perspective can really see if you are spinning your wheels, or if you are moving forward slowly and steadily.

If you’ve never made a dream board, take a piece of poster board and old magazines and start cutting and pasting everything you want to do. All of your dreams and hopes.Write future words for the future you. Just the act tells you and the universe you have all of these amazing things locked up inside. It reminds you of your journey. I made one about  4 year ago and I pull it out about every 6 months. Its fun to see when something has actually happened… and it does!!

10. READ!

I cannot stress this enough.You are who you surround yourself with. Including what you put in your mind and body. Surround yourselves with regular people who have overcome great things to be successful, and who are willing to share how with you. Read books like:

Big Magic
#GIRLBOSS
The Glitter Plan
The War of Art
Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream
and The Artisan Soul

Reading books like these, especially ones where women have risen to something amazing from nothing can make you realize you can do this too. You do have it in you! The blogger burn out is just a sign it’s time for you to bring something new in.

If anyone has been blogging long enough, they are going to get there. It’s just a matter of seeing it’s a temporary thing, and there are ways to get past it and be reinvigorated and renewed!

I hope these tips have helped you.They certainly have helped me weather the ups and downs over the 8 + years. They have helped me to keep at it, write a book, have a stencil line, have  a line of wood signs and move onto even bigger things like be a Michaels  maker, a Decoart blogger and more! Just hang in there, you can do this! And if you have any tips for dealing with Blogger burn out,please share with us in the comments!

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