#TheStruggleisReal – Blogger Burnout + An Update

Posted July 27, 2015 by Emily in Blogging / 8 Comments

The-struggle-blogger-burnout

As much as it pains me to admit it, I’ve been struggling with blogger burnout for a while. I had trouble writing posts and coming up with new ideas. Even when I could finally type something out, I was never really satisfied with it. But I still hit the publish button. And now I feel like I’ve not only let myself down by valuing quantity over quality, but I also let other people down.

When I caught a cold a few weeks ago (yes, I can get sick in the summer), I took that as a excuse why I should step away from the blog for a bit. The only thing is, I’ve been better for two weeks and this is my first post since then. Why?

Lack of Inspiration & Originality

The posts I love writing the most are my discussion posts. The problem is, I’m having trouble coming up with new topics to discuss. I don’t want to talk about the same old things, I want to talk about something new.

Drowning in Expectations

Sometimes it feels like I’m on a little raft trying to stay afloat in a great big sea of expectations. And the sad truth is, most of the expectations in that sea, are my own. I feel like I have to have a post schedule and stick with it. I feel like I have to reply to every comment and comment back (which I suck at so badly). I feel like I have do a lot of things, not because my readers told me, but because I’ve read so many blog posts about what you’re supposed to do as a blogger that I’ve created those expectations for myself. And they are eating me up. My worst fear is failing and letting people down. And right now, it feels like I’m doing just that.

Time

My unexpected time away from blogging made me realize just how much time I dedicate to it. Between thinking of ideas, writing the post, and creating a post image, I don’t have a lot of time to do other things. I think one of the reasons why it was so hard for me to come back to blogging was I realized how much more time I have without it. I have more time to read, more time to sleep, more time to watch random YouTube videos…

An Update

On a more cheery note (that was rather depressing), this is not goodbye.

I’m a rising high school senior, which in the US, means it’s about time to start applying to colleges. Between that (there are soooo many essays I need to write) and the courses I’ll be taking I don’t think I’ll be very dedicated to blogging. But I have decided not to take a hiatus…kind of. Basically, I’ve just decided to revert back to how I used to blog when I only had ten followers – sporadically and with love. Screw the post schedule and scheduled posts. That hasn’t really been working out for me because I don’t have a lot of time and it’s only going to get worst.

I decided I want to keep blogging because it’s something I once really loved to do and I’m not about to let that love fade just because I have poor time management skills. (I’m working on it, I promise!) And I decided if I was going to keep doing it, I was going to do it right. More meaningful posts that I would be proud of. More replying to comments and commenting back. More interaction with other bloggers and readers. More reading other blogs. Less filler content. I don’t care if I lose followers for going a bit wacko. At least I can be proud of myself.

I don’t quite know how all that is going to work out, but who will until I try. Hopefully people will still stick around to find out, but if not, I get it.

Emily

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8 responses to “#TheStruggleisReal – Blogger Burnout + An Update

  1. Hey Emz,

    I totally understand about feeling uninspired. And when I am feeling uninspired, and I start to see how much time things take, I get extra overwhelmed. I hope you get your inspiration back soon, but your blog should be fun so only do when you enjoy. No matter how much or how little that is 🙂

    And if you are looking for time management tips and blogging help, I just posted a week long series on just that called blogging on a time crunch. You can find the more information about it here if you want:

    Blogging on a time crunch</a.

    • I will definitely be checking out your series, Michelle. I can use all the time management and blogging help I can get. Thanks for letting me know about it! 🙂

  2. I think your blog is great. Honestly, you are one of the few blogs I get in my email and it is almost always a post I want to read there. Don’t worry about commenting back or responding to every single one, who really has time for that? That seems to be the standard but it is a dumb one. We all have real lives going on here.
    I feel you on going to college full time. I am debating going back to school in Jan to get an advanced nursing degree and I have no clue what my site would look like then. I think even posting once a week would keep your readers interested. Don’t fret about it, you will figure out what the right thing is for you.

  3. It is okay. I get uninspired by the time. Your blog will still be here and we as your readers will too. Sometimes we have to take a step back and focus on other things. That is how your topics will come by living your life. College is very exciting! I remember when I was 18 and I was going to community college and had really started to take my writing seriously, I wrote about what excited me. Maybe that will help? Talk about you future, talk about your goals. Start new with a new way of thinking. You will be okay!

    • Thank you for the advice Krystol! 🙂 I’ll definitely consider doing some more personal posts… I am more excited about that than some more book related things right now.