10 FOOLPROOF WAYS TO AVOID BLOGGER BURNOUT
The time you started your blog, it seems easy right? because according to the blog posts from professional bloggers that you have read before about starting a blog, you just have to pay for a domain name, a hosting, some design and you are ready to go.
You’re so excited that you didn’t notice their special notes like: “Blogging may be hard, but you need to be consistent on giving value to your readers”, “It’s easy to start a blog but it’s hard to grow and maintain what you’ve started”, “When you want to turn your blog into a business, you need some consistency on producing great and shareable content” and so on. Did you notice some similarities among these given questions?
All of them are telling you to be consistent on the value or content that your readers are getting from you. But, what if you’re too occupied on the things you do to grow your blog? Because as you and I know, blogging is not all about writing posts then waiting for a miracle that someone will read it.
What if you can’t produce great quality posts anymore because you felt that there are too much work, sprinkles and glitters in your blog? Pretty hard right?
Do you experience these kinds of dilemmas on your blog? And I’m sure that you are here to know How I prevented Blogger Burnout? Am I right? Okay so let’s get started!
1 | Stop Everything Online
Just stop everything you do NOW here on the internet (but before you stop finish reading this post first.*wink*) and close your eyes. Try to remember the reasons why you decided to start a blog. Reminisce the challenges you’ve overcome just to reach the place that you are working on right now.
You can take a couple of selfies and browse through Facebook and check if there are news that you’ve missed because of your obsession of growing your blog. After an hour or two, you can go back on tinkering your blog. Yayy!
2 | Spread Out Work
As you can see, my blog is just a new one. I re-branded my old lifestyle/travel blog into a blog about blogging, content writing and self-development. My old blog failed because of one thing, I am the only one doing all the work.
I take and edit photographs, post on social media, create posts, promote etc. It was so exhausting and finally, after I bought my domain, I instantly built a small team (a.k.a. my siblings). After I delegated work on my team, the work and responsibilities rested on my shoulders became lighter and I can focus more on taking writing projects from clients.
Moving on, after spreading out the work, the things that I do now is to write blog posts, create attracting images for Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram (which is my most favorite part of my blogging routine), writing paid blog posts for other bloggers and businesses and eating some junk food while watching Clarence on Disney.
3 | Set Working Hours
You just grew your blog and turned it into a full time job. Blogging really is a flexible job but puh-lease, could you set your working hours per day? How can you watch out your kids, do the laundry, buy some grocery and do some household chores when you’re just staring at your computer and waiting for that single visitor or follower to follow you?
As a professional blogger (self-proclaimed here!), my schedule on tinkering my blog and other stuff online is around 7:00 to 10:00 in the morning and after doing all those stuff, I just clean some dishes left in the lavatory and play volleyball outside when it’s weekends and school days are set differently too.
Working all day is not the answer to your problem on how you can grow your blog. Setting a time schedule is the best way to be more productive and relaxed. You quit your full-time job because you hate working all day right? So why are you bringing it back?
4 | Play some sports or do some exercise every morning
This is one of the forgotten routines of a healthy human being. When a person becomes an internet entrepreneur, blogger, designer or anyone working online, he forgets that he also needs to go outside to stretch some muscles and burn some calories.
Studies say that starting your day with a sweaty routine can make you more productive because you started actively (wait! where did I get that?). I am a morning person so it is easy for me to wake up early in the morning to jog with my friends and play volleyball after. Try to find some fitness friends to accompany you in your healthy routine-like everyday!
5 | Chitchat with your family and friends
I’m not a loud person but this is my favorite part of having a close family member or a friend. I really love talking about life, work (blogging) and especially studies. Talking (and laughing very, very loud) with them can relieve your stress from the blog-osphere.
Do this every other day if you are living by yourself and of course several times a day when you are living with your family or friends. You can tell them all your frustrations about blogging even though they are not that familiar with how things go around at the blogging world. They will lead the conversation from blogging to other topics that can ease the pain in your head.
6 | Say “NO” to Almost Everything
You are not an Sponsored Ads/Post whore right? And it’s not your responsibility to publish all the sponsored post request in blog. So learn to say “NO” to almost everything. When there are 5 Sponsored Post request this month, say “YES” to only one of them or better say “NO” to every request because publishing sponsored posts consistently on your blog turn off your readers and make them leave your blog forever.
You can publish once a month or better once every two months because if you really want to make money with your blog and turn it into a business, you will not depend on Ads/Sponsored Posts but on creating products or offering services that can give you more income.
So always remember, don’t be afraid to say NO to the requests of brands and bloggers. Your blog is a business and you don’t want other products lingering in your store right?
7 | Have a Day Off
Once a week, my brothers and I are having a Day Off. Every Saturday, I always start my day watching some television shows and just relax all day by browsing my feed on Facebook. Then the other day which is Sunday, we go to church to pray and worship our Supreme Creator.
Going to church is also a good idea to talk with friends about life that can lessen the burden you have. Spend your Day Off wisely. Never as in never, open your e-mail and other blogging related websites because it will distract you from relaxing and having fun.
Spend some quality time with yourself and your family, go to the movies or if you want, sleep all day and eat when it’s time to. Just another friendly tip: Don’t open Pinterest when you are browsing on your phone, because I personally hate myself from being too attracted to those pretty pins.
8 | Find a Blogger BFF
Having a best friend in real life is one of the best feelings that you can experience because you have a person to talk to about good and bad things especially the things that you can’t tell your parents. This also goes well with regards to blogging. When you have a blogging friend, you can ask him/her some questions about how you can grow your blog or something related to blogging (obviously).
You can exchange thoughts about the designs of your blogs etc. It’s best to have a blogger friend that you can always lean on. So find your blogger friend to talk with.
9 | Organize your blog
If you really want to prevent blogger burnout, you should start by organizing your blog’s overall performance. Start off with your blog goals, then write down on a notebook or on a blog planner the topics and ideas that you want to be posted on your blog. But always remember that your posts should be related to each other and they should not go out in your niche.
I am a fan of blog planners because it always keep me organized with the dates of my blog posts etc.
10 | Treat Yourself Outside
This one can be combined with having a Day Off but I separated this because having a Day Off doesn’t mean you’re going outside always right? When you have time or when you successfully did something for your blog, celebrate!
Go outside with your friends and family so that you can relax and have fun. Don’t hit yourself too hard with those queued blog posts. Forget it for a day and spend it by relaxing (e.g. window shopping, bowling, running, attending socialization seminars etc.). Buy some new pair of jeans, shoes or a new smartphone perhaps? Anything within your budget of course.
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