Let's Talk About Blogger Burn Out

I been thinking about this topic a lot lately in light of some things that have been going on in the blogging community and how at some points it is super discouraging. This isn't a post about the latest tea on what is going on in the book community. To find that out you are going to have to comb through twitter. But blogger burn out is a real sucky thing. 

People get burnt out for all sorts of reasons, they just spent weeks working on a feature, they worked on a post for hours and got little to no views/comments/retweets on it, they've finally caught up on ALL of their review copies and made sure that all the reviews are written, scheduled and cross posted to retail sites. Sometimes, running a blog is exhausting. For me to say running a blog is exhausting with TWO co-bloggers that we all share work equally, I can only imagine how it is for people who blog solo. (I real big round of a applause to you though!)

There is nothing wrong with feeling burnt out. Quite honestly, I get burnt out sometimes. I'll spend hours a day (sometimes up to eight hours on certain days) drafting out posts, writing reviews, setting up memes, e-mailing with authors we are working with and visiting some of my favorite blogs. I spend as much time working on The Book Bratz as I do at my actual job. But here is the difference: Blogging I do for free. 

Eventually if you are doing something for free for so long and sometimes with no reward you are going to feel tired and discouraged and eventually burnt out. Its the horrible cycle of things. I spent all of 2017 on a blogging hiatus, but in the months leading up to that the passion for blogging and consistently posting and making sure we had new content going up weekly was draining and quite frankly I was drained and burnt out. I had decided a hiatus was best because I still loved reading and the blogging community, I just had no desire to create new content at that moment. 

As sad as it is, sometimes feeling burnt out is normal and it happens to the best of us. Everyone in the blogging community (especially those who have been in the community for many years) understand this well. Here are a few things to consider and tips to help if you are feeling burnt out:

• Take a hiatus - Take a break from blogging for a little while. Read books without the pressure of having to review them. Binge the Netflix show that you been meaning to watch. Go to the gym or for a run or go enjoy the fresh air. A hiatus can be for how ever long you want it to be! 2 weeks? Awesome. 6 months? That's fair. 1 year? You do you. What ever feels right in your heart. 

• Stop pushing yourself so hard to push out new content - I am the biggest when it comes to forcing myself to constantly be creating new posts and sometimes it is exhausting. Jessica, Emily and I push ourselves to have a new post everyday and sometimes it works out because there are three of us. But for the bloggers who are riding solo: it's okay for you not to post every.single.day. I know you may feel like you have too, but you don't. Consistency is the key here. Aim for 3-5 posts a week if you can. If you can't do that then aim for 2. Regardless you are creating content and remaining consistent.

• Take a break from social media- This one is easier said then done. But sometimes cutting social media out or limiting your time for a little while is a good idea. How many time do you see tweets about someone getting book mail that you were hoping to receive and you never got it? Or someone just reached a follower goal that you feel like you are never going to achieve. Social media is great at making us feel bad about ourselves sometimes. There have been plenty of instances that I just stop going on twitter all together so I can focus on me and my own blog goals. Not what is expected of me because other people are doing a certain thing. 

Those are my three biggest tips when I am feeling burnt out and I hope they can help you in some way. Sometimes having to take a step back is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. I rather take a step back then half ass my work and for it to come out bad. It's normal to feel burnt out sometimes and it is good that you are able to recognize it. At the end of the day you got to do what is best for you! 

QOTD: I hope this post was helpful in some way! Have you ever felt blogger burn out before? What did you do to help it!?