Burnout. It happens to the best of us, and unfortunately I’m not talking about the fun, burning rubber, kind.
It’s something we’ve all discussed before, I’m sure, but there’s a reason: it’s not an issue, like an argument, which can be examined, resolved, and tucked away in the ‘lessons learned’ draw. It’s like your dental hygiene – you cannot brush your teeth once and expect them to remain healthy. But brushing your teeth daily and making sure you don’t chew on sandpaper can certainly assist in maintaining a bright, healthy smile.
Burnout is what? Stress? Exhaustion? Apathy grown into something larger, or a misbalance between ‘real life’ and online priorities? It can be a combination or each, things unmentioned, or, like a wound left untended, a single thing which grows worse with time, spreading, infectious, into other areas.
For some of us, it’s little more than a brief period of disinterest, for others it is something more serious. We all know what stress is, and have, to some degree, experienced it for ourselves. That font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, defines stress as being ‘a negative concept that can have an impact on one’s mental and physical well-being’, and it can indeed be a very real problem, with stress having a flow-on effect to other areas of life. Stress and exhaustion, left unchecked, can lead to anxiety, depression, and even physical illness. The Victorian Government’s ‘Better Health’ website advises:
“Stress that is not managed or treated can lead to significant medical illnesses and anxiety disorders that can result in depression. Stress may contribute to physical illness such as cardiovascular disease… Untreated anxiety disorders can lead to serious depression.” – source: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au
While a bad week blogging or a slew of bad books are not necessarily akin to a soul-sucking job or a difficult relationship, it’s perhaps helpful to examine Blogger Burnout with the same importance we would allocate when considering stress in ‘Real Life’. After all – to return to our delightful, festering, furunculous wound analogy – a problem left unchecked can grow into something far worse.
Looking at Burnout and Stress Differently
Stress can be both external and internal. A family emergency is beyond my control. Overextending myself? Now that I can fix. So I’m considering Blogger Burnout and Me, thusly: if I’m drained, uninspired, and struggling in my day job I look at…
- How I’m doing things. Am I overextending myself, or trying to fit more in than I have available time? I can’t fit 42 hours of deadlines into a 37.5 hour week.
- I take a holiday. A week away from work allows me to return bright, refreshed, and well rested, ready to take on a new challenge.
- I prioritise. In this case, think of yourself as self-employed. Being self-employed, it’s more important than ever to manage your time well. The best thing is, as a blogger, you choose your own hours. Do other things in your life (school, exams, family or friends) need more time? Consider what’s more important, and take the time you need.
What Works For Me
Yet for all this meditation on the matter, I don’t have the answers. I’m not sure any of us truly do. I do know what works for me, though:
- I pace myself: I find the self-imposed pressure of posting a review once or more every week is a big stressor for me. If I read three books in a week, I don’t post three reviews. I’ll post one or two, and setup a backlog. A buffer of a week or two worth of reviews ready to post is enormously helpful for me if I’m running behind due to those ‘real life’ concerns.
- I take a break: Whether it’s from reading, from posting, or from the three-hundred blog posts bookmarked in my reader, sometimes I need a break. This might mean a week of doing nothing except catching up on The Vampire Diaries with my incredibly tolerant husband, or it might mean spending a weekend reading something I want to read for me, not for review.
- I try to keep perspective: I have a husband who I adore, and family and friends I love and enjoy spending time with. I also work full time. I’m paid to do that, and it deserves my full attention. I also try to remember why I started blogging: because I love books, and, perhaps even more so, I love talking to you about them. If the love isn’t there, why? Am I reading the wrong books, or focusing on the wrong things, like comments, stats, or something trivial like followers? I know I tend to do this. Every now and then I have to kick my own ass ;D
- I do what works for me: I am in awe of people who manage to post every day, or even every two. People like Giselle, the gals at Novels On The Run, or the fabulous Jennifer who post every day are amongst my blogging heroes. But I’ve come to accept that I can’t do that. And it’s a relief.
- I take stress seriously: Stress is a Big Deal. I’ve had jobs I love, and jobs I hate, and I never want to turn blogging, this thing and community I adore into something I simply ‘do’. Stress, left unchecked, can turn into something truly ugly, and you are so much more important than a few hundred words a few times a week. When I stalk your blog, it’s because I love your reviews, but ultimately, because I love you more. If you don’t feel like you’re coping – and this applies to any part of your life, online or off – ask for help. If you’re a part of this community, you’re loved – trust me. Think of this community like Hogwarts: Help will always be given at to those who ask for it.
A Solution?
The answers? I don’t have them. What I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people… is a great big group friends that help me cope, that – for some strange reason – love me for me, and don’t mind if I miss a week posting. All of this helps me deal with Blogger Burnout.
But, truly, the point of this ‘discussion’ isn’t me – it’s you. How do you deal with burnout and stress? Have any Trade Secrets™ you’d care to share? Yes? TO THE COMMENTS! I would love to hear them.
When I get blogger burnout I basically stop writing reviews (at least for a week or two) and relax by reading books. It also helps to write a heap of reviews before you take a break then you can just post them whenever. But . . . I rarely get stressed out over reviews and my blog. I just try and take it as it comes.
As always, great post!
“It also helps to write a heap of reviews before you take a break then you can just post them whenever.”
YES. And I also find this helps me long term, you know? Like, if I have a few weeks worth of reviews waiting to be posted, I don’t have to worry about not finishing a book every week? When I get really into series, and read 4 books over a weekend (*cough*The Iron Fey*cough*) that really helps ;D
“But . . . I rarely get stressed out over reviews and my blog. I just try and take it as it comes.”
I think this is the key thing. Above all, having a healthy attitude. You’re a rockstar, Erin! ♥
Great topic! I have been struggling with balancing blogging and working and have had several periods of reading and/or writing reviews burnout. It’s not a pleasant feeling but I’ve managed to work through it so far.
I tend to go through phases, too!
It’s not a pleasant feeling, but yes. I totally think it’s something you can work through. I think it’s about being self-aware, and knowing when you’re starting to feel a bit irky, and knowing what works for you. I’m always going to stress myself out if I’m pushing myself in directions I don’t *really* wantto go, but feel obligated to, you know?
I think someone commented (further down) that they allow themself to put books they’re not loving down, and not write reviews they’re not feeling. And I’m like… r e v e l a t i o n. Hehehe!
♥
♥ x 487352872357348452
Hehe
I saw this post and instantly thought of me and what I’m going through. I ‘spose I can be pretty inspiring, huh? ;D
Every now and then I have to kick my own ass
;D
It’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE to kick your own ass. Trust me, I just tried. My mother asked me if I was dancing which I replied with just stretching. So, uh, moving on…
Seriously, Sarah, amazing post! This is exactly what I needed. I used to blog for ME and post whenever (although I must admit, it was kind of all over the place. Sometimes I wouldn’t post for weeks…) but as my blog started to grow and develop, I started to stress over churning more posts out. THIS is what I think the problem is. If you have the posts ready, then great but it shouldn’t be about pushing yourself and worrying about having regular content on your blog. If your consistment and have the time and energy to post daily or every other day then GREAT but not all of us can be Super Duper Bloggers and that is OK. Accept it, embrace it and don’t worry. Blogging is a hobby, not a job. Make it and keep it FUN. Don’t let it run you, show it who’s boss! Ohmysweetgoodness, look what you’ve done. You’ve got me babbling. I think this is what you wanted in the first place. A nice, babbly, long, Becca comment. Am I right or am I right! (See what happens when I get chatty? I kind of get crazy. One thought leads to another which leads to another and another. See!)
As you know, I’m going through Blogger Burnout but a few times when things have got a bit heated and I’m worrying, I step away and take a breather. For instance, I might be trying to post a review and it’s taking longer than expected. Well, what’s the rush? Sure, sometimes things have to be posted by or on a certain time but usually not so much. Take your time, chillax and post later or the next day. Your followers are dedicated and sweet and amazing and love you and your blog for YOU. The point is: they understand. They love you and want what’s best for you. If your getting all stressed and tense and it’s going from being a hobby and FUN to a chore, they care. They don’t want that. To sum up my babbly Becca state, they want what’s best for you. And not only that but it shows if your passionate about what you do and if your hearts in it. If your not, it will show. If a blogger I follow was getting stressed out from blogging, I would care. If it wasn’t working out for them, I would understand. We bloggers (mostly) love each other (except when something blows up and we turn all bitchy on each other) and care for one another like a big, loved up family. And you drive the point home with: What I do have is a great big group friends that help me cope, that – for some strange reason – love me for me… YES. Yesyesyes! For some wacky reason, they love us. And if we miss a week or take some time off to rejuvenate, they respect that and don’t mind. Which leads me to my next point: don’t you just freaking LOVE this community were apart of?
I love you. Thank you for writing this. ♥♥♥
BECCA. DAJFDJLFHADLJAF.
I LOVE YOU.
SO MUCH. DID YOU KNOW? Hahaha!
“I used to blog for ME and post whenever (although I must admit, it was kind of all over the place. Sometimes I wouldn’t post for weeks…) but as my blog started to grow and develop, I started to stress over churning more posts out. THIS is what I think the problem is.”
EXACTLY. And it’s so hard to find that balance, especially once a level of responsbility comes into it with review copies. It’s no longer just a simple fun or hobby, you feel a level of obligation, and kind of like you’re being ‘paid’ for it.
And this: “not all of us can be Super Duper Bloggers and that is OK. Accept it, embrace it and don’t worry.”
That’s EXCACTLY what I was trying to say! The thing is, it’s fine to be you, and honestly, as a blog reader, as well as a blogger, I get a little stressed keeping up with the every-day posters. I think they’re epic, I love them, but it’s daunting, you know? If you can only post once a month? Awesome. The girls at Midnight Garden go through stages where they’ll post a few times a week, and then won’t post for a month. But I have them bookmarked in my reader, and I will ALWAYS be waiting for them to post when they’re ready.
And the sames goes for YOU. I will alays read anything you post. If you take a break? FINE. You’re doing what works for you.
“Take your time, chillax and post later or the next day. Your followers are dedicated and sweet and amazing and love you and your blog for YOU. The point is: they understand. They love you and want what’s best for you. If your getting all stressed and tense and it’s going from being a hobby and FUN to a chore, they care. They don’t want that. To sum up my babbly Becca state, they want what’s best for you.”
E X A C T L Y.
You know, how you said this post made you think of you, as in all things, you inspire me
I’ve had a few of my really bestest bloggy friends (like YOU) say they’ve been feeling a little burnt out recently, and… I didn’t mean to say ‘HERE’S THE ANSWER’, but I wanted to talk about it, because we all feel it, to varying degrees, myself most definitely included. And there shouldn’t be pressure attached to it. We’re all here because we’re bound by our mutual loves. And that’s awesome
Also: I love you. SO much. ♥♥♥ x ∞
Brilliant post, Sarah! I think perspective and priorities are most important. For me, no matter how much I love being online and in the community, sometimes there are “real life” things that are more important. And that is OKAY. I am not obligated to be present in the online community (even if I want to be there). And understanding that lessens my stress when I need to step away.
I think it’s also important for me to take a break when blogging gets too stressful. It’s a hobby. It’s supposed to be fun. If it’s not fun, what’s the point?
YES YES YES. EXACTLY. And I think the thing is, if it’s not fun, if it’s not fulfilling as a hobby, it can flow on and have a negative impact on other areas of our lives.
I had an awful, terrible, soul-sucking job once upon a time. I felt like I HAD to work seven days a week to get my stuff done (and I was NOT getting paid), and it began to slowly eat away at all the other areas of my life, my friendships, and my marriage, and I had to take a step back and re-evaluate. I ended up leaving without another job lined up, throwing it all in, and I was prepared to get a job at bloody McDonald’s until I found something permanent, because I needed to get out of there. It was toxic.
I let it go on so long that I had to leave, and I guess that’s my point here. Being aware, keeping persective, and prioritising, make it a lot easier to stop it from ever getting that bad. Because I don’t want to throw it all in one day and quit, you know? I love it here. I want to be that person who’s the last to leave at the party, hangs around, and, you know, really overstays my welcome XD
When I was teaching, I felt like it sucked all my time. And when it wasn’t sucking my time, it was sucking my energy. I couldn’t continue doing it. And I never, ever want blogging to get that way. And honestly, blogging is what you make of it. You have far more control over what you do than in a job.
This is VERY true. I think, especially when review copies, and interviews, and things you kind of… commit yourself to come into it, it can start to feel like a job.
And it’s not.
I was really surprised and impressed when you announced you weren’t going to do Clock Rewinders as a linky sign-up meme-y thing. Knowing your limits and what works for you is important, but backing it up by saying ‘no’ is crucial.
“Honestly, blogging is what you make of it. You have far more control over what you do than in a job.”
EXACTLY. It’s the reminding yourself that part I think I struggle with ;D
I mean, with a job, you’re REQUIRED to do certain things. When you’re blogging, you get to say yes or no to review books or tours or events. It’s all you.
I learned with Bout of Books that if it feels like work, it’s not fun. (To this day, the first BoB was my favorite.) If I had continued with CR as a meme, I would have burnt out. And I hated to do it, and I lost participants, but it was right for me. A lot of times, the right thing is the harder thing.
“I mean, with a job, you’re REQUIRED to do certain things. When you’re blogging, you get to say yes or no to review books or tours or events. It’s all you.”
YES! So it’s kind of like thinking of yourself as the boss. YOU say yes or now, and it’s YOUR responsibilty to be a responsible employer
Seriously, I think you have one of the healthiest attitudes in the ‘biz’
Maybe it’s because you’ve dealt with it IRL, also? I’m seeing a few of my school and uni age friends really feeling like they’re struggling to balance school/uni/study/possible a part-time job with blogging, and, well, they’re BUSY, it’s understandable, but it’s not worth the stress you can cause yourself.
YES! to everything. Now if I could only implement a better schedule for myself. I’ve told myself I would slow down w/blogging all year. It’s late-October. I think I need an I intervention…..
Ooooh, a schedule. YESSSS.
That is one thing I keep meaning to do, and never do. Especially seeing I think I’m an emotional reader. Sometimes I just need to read or do something different, or spend time w/my husband and… yes XD
Hehehe! I’m always like ‘only 5 more minutes. One more post. A couple more comments.’ uh… yeah. I feel your pain
I had this in the past and slacking off actually was more stressing for me because in the back of my head I know I have to get a post up but the well is dry. I had a mild case of this too last week so I hinged on Netflix for days.
I hope you bounce back soon!
Oh YES. Actually, that’s my number one problem at the moment. I’ve not felt like reading my review books, so, well, I haven’t. Now I’m way behind on books I have to read and it’s contributing to feeling a little ASDFDFJDF, but I’m good. I know I’ll get to them when I’m ready.
I think, finding a balance between ‘It’s not a job’, and ‘I do have a responsibility to the publishers I’ve reqested from’ is important ;D
Oh goodness… I can only imagine how bad it would be for me if I actually had Netflix XD
I know what you mean, my NG/EW TBR is a year’s worth of reading at least. Sometimes I wish I’m a shifter so I can turn myself into a Hydra, grow a couple of heads so I can read a couple of books all at the same time.
Just hang in there and detox.
…that… that is a genius idea. Hydra… huh… uh… I’m actually kind of mesmerised by the idea
The one I was working on was a time-bubble — crawl in, read as long as you like, step out, and it’ll be like no time has passed at all IRL. There’s the aging problem, but meh! Aging be damned
Honestly reading “ahead” is the best way for me to avoid blogger burnout – so that if I’m reading a huge book (like 11/22/63 which I just started) or if I don’t feel like reading for a few days – I still don’t have to worry about my blog because I’ll have books read that I can post about for the next week or 2. Also scheduling posts ahead of time helps me too – I would go crazy if I’m trying to think of something coherent to say late at night to post the next day.
Agreed. 100% AGREED.
I’m usually 1-2 weeks ahead with my ‘review’ books, and I normally have a pool of up to 5 reviews for older books (like, non-time critical when I post, becuase they’ve been out over a year already) to keep me going. But… uh… I think I’m kind of stretching it at the moment. I’ve indulged in a lot of liesurly reading, and I need to get my ass back into gear ;D
“Also scheduling posts ahead of time helps me too – I would go crazy if I’m trying to think of something coherent to say late at night to post the next day.”
OH YES. I can’t do this. My reviews are always written at least 3 days in advance — usually 1 week or more — and I go back and spellcheck, re-write, etc. Not having that time… I couldn’t do it. But I know stacks of people who do. Some of my bestest bloggy friends write a review, then post it immediately. I’m kind of like :O :O :O
*Jumps in* Unless it’s for something like my blogging events I hold on my blog, or for a blog tour, I’m one of those people who writes a review as soon as I finish reading (or at least the next day if late at night), and posts it straight away. I can’t leave it a number of days before posting, even if I start and come back to it. My memory is not so great with books, so I need to write down all the things I feel write after reading before I forget them all, and end up writing a half-arsed review because I’ve forgotten what I want to say.
Also, I can’t schedule reviews a few weeks in advance because I simply don’t read fast enough. If I was to do that, there would be several weeks worth of silence on my blog, lol. I guess we all blog in the ways that work for us.
“Also, I can’t schedule reviews a few weeks in advance because I simply don’t read fast enough.”
I SO get this. I don’t really read fast enough, either, and I panic when I exhaust my backlog.
I think that the reason this works for me/I’m able to do it, is when I do get ahead with my reading, I don’t post. I hoarde
I try not to read a new book until I’ve written the review for the last one, and… wait. HOW I DO THIS. When I read series, I get addicted. The Fever series my Karen Marie Moning, I read in a week. Vampire Academy? Read in a week. Same for Iron Fey (actually, they’re kind of the reason I’m behind at the moment, but that’s a different story). It means I have a sudden buffer of, like, 3-5 reviews to post, and it puts me a few weeks ahead while I return to my normal one-book-a-week habit
And this: “I need to write down all the things I feel write after reading before I forget them all.”
I’m PRECISELY the same way ♥
Omg, typo! Two “write/rights” in a sentence, and my brain gets confused, sorry about that.
Aah, even if I love a series and have them all to read, I’m still quite slow. A normal size book takes me about three days. A big book takes me much longer, especially on the days I’m working. So I may fall in love with a series, but it’ll still take me a few weeks to read them all
Lol.
In my one year of blogging, I haven’t yet reached the point where I’d want to give up on it. I never even stopped liking it, nor for a second. BUT it gets very hard when things become intense at work. My job is very intellectually demanding and keeping the balance is sometimes very hard. I don’t post every day, nowhere near that, but what I do is enough to keep me happy.
These are things that need to be discussed and I’m so glad you’re doing it.
“BUT it gets very hard when things become intense at work. My job is very intellectually demanding and keeping the balance is sometimes very hard.”
Oh, YES. I’ve never gotten to a point where I’ve considered throwing it all in, but I’ve definitely had times where I’ve found it difficult to handle the pressure.
I think knowing yourself, and what makes you happy — like you said — is key.
And thank you! I think being stress-aware is kind of like sun or road safety. Being aware, prepared, etc? ;D
I like to stop reading the books that are stressing me out and just reading a book I know I love. And I try not to force myself to write reviews that just don’t work.
Liviania, YES. I’m not as good at this as I like, but every now and then I like to take a break from reading what I’m ‘supposed’ to read, and reading something just for me. It helps.
“And I try not to force myself to write reviews that just don’t work.”
This is a lesson I TOTALLY have to learn ♥
Awesomeeeee post, Sarah! I don’t know if I’ve experienced Blogger Burnout yet, but I know I DO get stressed when it comes to blogging. For me, it’s not so much the posts as much it is the commenting craze since I hateee not commenting and it makes me feel SO guilty, so I stress over that and then have NO TIME to write reviews. It’s a vicious cycle. Still, I love blogging and I’ve never gotten tired with it yet, so I’m enjoying it so far.
Keeeertaaana! ♥♥♥
I think burnout comes in all shapes and sizes, and I think we kind of use as the blogger-equivelant synonym for ‘stress’
“For me, it’s not so much the posts as much it is the commenting craze since I hateee not commenting and it makes me feel SO guilty, so I stress over that and then have NO TIME to write reviews”
YES YES YES YES. OH GOODNESS YES. I know JUST how you feel.
Every few weeks, my feed starts clogging up, and I HATE doing it, and I feel like I’m betraying my friends, but I wipe my feed. I hit the ‘mark all posts as read’ button and don’t look back. And honestly? It’s like the best thing I’ve ever done for my blogging sanity. Try it sometimes ;D
And I’m SO glad you’re not tired of blogging, because you are one of my single favorite reviews. Actually, you’re in my top 3 of the most intelligent, eloquent, beautifully written blogs (and I’m not even kidding ;D)
♥♥♥
What a lovely post! I loved learning your trade secrets
Hehehe! Thanks so much, Momo! ♥
Fantastic post and timely once again for me.
I’ve been blogging for 4 years and at least once a year over the last 3 years I’ve thought, I’m over this, it’s not fun any more, it’s a chore. I usually have a week break because I’m incapable of putting a post together that anyone would want to read and then I find myself missing bloggy friends and I remember I really do love it so it’s obviously not time to give it all up yet lol
Anyway I wish I could say I was organised enough to have a slew of reviews done and scheduled but that’s just not me. A lot of the pressure I feel I put on myself, I like to comment on my fave blogs, I feel guilty if I don’t comment, I like to receive comments, I like to read, spend time with family and friends, scrapbook, and get my reviews up in a timely manner but have slowly learned that I can’t keep all the balls in the air and that’s ok. Balance is essential and I’ll live with the guilt
I’ve been a lot more selective with review books this year and hope to be even stronger next year … we’ll see lol
Thanks for sharing Sarah
Oh, T, thank you!
I… WOW. 4 years? And I’m barely at a year of full-time taking it seriously :O
I think it kind of goes in cycles. And it’s a constant thing we have to remind ourselves of. WHY we do this, keeping ourselves inspired. This is a BIG stretch, but someone once told me that forgiveness isn’t a thing we do once, and move on. You have to keep making that decision, every day (and it’s so, so painfully true -__-), but I think it’s a similar story. We NEED to remind ourselves of priorities, and why we do this. The LOVE, and the FUN, and the COMMUNITY.
And OH. Commenting is a BIG one for me. I LOVE it. But I spend more time reading other blogs and commenting than I do reading and blogging sometimes, and I feel so guilty when I miss friends’ posts. But… you DO have to find balance. And if a friend doesn’t comment on one of my posts, I’m never upset with THEM, so I think sometimes reminding myself they feel the same way as me helps ;D
“I’ve been a lot more selective with review books this year and hope to be even stronger next year … we’ll see lol.”
THIS. OH THIS. I am SO still learning this lesson ♥
SARAH. I AM SOOO GLAD YOU WROTE THIS AMAZING POST ♥ Because I think I’m having a serious case of Blogger Burnout at the moment as well and I really needed to read something like this to make me feel better c:
Honestly, I think it’s because when I look at all the reviews I haven’t written up yet, I feel sort of intimidated and push it aside, making the unreviewed books pile up even more. Yes, I know, my own fault. Me = Goddess of Procrastination. But still. I remember this time last year, I was keeping my blog running with posts everyday and writing a review only took me around thirty minutes. Yet now writing them takes me from at least three to six hours (I’m a perfectionist to the extreme! Please don’t judge @__@) and the prospect of sitting at my laptop for that amount of time is kind of scary. Not to mention, when I leave a book for so long, I tend to forget a lot about what I thought while I was reading it and writing a review becomes such a tedious task trying to remember. Last year I also had such a small amount of followers that I didn’t really care whether anyone read my posts or not, because I was just doing it to get my thoughts out of my head and blogging was the most amazing and fun hobby ever. However now that I have a bigger following with publishers and authors and readers looking at what I write, I spend countless hours trying to make sure what I say doesn’t sound crazy as heck or boring as hell and edit and edit and edit my posts again and again and again! And then there’s book slumps which don’t help much either :/ I mean, if I’m not motivated to read, then I’m not motivated to write about what I read.
I think the way I get out of these slumps is obviously by taking a break, because eventually my love of reading will overcome the stress it’s caused me. And of course, if I read a good book, it makes me want to crawl out of my hole and talk about them! And uh, whenever I read a really enthusiastic review about some amazing, fabulous, you-haven’t-lived-if-you-haven’t-read-this book, I kind of get all happy and eager to read again haha x) Weird reason, I know, but it definitely helps me get back into blogging
Anyway, yeah. I kind of really, really loved this post c: But I have a feeling this comment might be a little on the long side so I’m sorry about that ;~;
Awww, Kim! You’re AMAZING.
I so get it. I’m not super burnt-out at the moment, but I’m having a problem with, like, book ADD: I just can’t FINISH anything. And it’s leading to stress ebcause I have nothing to post, and it’s starting a burnout spiral >__< “I was keeping my blog running with posts everyday and writing a review only took me around thirty minutes. Yet now writing them takes me from at least three to six hours.”
OMG. ME TOOOOO. When I started reviewing? 15-30 minutes.
Now? HOURS. I’ve had my laptop on, and a Word doc open writing a review for TWELVE HOURS recently. I mean, there was LOTS of procrastination, but STILL. 3 hours is my ‘normal’ now. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
And ooooh, the review-writing backlog? YES. I so understand it. I MAKE myself write reviews when I finish a book before I let myself start reading the next one. I get stressed if I read ONE book inbetween, but because it’s not what I want to do, it leads to that 12 hour problem I described above
“However now that I have a bigger following with publishers and authors and readers looking at what I write, I spend countless hours trying to make sure what I say doesn’t sound crazy as heck or boring as hell and edit and edit and edit my posts again and again and again!”
Girl, I think we’re brain twins!
And don’t EVER apologise for long comments! I LOVE LONG COMMENTS! *grabs your comment and cuddles it*
Hehehe!
♥♥♥
This post feels like it’s been written just for me! I am going through the worst case of blogger burnout at the moment. I can’t even put my finger on the reason why it’s happened. It felt like one minute things were all fine and then the next I didn’t feel like posting or commenting or anything. Am trying to take it one day at a time now. The worst thing for me I think is that when I started blogging I would accept every review request I got. To the point where I was inundated with books to read that weren’t really my thing. I didn’t have a system and I wasn’t organized so it ended up being a real mountain. Now I’ve decided to only accept books that I think I’ll enjoy. And I used to freak out that I didn’t think post enough reviews but I’ve decided to cut myself some slack and just post what I feel like when I want to. I have to remember it’s my blog above all else!
Oh, Lan! *hugs*
Sometimes it can be something completely external, too, huh? Like, work or uni being tough, being tired, just not wanting to read? I went through a stage last year where I didn’t read a SINGLE BOOK for 3 months!
“Now I’ve decided to only accept books that I think I’ll enjoy.”
This is a GREAT idea. I mean, we read because we enjoy it, and forcing ourselves to do something we don’t want to, when it’s meant to be a HOBBY, isn’t doing anyone ANY favors ♥
Awesome post dude. I’ve been feeling rather burnt out blogging and lifeing for a while – hence the need for a holiday and a birthday getaway – and stress in general is not something I do well as you know.
One of the things that has helped lately has been the audiobooks. When I feel pulled in so many different directions and have so many things I want to do, want to read, want to see, it’s nice to think that that hour to and from work isn’t wasted because I’m reading books and they’re being acted out for me for my entertainement.
Also, it means that I can listen to books I want to know about, but don’t necessarily want to read and review without taking valuable time away from my reviews etc. And it’s something that I don’t HAVE to review, cos I don’t have my quotes or anything else. It also gives me the luxury to “reread” in a way, like with the Cat and Bones books.
I’m also listening to the Finnikin of the Rock audiobook, which as you know was a book I wasn’t crazy about, but it’s TOTALLY different listening to it than reading it.
I LOVE YOU.
DID YOU KNOW?
Because sometimes I think I don’t remind you enough.
So, you know, this is me reminding you. I love you like Xander loves Willow *nods*
I’m REALLY liking your audiobook idea, especially with George Takei coming my way with a working stereo, soon. It’s actually why I asked you about Finnikin and about Beauty Queens… and the idea of re-reading? Oh, I LIKE this. I MISS having the luxury of re-reads ♥
OMFG. I am dying laughing right now. The crossed out “special skills” sentence just hit my funny bone right and now I am crying laughing. It’s 1:42 am here and I know I woke people up with my loud laughing fit. I shall blame you. hehe
Anyways. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, you mentioned me. Now I wanna cry but for a whole different reason. It makes me feel good to know that one special, amazing person appriciates my blog. That’s all I ever wanted.
Now, as for posting everyday without blogger burnout. This is how I went about things. First, I had no job because life sucked extra hard a year ago so it was easy posting everyday. Now I have a part time job, which works for me since I want to continue writing my book at the same time.
I seem to have found less and less time to blog but I do try to post everyday no matter what. How do I not blow my brains out with the stress? I started changing what I posted. I still post my reviews but only 2 to three times a week now. Those can take me 3 hours to write depending on many factors. So I started signing up for one or two blog tours (or seperate interview/guest post type of posts) a week, so that’s like one or two days off where I only have to spend an hour at most setting up that post. Then I found my own little thing with posting Kindle and Nook Freebies that I post once and occasionally twice a week. That is another post that takes no more than 1.5 hours to create and post. I have it down to a science.
And last I started a new version of my reviews. I occasionally write “short reviews” that take me half the time of my normal reviews for books that I don’t have a lot to say about.
So I did kind of make this into a job, but I still enjoy it. I still do it for fun, I just made it a little more streamline so I would’t want to pull my hair out everytime I needed to post.
Now, I also decided that since I have time in this part of my life, I will post every day. But I am totally prepared for the time to come when I might have to cut that down to 5 times a week, and maybe, one day, 3 times a week. When these days come I hope I have enough people who follow me who wont care that I need to post less and still love me no matter what I must do.
But for now, as long as I have a few days in which I don’t have to write a long review, then I am all good. Three reviews a week is good for me, since those take the longest. I can keep that up and still have fun as long as I have other interesting/helpful posts to fill the rest of the days.
However, I really, really need to do like you did. I need to build up a couple weeks of reviews I can post anytime when I have those bad days. I have yet to do that and it has stressed me out many of times. I am going to start doing that soon.
JENENENENENEN! OMFG. I LOVE YOU.
I was wondering if anyone was going to notice it/get it/comment about it, and it’s ONLY YOU. YOU UNDERSTAAAAAND ME! ♥
Seriously, I think you should be the anti-burnout POSTER girl.
You have a system. You know your limits, you’ve found a way to post what works for you.
And this: “Now, I also decided that since I have time in this part of my life, I will post every day. But I am totally prepared for the time to come when I might have to cut that down to 5 times a week, and maybe, one day, 3 times a week. When these days come I hope I have enough people who follow me who wont care that I need to post less and still love me no matter what I must do.”
A healthy attitude about it is SOOO important.
Oh, and what I did? With a backlog? I did it by reading series. When I read a series like Fever or Night Huntress, I binge, and read them all in a week. That helped A LOT.
JENNIFER. I LOVE YOU ♥
Yeah, that’s a good idea. I do series binges too I just need to write the damn reviews.
I swear I told everyone who loves that movie about your sly “skills” sentnece.
Your famous now. hehe.
Ehehehehe! SERIOUSLY? I LOVE THIS.
When I do series binges I FORCE myself to write a review before I get onto the next book. Because I’m so excited to move on, I FLY through them, and then I get to read the next
I saw this post in my inbox and I think you explained this perfectly. I’m lucky that I have a number of reviewers to help me and we used to have about a month backlog but we slowly caught up. So now we only have one to two week buffer. So I made the decision to slow down and post less posts per day and usually its only one to two reviews.
It’s perfect for me as I’m now accepting more books then ever to review from publishers and I can write the reviews I want to write and write more in depth reviews
I love the Novels on the Run blog and I can’t understand how they managed to do so much between the two of them . Back to writing to reviews
Oh, Tash, thank you!
“So I made the decision to slow down and post less posts per day and usually its only one to two reviews.”
I did the same thing a couple of months ago. I was posting 2 reviews a week and feeling I was doing something wrong if I DIDN’T. I post one a week now with the VERY occasional two, and I feel SO much better about. So much less stress.
And as for writing the reviews you WANT to write? OH YES.
And seriously? Michelle and Marissa? My theory is that they’re not human *nods*
Oh, Sarah, I do love you! This is such a fantastic post!
The thing I try to remember is that I blog for me. Yes I love having readers and discussing things with people, but I read the books I read and spend the minutes and, sometimes, hours on my reviews because I enjoy it. If for some reason something happens and I’m having an off moment/day/week that takes me longer to either read a book or write my review, I don’t stress about it. That may sound a little rude, I do love this community, but it’s my blog and my life (I’m one of those people who’s body gets noticably effected by even a tiny amount of stress), and I need to do what’s right for me. To be honest, these things are few and far between, and mostly only mean that a few days will go by without a post, rather than me needing to take an actual blogging break, but the thing to say about my readers is that they’re understanding, so if there ever was a need for me to have a break, the regular readers I have now I would be certain would come back.
(In brackets, because it’s related but not directly on topic. Last year I had some computer issues. My puter died on me. So the only time I could do anything on my blog was in the few minutes I could use my Dad’s computer. I was still reading, and writing reviews by hand to type up when I could, but I was away from my blog for quite a while. I lost quite a lot of readers, despite me explaining on my blog what the problem was. Although I still follow these people on twitter and vice versa, and we’ll have the odd bookish discussion, these people haven’t come back to being regular readers even though I’ve been blogging normally again for a year. It sucks, as I have so few regular readers (or possibly commenters rather than readers), and feel I’m not reaching as many people anymore. But this has never made me feel like I should stop, because, again, I don’t blog for them, I blog for me.)
I used to get a little stressed out when it came to review copies. I love, and always have loved, receiving review copies, but I seemed to be on automatic mailing lists for every publisher I reviewed for, and was being sent every book. and a lot of those publishers, at the time, seemed to want reviews posted by publishing date. I’m not the fastest reader, so when there were six books all coming out on the same date, and I only had a week to read them? So stressful.
I have been fortunate enough to have a few work experience placements at book publishers, and my whole blogging experience changed when I spoke to one of the publicists. She said that bloggers are not expected to read, let alone review, every single book that is sent to them. She had a phrase, but I can’t quite remember what it was, but she said that sometimes books are sent just for us to look at, so it’s on our radar, so we may possibly mention them on our blog at some point – but even that isn’t something that is expected. And the other thing that made my blogging life so much easier? Reviews don’t have to be published just before or on publication date. Even if it’s several months after publication, you’re flagging that book up again; books sell all year round, not just when they’re published, so not reviewing immediately is not a problem.
So not only do I not need to review everything I receive, I don’t have to review them to a deadline. I now read whatever book I like, when I like, whether it’s a review copy or one of my own books. This is all stated clearly in my review policy, and there are mostly no problems. This also stops my blog from having the same content at the same time as every other UK blog reviewing for publication date. It mixes things up a bit. So as long as I send links over once I review a review copy, publicists are happy for me to review whenever, and I can say, in some cases, I will review a book I received two years previously. That may sound bad, but it’s fine. A publicist hasn’t received a link to a review for a book they sent me quite a number of months ago? Maybe it’s a book I won’t be reviewing, they may think, which is fine. So it’s kind of a bonus when I do review it, even if it is quite a while later.
Fortunately, over the past year, publisher’s have changed the way they do things and they generally send an email out saying “these are the books available, which would you like?”, rather than my room being taken over by a load of books I’m never going to read because they’re not my cup of tea. Since all of these elements have come together, blogging has been a really fun and mostly stress-free experience!
Regarding reading other blogs. I’m a big fan of iGoogle, and I follow my favourite blogs on there. There aren’t many. I’d rather follow the blogs of people who’s tastes are quite similar to my own, who’s blogs have some personality, and ones I enjoy reading, no matter what type of post goes up. I don’t read very many blogs at all, and I don’t see the point in doing so on blogs where I’m only going to be interested in one out of five books reviewed. There a number of UK bloggers I think are awesome, and enjoy seeing at blogger/author/publishing events, but I’m not their blog’s exact target audience, and I can’t let myself feel bad for not spending hours reading blogs that don’t have enough posts that interest me. Though there are a few other Aussie blogs I need to get on my iGoogle page, I’m intrigued by a few of them mentioned by you, Brodie and Lisa (Read Me Bookmark me Love Me).
This comment is very long, so I’ll think I’ll stop now. But basically, remembering blogging is a hobby and I do it for me is the only way I’m able to keep things fun. And it must be working, because not only do I enjoy it, but my regular readers seem to quite like my blog too
Jo…. your comment…. you… are made of WIN.
I think that it ALL comes down to this: “The thing I try to remember is that I blog for me.”
And no, I don’t think it sounds rude at ALL. You can totally love being part of the community, but… you do have to do it for YOU. You know, one of my friends wrote about nlogging for you a few months ago, and she, and YOU are right. It’s NOT rude. It’s right. And as for stress physically effecting you? YES. And it’s SERIOUS. It’s something that SHOULD be taken seriously.
And your brackets! Jo, that SUCKS. But I also think it’s important you do it for you… and the people you’re going to have realy friendships with and real discussions are the people who DO come back, right?
And I’m SO feeling you with review copies. I CAN read fast. SOMETIMES. But I haven’t been lately, and I have to remind myself it’s OK. Winter is always a slow reading time for me (go figure) and if I only get one book read every week, or week and a half, sometimes I have to remind myself it’s OK.
BUT JO. OMG. THIS:
“she [the publicist] said that sometimes books are sent just for us to look at, so it’s on our radar, so we may possibly mention them on our blog at some point – but even that isn’t something that is expected. And the other thing that made my blogging life so much easier? Reviews don’t have to be published just before or on publication date. Even if it’s several months after publication, you’re flagging that book up again; books sell all year round, not just when they’re published, so not reviewing immediately is not a problem.”
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH OF A RELIEF THIS IS TO HEAR. Especially given I feel the markets in AU and UK are more similar to each other than us and the US.
And… Jo, seriously, you have your heard screwed on right. You have SUCH a good perspective on everything, and… honestly, you need to take this comment, and post it on yor blog. It’s AMAZING, and I think it would be WONDERFUL for people to hear.
YOU.
ARE.
AMAZING.
You DO know that, right? :O
This is a truly great article. I’m actually suffering from a bit of burnout myself, and my blog is suffering for it. But I’m okay with that. I’m kicking back, playing video games, spending time with Lee and enjoying myself. I went on vacation to visit my mother, read a book I do plan to review eventually, and just did a lot of nothing. It felt good. Then I came home and cleaned out the bawdy email inbox (ugh!) and chilled out. Sometimes we need to just chillax.
Aw, Jenn, *hugs*
I think we all go through it, to some degree, and i was actually thinking about it because a LOT of my good bloggy friends have been saying a similar thing.
“Sometimes we need to just chillax.”
THIS.
I think it’s about finding balance. When one area of our lives falls out of whack, it can have a great impact/flow-on effect to the rest. And that sucks. And I mean, time with Lee, with your handsome little ginger fella, your mum, and just CHILL time should be priority, right?
I am starting to wonder if the time of year plays a part of that. I mean, when you work full time, it doesn’t really matter what time of year it is, you still see the end of the year drawing to a close as a kinf of… queue to get things done, get your act together before Christmas, etc? With students there are exams and final assessments, and I wonder if this specific time of year has an impact on people dealing with existing stress and… you know?
i have not read a book in 14 days . the horror . i hope to get back in the blogosphere soon
Awww! *hugs*
Sometimes you NEED that break though, you know? I think I did a bit of that over August, but I had reviews lined up for that time anyway ;D
this topic couldn’t come at a better time because I feel like I’m getting bummed about blogging lately & you can sort of tell with my posts! you’re so right about the self-imposed pressure to post, it sucks! I have my schedule loosely planned up til my birthday but I don’t STRICTLY follow it. I have to tell myself, it’s okay if I don’t post every day! this is a hobby!! I also need to learn about the prioritizing thing! I have to remind myself SCHOOL COMES FIRST, haha.
thanks for this post, Sarah! <3
ELENA. OMG. I LOVE YOU. DID YOU KNOW?
You know, you kind of inspired it. If… that isn’t creepy or… you know. I just meant, a few of my really good bloggy friends have been saying the same thing recently, and I feel it, too. So it was bouncing around my head and… yeah
I wonder if, in part, it’s the time of the year? Like, with exams, end of year, etc etc, the pressure builds up? But… yes.
And honestly, it is SO OK if you don’t post every day. We have LIVES, and it’s so easy to forget about life OUTSIDE this community, because, well, our lives seem so BIG here, I think? If that makes sense? Like, running a blog is like owning a house. You have to cook, clean, pay bills, be nice to the neighbours, maintain the garden and mow the lawn. But it’s because we MAKE it that way.
“
SCHOOLWORK/FAMILY/FRIENDS COMES FIRST.”EXACTLY!
♥♥♥
Sarah, I can’t express how much I love this incredibly eloquent, honest post. I am often overloaded with books I’m “required” to read for review, book tours I’m pressured into following through with, or even commenting on other blogs I really couldn’t care less about (although that doesn’t apply at all in this situation!) Even when I obsessively check my stats every day, I start to question why exactly I started blogging. And even though I know deep down, it’s because I adore books with a burning passion, and I love interacting with other people who feel the same way, I feel as I cannot because there is this hegenomy to conform to the idea of a blogger who only cares about followers and pageviews.
You also brought up a great point about Books I Want to Read vs. Books I Need to Read For the Reviews I Write. I have a tendency to read books that I know will garner votes, recognition, love, etc. rather than say, indie books or those that wouldn’t normally be read by the YA community. I loathe it sometimes, to be boxed into reading a book just because of the “everyone else is reading it, so shouldn’t I?” disposition.
So, in a nutshell, extraordinary post! I love reading about your insightful thoughts; they really make my day.
“I feel… there is this hegenomy to conform to the idea of a blogger who only cares about followers and pageviews.”
Oh, Leanne, I SO get this. And it’s SO easy to fall into, and it’s stifling, but it’s something I struggle with, too. How do you find that balance and… oh my goodness, what you said about reading books because you feel you should, or that’s what will garner attention? YES.
I SO get that. And there’s this difficult line we toe between ‘blogging for ourselves’, but also understanding we do cater to an audience, and providing content people actually want to read. One of my friends, Amanda, wrote a post on ‘Blogging For YOU‘ a few months ago, and it was really freeing. Because, seriously, she’s right.
And you made a REALLY good point. There are so many WONDERFUL books we ignore because don’t feel we have the time, or that people will pay attention, but… you know what? I read Easy by Tammara Webber a few months ago — I had the review sitting around for WEEKS. But it was only because one of my friends reviewed this little book that had only just started making waves on Amazon indie lists that it got my attention, that it caught other people’s attention, and became such a success. And I kind of love we, as a community, have the power to cause those kind of waves when we step outside our box.
LEANNE. OMG. WITH THE MAKING ME THINK.
You. Are. AMAZING ♥♥♥
Sarah, you have such perfect timing! I was definitely feeling the stress a few days ago and while I think I’m getting back into the swing of things now (I really WANT to blog!!) I’m sure it’ll happen again.
I love your tips
I really have to remind myself that I blog because I want to, because I LOVE IT. I never want a situation to arise where that’s not my primary motivation to blog. I feel responsible for my blog but obligations with family, friends and school have to come first sometimes.
We’re all such extreme hobbyists with this blogging thing <3
“while I think I’m getting back into the swing of things now (I really WANT to blog!!) I’m sure it’ll happen again.”
I think this is the thing to keep in mind, huh? Like, if it’s not happening RIGHT NOW, it’s for a reason and and and… yeah? I’m kind of running seriously behind at the moment and having a ‘CRAP. WHAT DO I POST?!’ problem, but I also know that people will forgive me if I, well, don’t post on a given day?
And you are SO right… and you’ve worded it perfectly (I wish I could have thought of it
) here: “I blog because I want to, because I LOVE IT. I never want a situation to arise where that’s not my primary motivation to blog.”
EXACTLY. And and and… SONIA. YOU SO SMART ♥
I love you.
And hahaha, I feel like I’ve thwarted my school system because I can access your blog on the school computer! Huzzah! Like everything is blocked on this thing. Things are blocked for “FRIENDSHIP CONTENT.” I guess because yours isn’t a .blogspot?
MWAHAHAHA! WE WIN AT THE INNERNETS, SONIA! DID YOU KNOW?
Maybe it is because of the blogspot thing? And because it’s not hosted at the same location and whatnot?
Mmmm… THOUGHTS
There are many reasons why I love you, posting this just adds to that list. I love you. I love you. I love you.
Also, you said this “a great big group friends that help me cope, that – for some strange reason – love me for me, and don’t mind if I miss a week posting.” and it DEFINITELY hit the nail on the head!!
Is reason number #1 because I have potential to provide Tim Tams? Because I’m actually totally OK with that
Also: I love you ♥
Lol! I love the Taken quote.
I suffered from Blogger Burnout the other month :/ I ended up having to spread out the posts I had ‘backlogged’ to make them last longer than a month because I knew I wouldn’t get any up afterwards since I needed a break.
I’m still rather new in the community (Just over six months) so I don’t have any tips etc. But I love learning new things from everyone else!
First time visitor here and I love your blog!
Ahahaha! THANK YOU! I was wondering if anyone was going to notice or get it (so far only you and my friend Jen ;D)
I’m still kind of new, too. Only just coming up on a year, but I think you learn to find a balance that works for you. I think one of the things that’s hardest for me is that pre-blogging, I’d go through reading burnout. I’d read STACKS, and then I’d go two or three months without reading a thing. Blogging kind of removes the luxury of that? It’s worth it — I wouldn’t change it, I LOVE blogging — but it is hard to deal with when you have real life, also ;D
Thanks so much! It’s lovely to ‘meet’ you! ♥
OOHHH, blogger burnout. This is something every blogger suffers from. I totally know how it feels. On bad days, updating the blog becomes a chore – I have to read, read, read, type up review after review after review, brainstorm for discussion posts to keep things different, scheduling posts, etc. – it can all get TOO much sometimes, you know?
Your tips are awesome, though! So far, the stress hasn’t become so serious that I need to take breaks from blogging, but I agree that everyone should take stress seriously. It can lead to some MAJOR problems.
You don’t need to be like those blogs, Sarah! I look up to them, too – Giselle, especially, since she’s a mom, and she has kids to take care of, and yet she’s able to blog and publish a post EVERY DAY. I’m in awe, really. But this blog is uniquely YOU, and you don’t need to follow others. We’ll love you even if you publish a post a month – which, I hope, won’t happen, because your posts/reviews/discussions are AWESOME. And yes! Friends are always there to help. That’s what makes them so important.
To me, taking a break from blogging, and maybe even reading (if that’s possible) would be the best thing to do. Starting a blog is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made – ever. It would be a shame to just stop because I couldn’t cope with the stress anymore. Besides, everyone needs a break every once in a while, don’t they?
If you haven’t already guessed from this ULTRA long comment: AMAZING post. Someone really needed to address the issue of blogger burnout, and I’m so glad you did! <3
Oh, dear. You’re not the only one who leaves long comments! O_O
i soooo agree with you! once blogging crosses over to work … it’s just no more fun. i prescribe to the concept of “Blogging without Obligation”:
http://www.tartx.com/blog/?page_id=233
Oh, this is a WONDERFUL idea! Because, well, yes, like you said. You shouldn’t have to look at your blog like it’s a treadmill ;D
LOVE LOVE LOVE your post, Sarah! I have no comments
I started my blog when school wasn’t so busy but now that it’s hectic, I can’t post often and it makes me feel sad. Sometimes I do take a break from blogging so that I don’t feel like it’s an obligation!
Sarah, I ADORE YOUR POSTS, YOUR BLOG and YOU! ♥
I completely agree and admire this post. I actually experienced blogger burnout 2 weeks ago, and my solution was to just quit cold turkey. I didn’t touch my blog in that fortnight, but I had scheduled up some random posts and backlogged some reviews. I think it works great that way!
Instead of feeling like you have to be on your computer EVERY NIGHT in order to keep up with posting, I think it’s a lot more manageable to spend one night a week where you reply to comments and line up some posts to schedule. This is just for a severely casual book blog, I can’t say I know what it feels like to manage a blog that has thousands upon thousands of followers!
Fantastic post, thank you so much for this
I want to wrap this blog post (and you!) up in a big hug and squeeze it with love! *hug*
But brushing your teeth daily and making sure you don’t chew on sandpaper can certainly assist in maintaining a bright, healthy smile. LOL! Wait, we’re NOT supposed to chew on sandpaper? Dang it…
I find the self-imposed pressure of posting a review once or more every week is a big stressor for me. THIS x 1,000. I marvel at those who can churn out reviews like hotcakes. I am seriously in awe of them. I cannot. I knew this before I started blogging, thankfully (truthfully, I’m a very high-stress person in general). I decided I was going to review the books I want and the books I like. If that means I get little to no arcs, so be it. Less stress is worth it.
I also only post once a week, which is about all I can handle most of the time. Been thinking about upping that to two posts, but we’ll see. Haven’t completely decided yet.
Whether it’s from reading, from posting, or from the three-hundred blog posts bookmarked in my reader, sometimes I need a break. Also THIS! Mostly it’s a break from my reader. I need to get better at this though. I tend to feel bad because I’m not following ALL THE BLOGS! Seriously. There are SO many awesomely fantastic blogs out there and I want to let those people know how awesome they are. But, for my own sanity, I need to tell myself it’s okay not to follow ALL THE BLOGS! Or that it’s okay to not comment on every post.
PS I love your blog and this post and YOU.
*sigh* I’m severely aggravated that I didn’t put quotation marks around your quotes. STREEESSSS!!!! :p
OOO YES!!!!
Wonderful posting Sarah!!
I have personally been thinking about this a lot lately as trust me I do get burnt out!!!! Notice the exclamation marks, lol!! I LOVE blogging, but I have had to teach myself to calm down a bit. I think after spending most of my life working full time, raising the kidlets, I think I look at it as ME time. But then the blog got busy….lol!! OMG!! The emails and requests. Then I found myself saying YES to most requests. Note my 45 blog tours in a ridiculous amount of time…..oooo BURN OUT!!( silly me) So I have had to teach myself to calm down or else *face plant*
Blogging is such a creative outlet for me as I am a creative person by nature but I also have a family and that takes time and mummy duties and wifey duties and housework duties (blagh) I also do the Tuckshop duty ( I am Sanga lady) . Basically blogging is a bit addictive for me….could be worse, lol!
But yes to all of the above in your awesome posting!! I have thought a lot about writing a posting about what it takes to do a blog etc…well you all know, but more as a release I think. My boat has sailed to be in the publishing world, but I do think I should have done the UNI thing and I would have had a ball. Shame it took me so long to realize what I love doing:)
Do I feel stressed SURE!!!!!!!!!!! But I also know I bring it on myself. I have decided to take a deep breath and as I am not paid, it is a hobby I have given myself a severe talking to and have tried to bring it all back to what it was to start with. More what I want to review . I DO LOVE helping Indie authors but I am sadly saying NO to loads of them now as I just can’t. Not enough heads and time. I love reading the books publishers send, interviewing etc so I am bringing it back to being fun times not aaaaggghhhhh!!! check the clock , lol!!
I think it also comes down to being a tad older *cough* than most of you, just a tad * cough * and I have popped out the kidlets and I am keeping the brain oiled and trying to feel like I am doing something, other than keeping the house tidy, lunches, school pickup, grocery shopping blagh the list goes on.
All you younger chickens have study and jobs, part time jobs , social lives…oh what is a social life again?? hehe!! So you are all busy juggling all that, plus maybe wee kidlets?. I take my hat off to ALL of you juggling all of that and STILL blogging and reading and reviewing. It takes time and commitment to do what we do. So I have always been in awe of you guys who juggle school, being a teenager, young adult, jobs…..the list goes on and you front up to your blogs with such awesome postings.
I do like to keep my brain oiled so I don’t ‘lose it’ as I get older. So I just sit in my corner of the world on my little chair and keep my brain chuggling along, the cogs moving:)
Again Awesome posting Sarah!
Mich:D
xx
Oh p.s.
With blogging it can sometimes feel like you are blogging to air and you question whether somebody enjoyed what you wrote. Could I have written it better?All those things come to mind, but what I love is the amount of variety that I see in blogs all over the world. We ALL have our own things we do and we ALL bring something to the book table, it doesn’t matter how often. I don’t think about how many postings a blog does. I LOVE spending an hour at some stage of the day and looking through my emails or dashboard and seeing what everybody is reading or posting about. Sooooo many books, soooooo many blogs. If I can’t read it all, cause let’s face it my TBR pile is going to keep me warm when I am 6ft under, hehe!! Seriously, I am NOT joking:) Hubby will throw in some books into the ol’ coffin to keep me tide over:) I can read what other blogs have liked ..or posted about. So Win! Win!
ok I am going to go now as epic long comment:D
Love EVERYBODY’S blogs!!
xxx
Mich
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I totally agree, blogging can become stressful, but it doesn’t need to stay that way obviously! I just went through a huge stressball of blogging because I couldn’t post often due to IB (school) and that kept eating me up. Now I kind of structure myself, and post ahead of time, knowing that on somedays I won’t be able to blog because of homework, etc. totally works, and now I’m pretty go-easy on my blogging
Thanks for the amazing post!!
Rabiah @ Confessions of a Readaholic
I’ve come to accept that I can’t post everyday too. I am just not that fast and I’m completely fine with that.
Though I have to admit, recently I’ve been incredibly buried under work and can barely find the time to do anything blog-related. My reviews recently have made me cringe… I can’t seem to remember how to write. 
I think I need a break next month or something.
Anyway, thanks for this AWESOME post, Sarah. It gives me plenty of things to think about.
Uh… Sam? If YOUR reviews are making you cringe, I have NO HOPE
Seriously, I have this problem, too (actually, I’ve spent the last 2-3 hours procrastinating and commenting instead of doing something about that) but it’s like… you sit down to write and have no idea what to write, or how, or words or… and then sometimes i freak out that I’m just review writing by numbers, if that makes any sense.
ANYWAY.
Sam. Your reviews are :O
Seriously. No words. Only emotions
This is such a great post, Sarah! I’ve been going through some burnout myself lately, both in blogging and in reading. Sometimes it helps to switch genres (esp from YA to adult), but I think I also psyched myself out in September by trying to schedule too many posts. I BLAME THE CRAZY NUMBER OF September releases! But lesson learned, I’m just too busy to post too often, and I try to do too much I’ll end up not doing anything at all. I have a great deal of admiration for the bloggers who seem to post daily, too.
I appreciate all your tips and your matter-of-fact attitude about all this. So expect a crazed phone call from me the next time I overtax myself.
Ahahaha! You are welcome to crazed phone call me any time XD
It is SO easy to overtax yourself, though. And I don’t think it’s until it comes to the time where you post and do the actual work that you realize just how much you’ve conjured yourself to, and how hard it is to cope.
And September releases? SO MUCH AMAZING. Late October into November, too.
And the genre/category change? Yes! I find this helps me a lot of the time. If I’ve been reading nothing but YA a few adult romances make me very happy… But… Then I have trouble going back to YA
Ugh. I know I’m feeling Blogger Burnout right now. When I was blogging alone, I used to post every few days and then, it was only a review or meme. And I might not have been a popular blogger or got a ton of visitors, but it was fun. As you know, Kat and I have something going up everyday and when we first started it was just us posting. To help with it, we’ve recently brought on 3 new reviewers that submit reviews every week to give us days off.
The thing I notice about us is that we tend to post long and involved posts (like the author interviews or discussion posts) and they take up a crap ton of time when you have two very young kiddos running around all day (for both of us in this case). Even with my reviews or just reading a book, sometimes I don’t get “dedicated blogging/reading time.” It’s more or less and hour here, 15 min there, etc. And sometimes it feels like I’m spending so much time blogging, that I’m not doing the thing that got me blogging in the first place, reading.
So I think the biggest this I need is balance. I need to figure out a way to balance reading with family life. I think that might mean posting less because, realistically, I just don’t have the time for everything. I miss commenting on other blogs and hanging out on GoodReads, but I’m doing that less and less.
I really want to go back to my roots. I want to read books because I want to read them, in the order that I want to read them, not because of their nearing release date. I want to comment on my friends’ blogs. I want to hang out on GoodReads and waste time talking to other book lovers. I want to love blogging as much as I used to.
Any way, great post and very timely. Do you mind if I add your post link to our Blogging Support Network page?
Steph, oh my goodness, yes.
it’s finding that balance, but balance can be hard. And… Ok, wow. I new Kat had little minions, but I didn’t know you did, too. And the amount of work you guys put into that blog, and the detail, because you don’t just post three paragraph reviews is kind of incredible.
And… At the end of the day, family has to come first. And day jobs. And housework… And all these things and… Hmmm. I feel you. But YES. I agree COMPLETELY — I think balance is the most important thing to find.
And of course I don’t mind if you link! I mean, Uh, I think I’d kind of be, like, honored, if that’s not seriously weird XD
*nods* here’s to making blogging fun again xx
It’s so easy to say and harder to do, isn’t it? But every time I visit your lovely blog with your well-thought out reviews, I remember that I can be awesome and not post everyday.
And yes! Minions is a good title for them. They are so busy, so therefore, I am too. I’ll tell you have have been tempted to post a review like so: “This book is awesome. Go read it. 5 stars.” XD I’m sure the publisher would not be happy. hahaha.
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