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Stop. Drop. Roll. Take a break. Do a jig. Run around naked.
Often times, I feel overwhelmed by the number of posts I need to write, the number of books I need to read for the week, and the number of comments and blogs I need to reply to. Let's be honest here, blogging gets crazy. Newbie bloggers might not think this is true now, but just wait, the stress of book blogging will slowly overcome you. Like sleep.
Therefore, I've decided to share with you a number of tips that have gotten me through the potential burnout of being a blogger.
This is the simplest, and most easiest thing to do if you feel like you're in a blogging slump. When you're on a break, whether it's for a week or a month, you don't have to worry about scheduling, commenting back, or any other obligations
As Amber @ YA Indulgences says, (currently on a hiatus now):
It's super refreshing to wake up every morning and not think "I need to blog today". I just like that I don't have to worry or stress about doing blog posts. It's freeing.
Thank you Amber!
By this, I mean to close away any old open tabs of blogs, mark all Bloglovin' posts as "read", stop commenting on blog posts from 1994 and get with the future already! I suffer from this a lot, and I've noticed that it impacts my commenting back. If I leave posts open on my laptop for too long, I'll lose interest in them, so that's not a good thing. My solution, and tip to you, is just to focus on the new posts from blogs you love, rather than being stuck in the old. Unless one of the posts is still super interesting to you.
Starting fresh could also mean starting over completely with a new blog, which I have seen some bloggers do, but it's not something I personally will do. (But moving to Wordpress? Maybe one day!)
Rather than commenting on a hundred blogs in one day, just focusing on 10 to 15 blogs a day is much more manageable. I have been guilty of leaving all my commenting until the last day, and in the end I'm burned out by all the commenting. However, if I take things one at a time, and comment on a couple posts throughout the day, I feel more interested in the posts I am reading, and less burned out. So win win for me and the blogger!
This works on your own blog too! I always had (have) a hard time with commenting back on my own TTT post because my response would be the same over and over again if I tackled them all at once. However, when I responded to comments right away, I felt less repetitive when it came to replying, since I replied as the comments were posted.
This worked extremely well for me during the academic year, when I was incredibly busy with not only work and classes, but studying as well. During the year, I would read on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday whenever I had free time, comment on blogs on Tuesday and Thursday, and schedule blog posts on Saturdays and Sundays. This well balanced schedule helped me read about two to three books a week, which is something I had been struggling with beforehand.
Lastly, you can just panic. There's no reason not to right? Sometimes life will always be out of control and there is nothing you can do about it hahah! Hey some people live off of stress! It makes people stronger, and allows them to keep blogging until the end of time.
Just look at Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight, she is very overwhelmed, but is doing a fabulous job at basically everything blogging-wise.
Just look at Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight, she is very overwhelmed, but is doing a fabulous job at basically everything blogging-wise.
Okay. I am insanely overwhelmed right now, because for three weeks I have been/will be posting every day, sometimes more than that because of the event AND blog tours that ended up coinciding, PLUS all books ever written coming out on September 1! I am behind on comments, and basically a big old ball of panic. BUT, blogging and reading are basically my crack, and I cannot go without a fix. And I need to talk to my people, so blogging is kind of ideal for that too. And even though the event IS a little stressful, it has been so amazing to see everyone being so inspirational and kind and supportive that the uplifting parts absolutely outweigh the stressful ones.
You go Shannon. I have faith in you. And the event she is talking about is Shattering Stigmas, which you all must go check out.
So yes, I'm hoping that maybe this will help some bloggers out when it comes to managing blogging and time, and what to do when getting behind on comments on posts. The bottom line is, it's OKAY that you are behind. The world isn't going to smite you if you don't return EVERY SINGLE COMMENT within the day you posted! Bloggers know that life gets in the way, so it's completely acceptable to slack off once in a while.
How do you handle blogging stress? Do you have any other tips to add?
