Do you want to learn about the signs and symptoms of blogging burnout? Are you also interested in discovering several actionable strategies you can use to overcome this common problem experienced by content marketers for businesses and solo bloggers alike?
If you answered yes, you’ve made it to the right place!
The average blogger spends around 4 hours and 10 minutes to craft an engaging, shareable blog post. Depending on the industry, this time could be much more or less. For instance,
technical writers usually spend more time working on articles due to the research involved.
Despite the average post taking around 4 hours, that doesn’t mean a reasonable blogger working 40 hours each week can publish 10 posts.
Creative work, like writing, requires bloggers to rest and recharge. If you don’t take this time, you’ll quickly hit burnout and struggle to be as productive as you’d like.
Today, we will go over the most common symptoms of blogging burnout and discuss 5 actionable strategies you can do to slow down, and even reverse, this unfortunate but common phenomenon.
What Are the Signs of Blogging Burnout?
Blogging burnout can creep up on you before you know it. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself experiencing one or more of the following symptoms:
- Feeling anxious or stressed about blogging (when that wasn’t the case before)
- Trouble concentrating and brainstorming, which often leads to longer work days and more stress.
- A noticeable decrease in productivity
- Consistently failing to reach goals.
- Physical symptoms, such as fatigue and tension headaches.
- Blogging feels tedious, tiresome, and boring.
4 Ways to Overcome Blogging Burnout
Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to look at several strategies you can use to overcome blogging burnout.
1. Set Realistic Expectations
One of the most common reasons bloggers experience burnout is they set unrealistic expectations for themselves. Once they inevitably fail to reach their goals, they start feeling overwhelmed and start spiraling down a path to burnout.
You can avoid this mistake by setting realistic goals and expectations based on your skills and time. For example, if you’re barely getting 2 posts published each week, it’s unrealistic to start expecting yourself to write 5 or 6 each week without gradually improving.
The best way to get better at setting goals is to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for yourself. KPIs are numbers you are expected to hit over a predetermined period. In most cases, they are measured weekly and quarterly.
In this instance, I would start by attempting to write 3 posts per week. This is a more realistic goal and will boost your confidence once you hit publish on the last article. I also suggest adding secondary goals to improve your blog, like getting a specific number of backlinks and internal links each month.
2. Write When You’re Most Productive
Another common reason for burnout is people try to push themselves when their minds are not ready. Some of us are morning birds and ready to go before the sun is up. On the other hand, many of us are night owls and prefer to work when everyone else is sleeping.
Regardless of your preferences, you should stick to a schedule that aligns with when you are most productive.
When people try to push themselves and work when they’re used to sleeping, they tend to experience burnout much faster than people who go with the flow and work when they’re comfortable.
I suggest reflecting on how you feel during the day and scheduling time to write when you feel sharp and alert.
3. Use Tools to Help You Get Past Small Ruts
Next, let’s talk about how you can use brainstorming tools to get over small ruts on your blogging journey. Using the right tools will save you time and mental energy, which can help you maintain a consistent schedule without suffering from the ill effects of burnout.
I suggest using a blog post title generator to come up with ideas for posts. It’s not easy to come up with new titles week after week. A generator can give you some great ideas for current and upcoming posts. I often use them as a foundation for most of my articles.
Since many solo bloggers don’t have editors, I suggest investing in a grammar and spelling tool. You’ll become a fine editor with time and practice, but a second pair of “eyes” can make a big difference in the quality of your work.
Many bloggers have found AI-powered tools like ChatGPT to be helpful when writing articles. It’s not advised to copy and paste the text these tools produce. Instead, they should be viewed as a brainstorming tool that you can use to come up with ideas for your posts. For example, if you’re writing an article titled “10 email marketing tips,” and you’ve come up with 8, a simple prompt can help you come up with ideas for the final two.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Take Time Off
Finally, it’s impossible to stress the importance of taking time off every once in a while. We all need time to rest and relax if we want to do our best work.
My advice is to schedule long weekends occasionally and try to take at least a full week off each quarter. I found that having a few extra days off made me more productive than I would have been if I had worked all those days.
There will be unplanned times when you wake up, and you’re not feeling your best. Not necessarily sick, but also not capable of getting through an article. This is completely normal, and you shouldn’t feel bad or get down on yourself when you need to take an extra day.
Your mind and body benefit from true, uninterrupted rest. Stressing when you feel burnout coming on will only make the situation worse.
The lesson here is when you’re working on your content calendar, don’t forget to pencil some time off for yourself.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever experienced burnout, you know it’s extremely frustrating and worrying. The best thing you can do is avoid getting to that point by watching for symptoms and taking steps to overcome burnout.
The strategies outlined today will help you develop a helpful, healthy blogging schedule that has the potential to improve your happiness and long-term success. I highly recommend using your experiences and knowledge combined with these tips to customize your journey.
