Thursday 24 April 2014

Blogging burnout: how to avoid/cure it?

Daniela Pesconi-Arthur; my writing shed
                                                              (picture source: http://heartifb.com/)


          Oh, my.... It's day 24 of Ultimate Blog Challenge and I'm here, lost in my words, staring at the wall and there's nothing else I can think of writing about than what I'm going through today: confusion.
        When I accepted the challenge of writing one post a day for the whole month, I thought it would be just like a walk in the park... Oh, noooo... I couldn't have been more wrong.
         With writing a post and trying to share it so as many people can read it (Vain, my middle name), comes the pleasure of discovering loads of other lovely blogs and witty, great writers! What happens then... you subscribe to one, than a link in that post takes you to another blog (which you also like, so you subscribe, obviously), and so on... The the next day, you not only receive a link to a new post on the blogs you've subscribed, but because you share your post on Facebook, you go on to comment on two, three new blogs and you like them and subscribe to them and... see what I'm talking about?
          I have several emails now of blogs that I love to read, but am getting frustrated because I simply don't have time to read them. Hunf! Emoji
          Another pattern I've noticed (maybe it's just me, since this is the first time I'm getting so many views and comments) is that I've become obsessed with my blog stats. Honestly, my laptop is on all day now, and I check my stats every 3 hours or so. How many views today? How many views for this post? How many comments/shares etc? Aaaaaahhhhhh...
         I wish I could just write like before. Of course our blog is for our readers, but I think our readers would rather have us sanely writing than writing any silly thing just to have a post.
          For this reason, my blog post today is called "Blogging burnout". The only thing is that, today, I'm not going to be giving any tips on how to deal with it... Today I'm desperately asking for tips on how to deal with it. Things like: how do you organise your time between reading other blogs/writing your own? Do you have a strategy to reply to all the comments without having keep checking every few hours to see if you have any? 

            Well, that's it. I can't do it anymore today. I'm going out to the garden and enjoy the sun  (while it lasts...) :)
            See you tomorrow.
            Dani.

            p.s. since you are in a "help mood" today, may I ask you to be kind enough to suggest a topic for me to write about? I'll mention your name and put a link to your blog in my post! (bribe!!! Emoji
           

13 comments:

  1. I try not to read ANY other blogs until I've written my own post...but I don't always succeed at that. If I'm lacking inspiration, reading can help - there are lots of bright sparks out there who help fire off ideas for things to write about. I find it best is to read something interesting in a totally unrelated field and then try and relate it to mine!

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    1. Great tip, Ana! Whenever I lack ideas/inspiration I usually try to think of someone else, watch a video, to see if I can create a story out of it. I also usually makes lists... I LOVE them! :)
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Dani.

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  2. I love that the cure for blogging burnout is a stroll around the garden. I may just go do that very thing!

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    1. I know! Grab a cup of coffee and go listen to the birds... and not to worry about it... hehe
      Thanks for stopping by, Maia.
      :)
      Dani

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  3. How about a post just sharing 10 blogs that you have enjoyed visiting the most in the last month that you didn't even know existed and why you would visit them again.

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    1. aaaahhhhh..... Brilliant idea, Nayna! I may do just that for tomorrow! I'll post a link to your blog there as well, ok? ;)

      Thanks a million...
      Dani

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  4. I've just spent a bit of time (it was very enjoyable too!) looking through your previous posts, to give me some idea of what you write about. My blog is called "Over 60 and Over Here" as I'm over 60 (obviously!) and though I'm from the UK I now live in Spain. I noticed a few posts where you have written lists, and I also picked up the fact that you're originally from Brazil and now live in Wales. How about a list (say 10 or 12 items) of differences that you have found living in Wales compared to living in Portugal? Once you have done that, I'll try a similar list and link to your post. Your English by the way is so good that I didn't realise to begin with that your first language is Portuguese!

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    1. Oops! Just noticed that I said "compared to living in Portugal", when it should have read "compared to living in Brazil".

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    2. Hi Sue! Thank you for your suggestion! I think it's brilliant! When I first moved to the UK I had a blog (in Portuguese, for my family to read) and one of my posts was about different things here. I'll try to "ressucitate" that post and adapt it. I'll be posting it here soon, perhaps tomorrow. Great idea! I've seen you''ve published a book about moving to Spain. My husband and I think of moving abroad one day and although he's really keen on Spain, I'm divided between Spain and Italy... :) How long have you been living there?
      I'll list your blog on my post when I post the list! Thanks again! :) And I can't wait to read your list!

      Dani.

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  5. I find when I start feeling blog burnout I really have to find something exciting and something that I love to write about in order to get back into the groove of things. Great tips though!

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    1. Hi Tara! This is a good thing to do too: find something exciting that I love to write about. I'm working on a novel at the moment. And that's what I turn to when I can't think of what to write on my blog... :)
      Thanks for dropping by.
      Dani.

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  6. When I'm feeling blog burnout I give myself permission to take some days off. I find that if I don't force myself to write, then a great blog idea will just pour out onto the page when the time is right.
    Since I've blogged for 3 yrs now and participated in the blog challenge more than once, I understand how important flow is to my writing process.

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    1. Hi Nancy, I totally agree. I should take some days off. I guess I'll do that once the blog challenge finishes. It won't be such a pressure to post then. ;)

      Thanks for dropping by.
      Dani.

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