Time To Talk! The Back Side of Blogger Burnout.

Posted July 1, 2013 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 20 Comments

You’d think I’d take the time to snap a picture of a more
summer-like coffee mug, but I just love this one too much. 


It was bound to happen sooner or later, right? 
Everyone gets a case of blogger burnout every now and then…
or so I’ve heard

I’ve been fortunate that it hasn’t happened to me to a serious degree before.
I take this blog-thing seriously, but I’m not really obsessive about it. I don’t freak out if I don’t have a post for a day or two, that sort of thing. But lately – I just haven’t even been able to even turn on my computer for more than very small amounts of time without feeling this crushing, overwhelming OMG TURN IT OFF! feeling. 

It took me a while to realize that feeling was actually 
me feeling burned-out. 

I’ve just not really had much of a problem with it until recently. 
I think between being post-BEA/NYC for the first time
blog events
a tiny amount of behind-the-scenes blogger drama
and some personal stuff outside of blogging 
I’m just happy that I’m still reading
(Although I will admit to a couple of days when I barely even looked at a book. Those days are gone and my BookwormAsheley nerd-self is back 100%.)

You guys, I’ve watched more TV in the past few days 
than in the past two years. TRUTH.

I guess it was just time for a break. Either that or crash, because I was headed in that direction. Getting burned-out on something always comes at the worst times, doesn’t it? I’ve had two events going on that I’ve not been able to keep up with. I just couldn’t. And I haven’t been able to visit and read other blogs in over two months. I just haven’t been able to due to real-life stuff, and it was wearing me down (because I like to visit blogs as much as I like to write one). 

BUT I NEEDED A BREAK. 

I’ve not been very open about how I was feeling. I haven’t tweeted it out there, blogged about it, done any of those things. I just didn’t see the necessity in it. But it does make me feel better sometimes to come on here and talk about stuff, so that’s why I’m talking about it now – now that I’m on the up-swing! WOOHOO!

If I’ve caused you frustration because I’ve been behind on something or non-existent where I’m normally very present, I sincerely apologize. 

I’m slowly coming back around. I’ve been reading like crazy so I’ll spend some time writing up some thoughts on the books I’ve read. But I’m not pushing myself too hard. I love this blog far too much for me to: 
make it feel like a chore – which it doesn’t
give up on it – which I won’t
let it go – not gonna happen
stop blogging – not an option

I just thought I’d put a few words up here so you all know 
how I’m feeling
that I’m still here
that I’m reading
but I needed a break. 

I repeat – this blog isn’t a chore and doesn’t feel like work. 
I love it so much. But we need breaks from even the things that we love sometimes, ya know?

Anyway, I’m ready to start reading blogs again ASAP. 
I’m ready to put out good stuff for you guys. 
Thank you for reading what I’ve had to say for the past few months while this has been going on – whether you are a commenter or not (please do!), I know that you’re there and I kind of love you all for it. 

BLOGGERS: 
Have any of you all had blogger burnout before? 
What helped you get back into the swing of things? 




Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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20 responses to “Time To Talk! The Back Side of Blogger Burnout.

  1. Awww, so sorry you've been having burnout! I'm glad you're not going to push yourself on blogging, though, because I completely agree – sometimes we need breaks from even the things we love. Glad you took some time for yourself. 🙂 And I can't wait to see what you've thought of what you've been reading!

    • Thanks Randi! I just needed a bit of a break after a while of some craziness. I'm back to enjoying it, though! And thankfully I'm slowly able to start reading blogs again, which is really how I started loving it to begin with.

  2. <3 you, A:)

    Everyone needs a break.
    Contrary to popular belief, you are only human 😉
    I knew it was something you would work through.
    It's your blog: YOU set the pace for yourself.

    Glad you're feeling better & back in action:)

  3. Oh friend, I TOTALLY understand. I feel like I'm going through these burn out sessions more and more frequently and for longer periods of time since last summer. Nowadays I'm pretty satisfied if I get three posts done a week and comment on my closest friends blogs, and I've become a total lurker on others that I used to put more time into reaching out to–I just don't have that time/energy. Every so often when I think of quitting though, I'll at some point have that BOOK or IDEA that I just HAVE to post about, and I'm in it again. I glad to hear you're back on the up-swing! And I agree 100%, don't push yourself too hard. 🙂

    • Thanks Heidi!
      I've never really felt this way before so when it hit me, I felt like I was flailing and I wasn't sure what was going on. But I feel a lot better now and I'm hoping this upswing stays. I love this little blog.

  4. I heart you! This post was amazing! I agree with the desire to not want to do anything after all the craziness of BEA but I got back into binge reading pretty fast. I never know what is the norm for how many posts/how often. I always feel like I either post too much or not enough and then I get overwhelmed and I say the same things to myself. Don't freak out and not enjoy it. I remember why I started doing this and it was to vent about all my feels and meet people who love books. LOVE your post 🙂

    • Aaahhh, thank you Kelly! I'm slowly making my way back but hopefully I can make my way back to VISITING blogs because that is what I really love. That's how it all started for me. I'm not sure how I got so off-track but we make time for things we love, so I've got to get BACK ON IT, ya know?!

  5. I am kind of behind on you having blogger burnout. This is from me having reading blog burnout, I think. I can understand. After BEA, I felt really tired and overwhelmed too and feel like I had to redirect all my feelings somewhere else. It's nice to know that you can take a break when you need to and your happy readers (!!!) are around when you return. xo. Hope you are a feeling a little bit better. I'm sorry if I have been MIA but if you ever need to chat, I'm always around. xo

    • I never felt you were MIA! Also, I didn't really broadcast how I was feeling on twitter and stuff like some people do, I was really trying to work through everything on my own. I'm slowly getting there. I think LIFE just overwhelmed me, if you know what I mean. Coming back from BEA just slapped me in the fact here at home, and I need to get back into my routine, which I'm having a hard time doing. But I'm getting there slowly. And finally starting to read blogs again, which is my first love.

  6. I definitely get this whole blogger burnout thing! It's honestly not always fun to be a blogger, and taking a step back is often the best thing we can do. I'm glad that your mini-break from blogging helped you refresh yourself! Your readers, including yours truly, are certainly excited to have you back! <3

    • Oh thank you Alexa! This feeling has been so foreign to me because this blog is such a comforting place to me that I've always been able to go there and just BE. But I've had some trouble lately and It's broken my heart. But I'm slowly coming back and thankfully I've kept reading for the most part (while I've been binge-watching Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl!).

  7. Ha, you know this happened to me! I think the solution is to take a step back, enjoy other hobbies, and think about what makes YOU happy. My two cents. oxo

    • I LOVE your two cents.

      The thing is that this blog makes me the happiest – well, the community, really. So I've been enjoying the community on the backside mostly (and also watching a little bit of TV, which I rarely do). I also took a few naps which was glorious if we're being honest.

  8. Amy

    GO YOU, Asheley. Taking a break or easing up on blogging is, I think, just in the natural ebb and flow of being a blogger. It's so important sometimes to take a step back and just chill and do other stuff. Rejuvenate yourself. Not feeling pressure, whether from yourself or elsewhere, to post every day is a huge help, at least for me. That way, if I'm too tired when I get home from work or too invested in the book I'm reading or if I'm catching up on Vampire Diaries (hehe!), I can feel totally free to do those things. Happy mediums, amirite?!
    At any rate, I'm so glad that you talked about burnout and that you're back in the groove of things, too. <3333

    • Thank you Amy! I'm glad too. I LOVE this blog and didn't like feeling the burnout AT ALL. But I suppose we all go through it. I just picked a fun, indulgent audiobook, picked a fun book or two, and got back into it. Now I'm feeling a bit better about it with a lot less pressure since my big (largely unsuccessful event) is over and I'm back from BEA for the first time.

      It's good to be back!

  9. Thank you so much for sharing! I've been struggling with feelings of burnout on and off a lot this year when I've never really felt it before. For me, it's mostly feeling overwhelmed with other IRL commitments and I keep having to recalibrate and figure out what is most important to me at that time.

    • Apparently it must be something we all go through at some time or another, but truthfully this is the first time I've experienced this to this kind of degree. It took me a little while to get my groove back – and honestly I'm still working on it, but it's coming back and I'm so grateful. I love this blog so much and don't want to feel it's a chore. I never really felt that way, but I don't want to feel it's mixing with real-life stuff either. This is the place I come to get AWAY from those real-life things, my place to escape. Thank YOU for sharing!

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