Blogging burnout happens. It is real and common among many bloggers.

You could be a regular blogger, blogging consistently with a lot of passion. Then one day blogging burnout hits you. You feel a lack of motivation and unfocused each time you sit down to blog.

You can’t find inspiration to blog.

You feel drained engaging with your blogging community and tired of marketing your content. Blogging less and less creeps up on you.

This month marks six years since my first post on this blog. Blogging burnout is something I admittedly feel. There are days where I don’t want to blog, let alone write anything.

There are many days where sitting down and writing a blog post feels like a frustrating chore. And there are also days where I feel like quitting blogging altogether.

The reasons for blogging burnout are endless. Many bloggers like me and you might feel it because we get tired from churning out repetitive blog content. You might find overwhelming to keep up with fellow bloggers and reading every post they publish. You don’t see the point of blogging anymore.

Getting out of a blogging rut often involves reflecting on your blogging journey. Recognising what is making you feel stuck is a step towards feeling inspired to blog again.

Here are some ways to overcome and avoid blogging burnout.

1. Ask yourself why you started blogging

Why did you start a blog in the first place?

What are some of the topics you blog about now?

Knowing the reasons behind your blog and blog content can make you see your purpose behind it.

As a blogger, you started blogging for a reason. Over time the more you blogged, the more you may have explored different ideas on your blog. Perhaps you lost sight of what motivated you to blog in the first place. .

Or perhaps you don’t connect anymore with your original reasons on why you started blogging. Your outlook on life, priorities and blog have changed – and you might need to change the reasons you blog.

I initially started the blog to improve on my non-fiction writing skills. Over the years I’ve published my essays on the blog and in academic journals. Over the years I’ve also felt more comfortable writing in more colloquial language on this blog.

As the reasons for blogging change, you could revamp your blog’s theme or write about things that you’ve never written about – giving your blog a new look and feel that resonates with where you’re at in life.

2. Get organised

When you make time for your blogging, chances are you’ll feel less overwhelmed and uncertain with it. There’s a lot involved with blogging: drafting posts, visiting other blogs and sharing your blogs across social media. Setting a blogging routine or schedule can help you keep up with blogging – and give you a sense of purpose behind it again.

At one point, I spent four to five hours at night blogging, going to bed with bloodshot-Chucky-looking eyes.

These days I manage blogging much better: one hour a day reading blogs and answering comments. Two to three hours a week researching topics to write about. A few nights a week drafting a post. An evening editing blog photos. In between blogging with vigour, I get to live life and actually get sleep.

3. Blog less

A month-long sabbatical or just a week’s break could be what you need to recharge and feel the desire to blog again. We all need to live and experience life in order to tell stories.

Unless there’s a zombie apocalypse headed your way, you can always jump back into blogging when you feel ready to return.

Six years ago I blogged once a week. Then I blogged every fortnight. Then once every three weeks. Now it’s once a month. As much as I want to read every post of every blogger I follow, I’ve stopped doing that so as to manage my time – giving my blog and other blogs the attention they deserve.

In addition, having guest posts on your blog is one way to blog less. It’s also a good way to showcase the work of other dedicated bloggers.

4. Generate fresh content

If you feel tired of blogging, perhaps blog about what you’ve never blogged about before. Perhaps you could revisit older posts and blog about these posts from a different perspective. Blogging about something different is a way to come up with fresh content while making it feel less mundane.

Learning to effectively tailor your content to a specific audience can also make you more driven as a blogger. Think outside of the box to get your audience engaged with your posts – learn what they like to read and utilise SEO to get in touch with your demographic.

5. Don’t compare

It’s easy to compare your blog with other blogs. You might wonder why some blogs seem more popular than others. When you compare, you might question if it’s worth blogging.

Unless you want to be a social media influencer or make a living off your blog, there’s no need to compete and outdo other blogs. Blog views doesn’t necessarily translate into blog engagement. There’s only so much satisfaction that comes from triumphing in the popularity stakes for one night, one moment.

In general, blogs that have a large audience are more personable and relatable. For instance, commercial blogs Lifehacker, Gizmodo and Mashable feature posts mostly about everyday technology, dining, relationships and lifestyle tip, and are read by millions each month. Writers Jeff Goins and Stephanie Klein made their mark as authors through blogging about their everyday lives – sharing personal challenges, conversations and parenting ups and downs.

As an introvert, sharing my personal life online isn’t something I want to do. I shun the trends of showing my face on every post and don’t talk about my day job, personal relationships and what I’m doing each weekend. That makes me comfortable with my blog.

When you blog about what you’re comfortable with and what you believe in, you enjoy blogging a lot more.

6. Talk to others who don’t blog

Others who don’t blog can have a refreshing view on blogging. They can provide a different or brutally honest perspective on your blog, giving you feedback on how you can improve it.

Very few of my friends and family are bloggers, and very few read my blog. Whenever I lament to my friends how I’m so done with blogging, they reiterate my blog is ‘cool and famous’ and I’m a quirky bean of a blogger.

* * *

Even after trying all these ways to feel more motivated about blogging, I still found myself in a blogging rut this year. Maybe sometimes when you don’t feel like doing something, you just don’t anymore.

Blogs and bloggers come and go. The average lifespan of a blog post is two years. As blogs are increasingly taking on different formats, a study titled Lifetime Value of a Blog Post found by day 700 since being published, a blog post would have receives 99% of its impressions, Thereafter, information becomes out of date and losses its appeal.

It’s worth asking is blogging still relevant and taken seriously these days. Blog credibility and blogs’ reliability as information sources are often questioned as many opinions on blogs are subjective and aren’t always fact-checked. That said, there are millions of bloggers out there who blog just because they enjoy blogging.

If you’re thinking about whether or not to continue blogging, perhaps ask yourself what you have achieved with blog so far. Ask yourself what else you want to achieve with your blog, and work towards that.

For me, blogging has become my writing portfolio. It keeps me writing and focused on putting my book out there. It’s a lovely community of different people all over the world voicing their thoughts and learning from each other.

Most of my readers come from the United States, and a handful from Australia. This is not surprising as social analytics platform Sysmos found 29.2% of bloggers are located in the States while just 2.22% in Australia. While maintaining a high readership in Australia isn’t the aim of my blog, it’s interesting to note where my readers are located – giving me insight into reasons why people stop by my blog.

Where to from here with this blog is up in the air. Outside of blogging, writing my first book (and another) is underway. There’s people to look out for. Chores to do. Other hobbies I want to pursue like finding the keys to Kashyyyk. So where to with this blog, time will tell.

How do you avoid blogging burnout?