Is Your Blogging Taking Over Your Life?

May 27, 2010 - Last Modified: May 27, 2010 by Karen Woodham

So there you are spending every waking moment on your blog, searching through the mass of information sites trying to find something interesting to blog about, even setting up search terms via TweetDeck for your twitter to see what’s going on.

But you ever take the time out and think to yourself that you could seriously get “blogger burnout” a point where you can sit in front of your computer and your blog posts are just erratic post or your blogging skills just start to go that lackluster that you stop posting for weeks at a time.

This has probably happened to a lot of bloggers, specially those that have been blogging for a short time and just do nothing but blog!

If you do get to the point of you are sitting in front of your computer and you have nothing, not even the title of a blog post, then what should you do, well the first thing you should do is turn your computer off and go and do something else.

Find some Blogging Inspiration

Go out for a walk, call a friend or family member, read a book, watch a bit of TV, it’s all up to you what you do, but staying away from the computer will really help, not only will it relax you and let your mind roam for a while, but you may even find some blogging inspiration from what you are doing, but, and this is a big but, as soon as you get that inspiration back, DO NOT sit in front of your computer straight a way, this is a major no, no.

Instead always have a small notepad and pencil with you and jot down your ideas and work from them, this way you may see something else even more inspiring for you to blog about and even something that will turn into that elusive blogging materpiece 😉

You don’t need to be in front of a computer all the time to blog and inspiration will come from the world around you rather that the world in a box through a phone line..

So, what do you do to get that inspiration if you get “blogger burnout“?

Image credit: Stephen Poff

About Karen Woodham

Follow @BlazingMinds

Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds blog an avid blogger/journalist of all sorts of interesting and odd things. She is also a Cinema Film Reviewer, based in Rhyl, where she reviews the latest movies, she has also had several articles in The Daily Post Newspaper as well as other publications.

{ 52 Responses }

Mark says:

Karen, The best way I have found to build inspiration is to browse forums related to my niche and see exactly what questions people are asking. Generally, you can find a thread with a question as the title. Usually, a great discussion will follow that you can use as an outline for a great authoritative blog post. Additionally, you can put your own "spin" on it if you get my drift. Mark
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Thanks Mark, that's a great idea, I have to admit that my days of reading forums have slacked off recently, I used to read them all the times some years back ;)
Nasif says:

When I am out of ideas I take a break and go for a trip to some greener place !
Timo Kiander says:

The best ideas for blog posts are generated when I'm not at my computer. Some physical activity works well when it comes to idea generation.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I find I have those as well, that's why I always carry my BlackBerry around with me and use it with Wordpress Mobile Pack to write draft posts ;)
jack says:

Good traffic on a blog that managed, is the main goal of each blogger. Do Follow Blog, Comment Luv, Keyword Luv, Top commenter very helpful in achieving that goal.
Jason Jumat says:

I guess a whole lot of people (bloggers) out there turns out to get burnout of blogging! But I agree that these would obviously be nothing other than symptoms of being overstressed. Why are we bloggers, dammit? We are bloggers and we blog about interesting things whenever the inspiration would hit us! It's not a job. So why would we feel that "we just must do" it at a certain time, at a certain time frame - at a certain time pattern and schedule??
Colleen says:

"Go out for a walk, call a friend or family member, read a book, watch a bit of TV, it’s all up to you what you do, but staying away from the computer..." This is a good idea anyway. Computer time can become addicting. Naps are my personal favorite! :D
Jennifer R says:

Ofcourse, wirtting blog cost time so much and so on It may harm your health :(
Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella says:

It is indeed a fine line between passion and obsession. But being organized and prepared makes it easier to strike a balance between blogging and the rest of my existence. I always have a notebook handy for writing down inspirations wherever and whenever they strike. I keep a running list of topic ideas for those days when I need a blog post and can't actually dredge up an idea. Balance is a tricky thing, but it is essential.
ashok says:

The way I deal with blog burnout is twofold: - create a Links post. Someone somewhere on the net must have had something to say that was interesting. Link to it and blurb it, it doesn't have to be a long post. - write about my day, or how I feel. It doesn't have to be earth-shaking: your readers are reading you because of you, not because you're discussing applied relativity.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Two great points there ashok and ones which I have also done myself a few times ;)
RhoRho says:

its starting to take over my life so it seems but its very enjoyable
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Blogging is very enjoyable, but also can be quite addictive ;)
Julius Kuhn-Regnier says:

There are some places where I always get ideas related to blogging. For example when I lie in the bed or when I shower. If you dont know what to write about then you should really stop for a second, do something else and go on from there. Nice article!
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I've had a few ideas in bed myself, that's one of the reasons I have a small notepad next to the bed, so that I can jot things down for later.
Murlu says:

In some ways I think my blogs have taken over my life but they're more a replacement for other forms of media. I haven't watched more than an hour of TV in years because I've been so busy online - I much rather be constantly learning than passively watching. Taking a stroll away from the computer is really great. I'm going to a music festival this weekend where I won't have any internet access for 4 days (Memorial Day counts) which I'm going to keep the entire internet out of my mind. But I know once I get back I'm going to have a ton of fresh ideas to blog about :)
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Hope you enjoyed the music festival, the last music event I went too was Glastonbury, but that was many years ago ;)
Dana says:

For me, Book store always work great to over come my blogging block. There are so many source of inspiration in there. :D
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I think it's similar with me, when I'm in the local library a blog post shoots into my empty head and get's emailed from my phone to my blog as a draft ;)
Dennis Edell says:

I get the burnout, yes indeed. Not blogging specifically (with over 600 drafts and climbing, I don't get writers block), but generally speaking. I wake and don't even wanna turn nuthin' on! There are plenty of days where I go through emails and make my blog reading rounds, just so they don't back up...couple hrs there and back and I shut down for the rest of the day.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  600 Drafts! OMG Dennis where do you find the time, I'm always seeing you comment here there and everywhere, you must be the master of multi-tasking ;)
  - Dennis Edell says:
    
    Hey Karen, Way to answer your own question there luv. ;) LOL The largest percentage of my article ideas come from other bloggers and/or their comments section. It's simple really. My blog is always open in another tab - I'm out reading/commenting and get the idea - pop open the blog tab, draft a title, maybe a beginning sentence or two - pop back over, continue reading/commenting. Super simple. :)
    - Blazing Minds says:
      
      Awesome, what a great tip ;)
chandan says:

Hi Karen you have mentioned some good point on blogging, blogger are like psycho, even I also feel it. I better like to be busy with my computer then go outside. I enjoy more by playing with my system. But sure it is not good for our health. We should all be care to our health.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  It's certainly not good for our health, but, if there is a need to do both, then been wireless with a laptop is an idea, but you didn't hear that from me :lol: Now get outside and relax for a while ;)
Kevin says:

I draw inspiration from tv, movies, books, everyday life situations and other people's blogs. When I am really stuck (which isn't often) I may re-write an old post and re-post it.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Now the idea of re-writing an old post sounds a great idea, do you update the date of the post as well or just the original post?
Kimi says:

This post really point it out! especially for me who is a mother of two, has to separate times for blogging and family, and it's so hard since i love blogging and family, but still my familiy is number one! :D
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Hey there Kimi, it can be a hectic time with kids, I remember them well ;)
John Soares says:

Two suggestions: 1. Take occasional vacations. I just took four days off at a hot springs in northern California with no computer and no cell phone. It was soooo relaxing. 2. Set a realistic blogging schedule that you can stick to and still maintain high-quality posts. And as you stated, go away from the computer when you have nothing to say.
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I took a vacation last year and ended up posting some great posts and photos, had to do it while I was actually on vacation though using my mobile phone, what can I say I'm a blogaholic :lol:
  - John Soares says:
    
    Sometimes it's good to take a real vacation...!
Mars Dorian says:

It's definitely taking over my life, but once in a while I go out and meet real human beings - they DO exist ;)
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Human Beings exist?! That's where I'm going wrong :lol: I like the title in the ComLuv link, I'm on my way over ;)
Kiesha says:

I've definitely felt as if blogging has begun to take over my life. I even have dreams about blogging :) I know it's pitiful. I've learned the hard way, that if I EVER expect to have any great ideas - I have to get away from the computer. Go for a walk, get the blood pumping to the brain again. When I walk, I use the voice recorder on my phone to capture my ideas. As soon as I'm done, I try to capture as much of it in a file as possible. You really have to know your limits and when enough is enough.
Biodun says:

I often read books to get inspired, something about space and science or things of that sort that inspire me. Or often i pick my book and pen and put list of post ideas down, then i will relax and come back to look through the list and pick a topic.
Ryan says:

Hi Karen, Great tips! I take a break every 60 minutes. I drop everything and go for a short 5 - 10 minute stroll. The practice has broken my attachment to blogging fairly quickly. Keep in mind that when nothing is happening everything is happening in the background. Sure you have to put out awesome content with your blogs posts but when your mind is not on blogging or anything in particular the Magic happens. I've met more influential bloggers and received more inspirational ideas when spending less time blogging and more time allowing success to flow to me. Thanks for sharing :) Ryan
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  Thanks Ryan, I was keeping this post for my own blog, but I thought that it would be the right place for it here at Famous Bloggers ;)
Hesham says:

Pen & Paper are my friends when I am sick of being behind my laptop screen, most of my blogging ideas came out of a paper where I planned my blogging success ;)
- Tola says:
  
  I dont know, I think I've been spoilt with the laptop and all! The thought of actually writing a blog post on pen and paper actually scares me, lol!! I'm sure I'll misspell EVERYTHING, get so frustrated and just make my way back to my laptop... :$
  - Blazing Minds says:
    
    It's the curse of the "spell checker" that stops a lot of people using pen and paper these days, plus the fact it's easier to correct your mistakes on your laptop ;)
  - Kiesha says:
    
    I write entirely too slow by hand. It frustrates me because my thoughts come out faster than I can write. On top of that since I write so big it gives me the false sense that I've accomplished more than I have - How does 3 pages of hand-written work turn out to only be a half a page of typed content?
Tola says:

Go to the movies!!!!
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I've done that before and it does help with perhaps creating a good movie review post ;)
  - Hesham says:
    
    I bet this will work especially for you ;)
Andrew says:

Visit the local coffee shop and simply watch people. I love doing that. Andrew
- Hesham says:
  
  Yes.. I used to do the same when I was in Egypt where people really inspire you just by watching them passing the street or talking to each other!.. here in the States it's kind of different I don't find inspiration by visiting places or coffee shops .. so I have to find other ways.. take a walk on my backyard or a part near to my house.. watching kids playing is more inspiring then watching people.. I travel inside of my mind ;)
  - Blazing Minds says:
    
    I love the way you say "Travel inside of my mind" that in itself is inspiring me for a blog post already ;)
- Blazing Minds says:
  
  I think it's the bit of the voyeuristic that we all have in us ;)

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