{"id":1505,"date":"2009-02-09T09:35:37","date_gmt":"2009-02-09T14:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlwpen.com\/?p=1505"},"modified":"2009-02-09T09:35:37","modified_gmt":"2009-02-09T14:35:37","slug":"blog-u-avoiding-blog-burn-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/2009\/02\/09\/blog-u-avoiding-blog-burn-out\/","title":{"rendered":"BLOG U: Avoiding Blog Burn Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Writer’s block can strike any of us and at any time. <\/strong> Much has been written about this mysterious malady that haunts so many of the authorialy-inclined.\u00c2\u00a0 Less attention has been paid, however, to a similar equally serious condition that has originated with the advent of the internet age – blogger’s burnout.<\/p>\n

This debilitating condition presents in a wide variety of ways; symptoms may include anything from navel-gazing posts to stagnant blog homepages to full-blown blog abandonment.<\/strong> This exhausting disease threatens the very existence of the blogosphere itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Luckily, many of the cures that have proven to be successful for writer’s block also apply to blogger’s burnout.\u00c2\u00a0 In this two-part series, we will explore strategies for avoiding and treating blogger’s burn-out.<\/p>\n

Make a Routine, Break a Routine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having a blogging routine has its benefits – you will blog regularly, meet deadlines, be accountable to your readers, etc.\u00c2\u00a0 On a daily\/weekly\/monthly basis, you commit headspace to blogging.\u00c2\u00a0 You sit down and get to it.\u00c2\u00a0 You get your blogging done.<\/p>\n

But when you start dreading the quality time you’ve devoted to your blog?\u00c2\u00a0 Houston, you’ve got a problem!\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing is more tiresome – or more likely to inspire procrastination – than a chore.
\n
\nSometimes the most productive thing you can do with your blogging routine is to break it and to make a new one. <\/strong> Usually blog with breakfast?\u00c2\u00a0 Switch it up and try blogging before bed.\u00c2\u00a0 You might be surprised by how energized you feel by taking on your blog at a different time of day.\u00c2\u00a0 And you might also find that you have way cooler post ideas on Thursdays as opposed to Tuesdays.<\/p>\n

Remember, blogging should be fun<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 When it starts to feel like too much of a grind, it’s time to find a new routine.<\/p>\n

Find Your Zone<\/strong><\/p>\n

While your may warm, cozy couch (complete with soft, fuzzy blanket!) may seem like an ideal place to blog, it may be a bit too close to your TiVO.\u00c2\u00a0 Alternatively, your desk at work may be where you spend the most time online, but blogging shouldn’t feel like work in the nine-to-five sense.\u00c2\u00a0 And, even though your partner means well, her\/his desire to pitch blog post ideas to you when you are just trying to get your latest post out before deadline is, well, detracting from your process.<\/p>\n

Finding the correct setting for blogging can be tough.\u00c2\u00a0 Feeling like you are in your “room of one’s own” that is a free distraction-free zone and that has a motivating atmosphere will make a big difference in achieving your blogging goals.\u00c2\u00a0 Concentration is all about location, location, location.<\/p>\n

Right now, I’m actually blogging from my local laundromat.<\/strong> For me, balancing a mundane task I know I will do routinely (the laundry) with something I enjoy (the blogging) makes for a great use of my time, which is something that I never seem to have enough of these days.\u00c2\u00a0 Plus, laundry cycles keep me on track in terms of how I am using my time.\u00c2\u00a0 (Time to move things into the dryer?\u00c2\u00a0 Better start wrapping up my post by transitioning from writing to editing!)<\/p>\n

What environment sets you up for the most success?<\/strong> Will blogging be more fun – and therefore something that you do more often and with more ease – if you sit at your favorite coffee shop and indulge in a sweet treat?\u00c2\u00a0 Does going to the park take away the chained-to-my-desk-even-after-work blues?\u00c2\u00a0 Do you need the tomb-like silence of a library so you can focus all of your attention on harnessing your creative energy?<\/p>\n

Experiment by going on a blog tour of local spots you think might work for you.\u00c2\u00a0 If nothing else, you will have an interesting series with a local focus for your blog.<\/p>\n

Put Pen to Paper<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever tried writing out a blog post by hand as opposed to crafting it in your favorite word processing program?<\/strong> While this may seem like a wildly crazy idea that creates far too much transcription work in the end, stepping away from your electronics could provide the fresh perspective you need to find novel content for your blog.\u00c2\u00a0 Some great inventions have come from doodles on cocktail napkins.\u00c2\u00a0 Grab your favorite pen and let yourself brainstorm away on paper.\u00c2\u00a0 It may prove to be a liberating exercise.<\/p>\n

Limit Electronic Grazing
\n<\/strong>
\nNothing zaps away your blogging energy more than gorging yourself with some electronic grazing. <\/strong> Yes, there is power in the connectedness of your world of Facebook-Twitter-RSS Feeds-Google Alerts – but this power can be used for good or ill when it comes to blogging.\u00c2\u00a0 Distractions abound on the world wide web.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes a detour through the land of links will be a fruitful project that allows you to scoop a story; other times it is just a plain waste of time.\u00c2\u00a0 While you may tell yourself that checking your email just one more time before you get down to writing will keep you from checking it again in five minutes, that email from your friend that brings to you to Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog for the first time might kill your productivity for the day (or week – it’s addictively catchy).\u00c2\u00a0 The idea of signing out of email, turning off your instant messenger, or even seeking a wireless dead spot comes with a lot of anxiety for most of us (what if we miss out on the latest viral video?), but it may just be what you need to keep your blogging focus.<\/p>\n

Avoid Hyper-vigilance<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may have noticed that this post is very light on links.\u00c2\u00a0 And for many of you, that just seems plain wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 Considered one of the defining elements of the blog genre, hypertext allows an individual blog post to be hyper-textual in linking information sources to create an almost all-encompassing meta-narrative.\u00c2\u00a0 But achieving the “appropriate” level of linkedness can be exhausting.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, I’m pretty sure that if I had allowed myself to enter into the Sisyphisian task of including a link to every relevant piece of information on the internet about blogger’s block that this post would never have been written.\u00c2\u00a0 I would have become discouraged that I had nothing interesting or original add to the already established conversation on this topic.\u00c2\u00a0 Or I would\u00c2\u00a0 have gotten so overwhelmed by tracking back links that I would have just given up.<\/p>\n

When blogging, it’s important to know the historical commentary published in the blogosphere on a topic you decide to post on – you could end up embarrassing yourself by not doing your research.\u00c2\u00a0 At the same time, just because you have been “scooped” by another blogger who is more expert does not mean that you should give up on sharing your two cents.\u00c2\u00a0 Your posts do not need to read like Wikipedia entries.\u00c2\u00a0 Links should add color and value to your blog posts; links are not, however, in and of themselves blog posts.\u00c2\u00a0 Your readers stick with your blog because they appreciate your point of view, writing style, and what you share.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t loose your own bloging in an attempt at hyperlink-vigilance.<\/p>\n

More on the blogging life next month!<\/p>\n

Imag cred<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writer’s block can strike any of us and at any time. Much has been written about this mysterious malady that haunts so many of the authorialy-inclined.\u00c2\u00a0 Less attention has been paid, however, to a similar equally serious condition that has originated with the advent of the internet age – blogger’s burnout. This debilitating condition presents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1904,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21195],"class_list":["post-1505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-blogging-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1505\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}