4 Signs Of Blogger Burnout (and How To Overcome Them!)

Of all the stresses and complicated decisions to make when it comes to blogging, getting and dealing with blogger burnout is one of the most inconvenient and infuriating of the lot. You know the feeling of sitting in front of your screen, fingers itching, begging to type something, anything, and yet nothing will come. You're dead in the water. You're running on empty. Your brain has packed a sack and ran away with your imagination. I know the feeling well, and sadly, there's little chance you'll ever blog for long without feeling this way.

And yet, there are ways to combat the feeling, and signs to look out for before it has a chance to destroy your passion and motivation for getting creatively stimulated. There's subtle signs, and some of them can be mistaken for other problems, but if you're feeling these signs in relation to your blog, then it's time to do something about it.

Sign #1 | You're uninspired by your blog

It happens to all of us at some point, and for some, it happens more than once, but don't feel disheartened if you're starting to feel uninspired by your blog and what you love. For most, blogging is a creative outlet, a hobby that we're prone to pour more time and energy into than we have to give, and given time, this will predictably start to show.

Some of us will start to pick up hobbies we thought dead and gone, such as cooking or crafting, and find that blogging, while still a passion, is less of a priority. Some will find themselves in a round rut of wanting so badly to blog, but never feeling inspired or motivated at the prospect, and on these occasions, there's only really one thing you can do..

Take a break from your blog to focus on you.

All those late nights cramming in content, lunch breaks wasted on scheduling content - we all forget how important putting ourselves first is, and we very rarely look after ourselves properly as a result. If you're feeling a lack of motivation or feeling uninspired to blog, then it's time to focus on you.

Maybe you're going through a rough patch, struggling with mental health or a difficult spell in your job. Maybe you're feeling a little lost on your future and feel as though your blog is changing without you. No matter what is, chances are it's what you need to dedicate more of your time to, and by distracting yourself from it, you're helping nobody.

Task: Spend some time looking at what might be affecting you in other areas of your life and take some time to iron out those creases. Don't be afraid to time time away from your blog and spend it on other more productive avenues if you know it'll benefit you in the long term.

5 Simple Solutions That Actually Improve Your Self Care

Sign #2 | Struggling to find content ideas

We've all sat down in front our computers or laptops ready to create the best, most kick-ass content we've ever written, only to find ourselves in the same spot an hour later with the same blank page and not an ounce of brainpower left. You've either been left with no ideas, or the ideas you've had you've over-though completely and drained all the life out of.

There are a lot of different ways to combat this issue, one of the best being to take a look back at your old content and see if:

• you can create a follow up post. Taking a look at your old content can help you realise that you've actually learnt A LOT more about a certain subject, and can delve deeper into said topic with a follow up post.
• you can create an updated post. We've all been in a position of having an opinion, only to find ourselves having a change of heart. If you've written a post on a certain topic you feel differently about now, share it.
• you can create a new format for your content. As with everything, sometimes things work better if how they've been created is altered. One of the best ways of creating new content from old content in a new format is updating a written tutorial in the form of a video tutorial, or an email series.

You can also have a brainstorm session or gather inspiration from other places, and then writing down all the posts you have the creative interest for, no matter how absurd or unusual and working on a way to make those ideas happen. No matter what your blog subject or your topics, there's always a way. Some ideas you can use for guest posts that match the topic better than your blog, while others can be used as quick tips on social media. Not every idea has to be a post.

How To Come Up With Awesome Blog Post Ideas

Task: Look back on your old content and ask yourself: is there any way I can use this ideas for a new angle? Can I create a follow-up post, or update it with new information? Make a note of all your old posts you can use as inspiration for future content, and how you can use them later.

Sign #3 | Feel trapped in your topics/niche

I can't tell you how many times I've seen and read posts talking about 'blog strategies' and 'how to plan your blog for the future', but I can tell you there's been A LOT. For good reason - it's one thing to be blogging for the fun of it, with no set goals or road to travel, but if you're looking towards an end result, it's recommended you pick yourself some topics, and sometimes a narrow niche too.

The Two Big Options Behind Solving 'Choosing The Wrong Niche'

Sometimes the niche we choose is wrong though, and we can find ourselves stuck with topics we don't feel inspired by anymore, which leads to feeling burnt out my blogging about subjects you don't feel anything for. Quite often, we'll find ourselves burnt out by our niche or topics because they no longer fit with our plan or strategy, and that's why re-evaluating and checking in our goals is so important.

If something doesn't feel right, stop doing it.

Sometimes to move forward, we have to let things go that no longer fit with our future plans, everything from careers to friends, to topics and niches, and one of the best example of this is when I dropped my book blogger label to make space for blogging and design tips and tricks. I felt trapped and stuck in topics and a niche that no longer suited my future plans and my expanding growth, and so I left it behind and started up a new. Same works for all of us - if something no longer fits with us and our plans, it's time to leave it behind.

How I Dropped My 'Book Blogger' Label and Why

Task: Take some time to look at your topics and niche and decide if that's really the sort of subject you want to be blogging about. is there another subject you're passionate about that fits into all of your others, something that might relight the spark? Is there a topic or subject that you feel limits you, or no longer inspires you that you want to throw out? Do it. If something no longer works for you, fire it.

Sign #4 | Feelings of doubt and worthlessness

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all doubted ourselves at some point in our blogging journeys. Some of us have doubted our skills or our knowledge, others have doubted that their content is quality reading, but doubt is a natural process. It shows we're human in the form of fear, in the want to feel loved and appreciated. Doubt keeps to cogs turning, whether we want to believe it or not.

Why You Need To Stop Doubting Yourself and Your Content

When it comes to blogging though, doubting yourself and your content can be a huge sign of blogging burnout, and can result in showing many of the others signs we've already mentioned. It can stop creating new content. It can stop you coming up with ideas. It can stop you enjoying and being inspired by your passions, and that definitely sucks.

When you start to doubt yourself, remember why you do what you do, why it makes you happy, and why you keep on doing it.

One of the best ways to overcome doubt is to remind yourself of all your achievements and how you've been able to help people achieve great things themselves. Looking back at comments you've received, or remembering positive things people have said about your work is a real pick-me-up.

Another way to overcome doubt and not feeling worthy is to talk to friends and confide in people about your burnout. Making friends in the community and people able to share your struggles, your problems and what's troubling you. Having friends in the same industry as you who share some of the same feelings and experiences will allow you to take some of the weight off your shoulders and get back to being your busy blogging self.

How Does a Blogger Combat Questioning Their Worth?

Task: If you start to feel doubt or worthlessness when it comes to your blogging tasks and content writing, confide in friends and share your feelings will people you feel confident and comfortable sharing things with. Remind yourself about what keeps you blogging, what makes you happy, and what feels rewarding, and don't be afraid to give yourself a break.


You don't have to feel burnt out when it comes to blogging, but hopefully when it does come around, and it likely will at some point, you'll have the right tools and right attitude in order to deal with it before it has a larger impact on your creativity. With your burnout in check, you'll be able to get back to being your awesome blogging self, and achieving all the things you want to.

Do you suffer from blogging burnout? How do you beat it?