Getting overwhelmed when you’re a blogger is, (it may be some relief to know) completely normal and just something that you will probably need to tackle at some point or other.
If you care about what you’re doing and progressing, you will get those days where you feel you’re overwhelmed and may you won’t be sure what to do about it!
For me, the time when I feel most overwhelmed is when I have to start something new, like a new blog post.
Often, I will have a list of content to write next.
But my mind is still half lingering with the last thing I wrote….
I may not feel like writing any of the posts I have written on that “to-do-next” list and I feel stuck.
There is also that reality that I have to start from square one again …
I need to research a post, write an initial sentence on that very blank looking screen and then have to write 1-2 thousand words more.
That in itself can be enough for me to close my laptop and start binge watching something on Netflix.
So, I was just in this emotional state of overwhelm, when I thought…
What do bloggers do when they feel overwhelmed?
Sure enough, this became an idea for a post; other bloggers have also written about this topic.
Therefore, I thought I could share some of those ideas with you, as well as some of my own thoughts.
If you have anything you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you!
Please leave me a comment below this post!
1. Figuring out a schedule and sticking to it.
I think before I’ve written the first initially post of the week on a Monday, all these other things I need to do start coming into my mind that I should be doing.
I think it’s important to figure out some sort of schedule and then stick to it, as much as you realistically can.
One way of doing this, may be to reward yourself for sticking to it.
Maybe you’ll do a certain amount of work and then allow yourself a reward.
The reward could be something as simple as a coffee break; or maybe you get to watch an episode of your favourite TV show, or spend 15 minutes on YouTube watching crazy cat videos….
Whatever floats your boat, you can reward yourself!
(Just don’t let that 30 minute reward… turn into several hours!) 🙂
The problem for me is – I recently created a schedule where I spend one day a week working on another one of my sites and another side hustle I have going on.
But, by the time that day comes around; guaranteed I still haven’t completed the work I started on my main blog and I end up doing that instead.
There goes by another week when I’ve avoided that neglected my website and my side hustle!
BUT, there is a way out of that scenario that I need to take on board!
Firstly, I need to accept that I have set a schedule for these separate activities and stick to it no matter what.
But I also should work to ensure that I don’t have any work I haven’t finished by that day and that that is an absolute priority.
While I can’t ALWAYS guarantee that I won’t have things to still finish, (stuff happens sometimes) I could still guarantee that I solely work on the scheduled projects on those particular anyway and simply complete the work I’m behind on the following day after.
What’s importance here is discipline and that’s going to be harder for some people than others.
Sometimes I will want to avoid tasks that I haven’t paid attention to in a long time and I know that’s something I need deal with.
2. Take Baby Steps – what can you do RIGHT NOW?
Stacey Roberts wrote an article on problogger, where she suggested writing down five things that you CAN do right now.
Such as tweeting something, writing some post intros, or editing photos.
I think being able to break things down into chunks – whether that’s writing a to-do list, or a small number of things that you can easily achieve, really can help put things into perspective.
I remember times of feeling completely overwhelmed by various things in life and just not knowing what to do.
Writing down a list of everything I’ve needed to do and when I’m going to tackle it, has helped every single time.
3. Setting Goals – Both Big & Small:
I’m very good at goal setting, but not always as good at reaching them; nor remembering what they were in the first place!
Have you ever start looking through an old notebook and find your goals scribbled down that you wrote many months ago?
Ever wish you’d actually remembered where you’d even written them? I know I have!
One thing I do now is have a diary and I write a set of small goals each month, to achieve the following month.
These are small goals but I’m able to see things such as, my income the previous month, how much more traffic I may be getting and it just helps put things into perspective.
Better yet, looking back at these results a year down the line can be really enlightening and motivating.
Holly Sutton from a Branch of Holly, highlights the importance of goals in her post, both big and small.
Personally, I struggle the most with creating big goals, (goals for six months or so down the line).
Mostly because, I really dislike the idea of reaching that six month mark and not achieving what I’d set out to.
This shouldn’t be a problem, failing is important because we can learn so much from it, I just don’t enjoy it when it happens, (who does) and I think the idea of not reaching those big goals, puts me off from making them.
But Holly makes a good point, saying that big goals can help you keep on track.
When you’re dragging your heels about doing something; ask yourself whether doing that thing will bring you closer to your big goals in the future, because then this could be a motivator to get it done!
Smaller goals are going to be things you will be achieving within the next day, week or month.
Maybe setting out a specific amount of time each day to engage with social media, having a set amount of blog posts to write during the week, creating a weekly routine that you can stick to.
What are the most important things you should concentrate on, that will grow your blog the way you want it to?
This is my own thought here, but has worked for me in the past.
The issue is, none of us really have the amount of time we’d like and we have too much to do in the time that we actually have.
Consequently, we often will create a schedule with too many things and are setting ourselves up to become overwhelmed, when we can’t complete everything on our list.
So, figure out a few of the things you can do that will have the most impact on your blog.
Whether that be writing more content, growing your traffic through a particular method, (not everything, break it down into manageable chunks), building your email list.
Figure out what the important key things are you want to work on and then just dedicate your time to those tasks, until you start seeing results.
Once you can analyse those results, you may figure out that your time is better spent to doing one rather than another and you can tweak your strategy.
4. Find Your Content Creation Groove!
I’m still trying to figure out what exactly works for me.
In the past, I started out writing, editing and posting a post over one or two days, before starting on another and just going along in that way.
Then I looked into “batch blogging” when I wrote the post: “how to batch blog like a pro.”
One blogger said that she wrote 3-5 posts in ONE single sitting and then would edit all of those posts the following day and schedule them to be published.
What I discovered after trying this out for a while, was that it was usually not possible for me to write more than 2-3 posts in draft per day and then because I don’t enjoy the editing process that much, I found I started to avoid doing this.
That’s because editing several posts in one go felt like a far bigger task than doing them as I went along and it was a task I did not enjoy as much as writing.
That being said, when I weigh it up, batch blogging probably helps me get the most done over all.
I just find I do have to be more disciplined to get the editing sorted and the posts finally published.
Another issue I struggle with; is working from a list of post titles that I have pre-written.
Often there will be months worth of potential content there ready and waiting for me.
But while it certainly helps me to have a prospective list of posts to write in some ways……
I find that once it comes down to writing from the list of ideas, I often change my mind and start looking for something else to write.
It’s almost like I’m rebelling against my own organisation and plans!!
However, organising your content in advance certainly helps a lot of people, it just may not work for everyone.
Especially those who are inspiration driven.
5. Do You Need A Break?
Everyone needs a break sometimes and blogging relentlessly day in and day out; can quickly lead to burn out if you’re not careful.
Rather than waiting for that to happen, try and have a real break away every now and then.
By a break, I mean a break from everything.
Leave social media alone, don’t relentlessly check and reply to emails – just try and switch off from the online world for a while.
I often find that a break from being online recharges my batteries, it gives me time to think and allows me to get back to the task with more energy and drive.
6. Write A Little At A Time!
As I’ve previously mentioned, sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, it’s often right at the start of a project.
Writing those first couple of sentences.
One of the best things that helps me is just to write… something… anything!!
I will tell myself I’m going to write for the next 10 minutes and that’s what I then do.
Pretty much 100% of the time, that 10 minutes will turn into an hour or more and once I get started, that is the biggest hurdle already overcome.
7. Get Out Of The House!
Another thing that can really help you get back on track, is a change of scenery!
A while back I wrote a post about how to work in a coffee shop, without looking like an a-hole!
I was inspired to write the post after I decided I needed a change – and went to work online in a local coffee shop.
I experienced how such a small change had a massive effect on my productivity!
I try and work at a cafe a couple of mornings a week now and tend to get far much more done there, than I ever would at home.
So, those are just a few ideas that might help you when you’re next feeling overwhelmed from blogging.
What helps you when you’re feeling overwhelmed? Let me know in the comments!
All the best,
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