How to Overcome Blogging Burnout

Recently I experienced a serious case of burnout. Life as a busy homeschooling mom who is also running a full-time blogging business while still working hard to be a great wife, daughter, and friend often consists of juggling many plates at once. I have the tendency to run myself into the ground. I’m sure if you’ve been homeschooling while blogging or working from home for any amount of time at all, then you can relate. My answer to the burnout used to be to just stop. I wouldn’t blog, do homeschool lessons or any housework for weeks at a time.

That worked for a while, or at least I told myself that it worked. I would find myself in these periods of burnout every few months. In effort to try and find that ever elusive balance in my life I stumbled upon something that has really been helpful to me: taking planned breaks.

Here are some ways that I plan breaks in my blogging schedule:

1. A set work schedule: I think of this as my office hours for my blogging business. I have a set number of hours each day set aside to get blog related work completed. I use a block type of scheduling during my work hours. This keeps me focused and as productive as possible during these hours.
2. Blogging breaks: Instead of blogging and hustling until I just can’t do anymore and then disappearing for a month I now plan my breaks. I plan one week off from blogging every 6-8 weeks. This break comes before I hit burnout and allows me to rest and regroup without crashing and burning. I also take at least one day completely off from all work-related tasks each week.
3. Editorial Calendar: Before the beginning of each month, I sit down and plan out my posting schedule for the next month. Currently, I publish 3 new posts each week and I re-share 2 old posts each week. When I sit down to plan my editorial calendar, I look at the posts that I currently have in drafts and I brainstorm new post ideas for that month. I’m a pencil and paper girl, so I actually plan out which post will be published on which days and write it on my calendar. New posts are published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In addition to planning new posts, I also write which old posts I will share on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you have a Virtual Assistant who helps to share your posts, she will love you for planning your editorial calendar out like this!
4. Learning to say no: I have amazing opportunities come my way every single day. I also have a tendency of being a people pleaser, so learning to say no has been a huge challenge for me. But, when I realized I was starting to neglect other important areas of my life trying to keep up with all my commitments, I knew something had to change. I wrote down all my online commitments and started praying about which ones to walk away from. I have walked away from some very great opportunities. No doubt, I have disappointed a few people. But, if you’re in this blogging profession for the long haul, you have to protect your time. Save yourself some stress and learn to say no now.

These are some ways that I am beating blogging burnout and maintaining my sanity. It’s not always a perfect answer, and I still find myself struggling with burnout from time to time, but it’s much better than it used to be!

What are some ways that you manage your time and avoid burnout?

This post was originally written by LaToya Edwards for HomeschoolBlogging.com in 2013. It was significantly updated, edited, and republished in 2018 by Heather Bowen, HomeschoolBlogging.com owner.

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