As you may have noticed, we haven’t been blogging for the past few weeks. And as I’ve tried countless times to write a post to no avail, I began to wonder if blogger burnout is inevitable. Maybe after several years of blogging you just need a break for a bit. Or maybe a hiatus is enough. So today I’ve decided to discuss several factors that can lead to blogger burnout with the goal of figuring out whether or not it’s bound to happen to everyone by the end. Let’s begin!
When I first started blogging, I remember the excitement that came with writing a post, finding the perfect matching gifs, posting, and slowly watching likes and comments come in. I recall reading other blog posts and finding them fascinating, discussing topics that I hadn’t necessarily pondered before and leaving long responses in return. Now, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m no longer excited about blogging. We’ll get to the reasons it’s been tough for me in a minute. But I do think that other factors started affecting my joy over blogging after a while.
When I’d write a post I loved and it didn’t get the response I expected it could disappoint me. Then there’s the focus on stats, which while I love stats, they can also be a bit discouraging at times. But I think the thing that is the most impactful for me is the scope of my blogging. In the beginning it was just me and Chana and a handful of followers. We followed very few blogs. But part of blogging, a part that I love, is interacting with the community. And as that grew I began to get slightly overwhelmed.
A visual representation of our blog’s growth over the past 3 years
Right now, the thing keeping me from blogging the most is time. I’m working full time at an internship this summer, and while I’m adoring every second, it doesn’t leave me with much free time. It also can be exhausting, and many days I don’t have the energy to read, let alone blog. For me, I like to write about topics that capture all my attention at the moment. I like taking my time to respond to comments and while commenting on other posts. However, right now my time and attention are captured by other things. It saddens me that this blog has become less active as a result, but I know it’s not a permanent thing.
I think that everyone at some point gets super busy. Some people choose to prioritize their blogs anyways during those times. I’m sure something else gets less attention as a result. But I also think that it’s okay to step away from blogging while you reorient yourself. Sometimes you just need a break, and that’s okay.
So yes, in a sense I think that blogger burnout is inevitable. However, I don’t think it’s permanent or long lasting for everyone. Sometimes a hiatus is enough. Sometimes waiting until life is less hectic will work. And so I’m trying to take it easy with blogging. I know that eventually I’ll respond to all the comments and pings, and eventually I’ll have the time and excitement to blog hop again. But I’m giving myself some time, and I hope you understand. I’d much rather be giving my full energy and excitement to this blog then dredging up crumbs of enthusiasm for a hobby I love so dearly.
Paper Procrastinators 
I also believe it’s inevitable. In fact the more time passes with blog, it gets harder to manage blog with everything else in life. Even though I try to balance time with blog I could see something else or my family get little less time. I have always been a moody and so is my blog. But in some way it has helped me to not have intense burnout. I blog whenever I can regardless of schedule or time and if I’m not in mood I wouldn’t that is indirectly and unintentional break.
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Oh, definitely! I had a lot more time in high school than I do now that I’m in college, and I expect my life will only get busier! Right now I’m choosing to prioritize my internship, and that’s okay! But it still feels weird to have ignored the blog for so long. I miss blogging even though I know taking some time away to do other things is important!
I also try to do the same as you and only blog when I can. I never want blogging to feel stressful. However, it’s always at the back of my mind that if I have the time I should prioritize blogging, since I enjoy it so much!
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I agree with you that it’s inevitable, as our time is so valuable and our lives are constantly changing. As someone who is just starting out, it can also be frustrating to dedicate your time and energy to making posts and graphics only to receive minimal engagement in return. However, taking a break and coming back to blogging can be a great reminder of why you love blogging so much in the first place!
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Yes, exactly! I had a lot more time in high school, so had I been blogging then, it might have been easier for me to make time to blog! Right now, my life is pretty busy, which while that’s wonderful, it also makes it harder to find the time and energy to blog!
And I 100% understand that feeling. Even having blogged for over 3 years now sometimes looking at a post’s engagement can cause me to feel less excited about blogging, if the post isn’t doing how I hoped. However, something I like to keep in mind is the fact that just like I have to take breaks from blogging and blog hopping, so do other people. So a lot of times it’s just circumstance keeping people from engaging with your posts, and it’s not a reflection of the quality of your post!
And taking a break can be such a healthy option! It’s important to recharge every once in a while, and like you said, absence only makes the heart grow fonder. Taking that time away allows you to remember all the things you love about blogging and gives you the ability to come back refreshed and excited to blog again!
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I’ve been feeling this quite a bit at the moment after going through so many life changes! I ended up re-assessing what I wanted from my blog and made some adjustments after a small hiatus. It’s certainly been inevitable for me, and with all the time spent on blogging, no matter how much we enjoy it, sometimes a break is needed!
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Having a life change is definitely an understandable reason to take a step back and reflect on where blogging fits in to your life. I feel like anytime someone moves, changes schools, jobs, gets an internship etc, there’s always a transition period were life gets so busy that we need a break.
I think it’s so much better to actually take that time off instead of trying to keep up with everything as you’re going through so many other changes. Hiatuses may be frustrating in terms of feeling out of the loop and their impact on stats, but it’s definitely worth it to take a break so that you can come back to your blog refreshed and excited one life has settled back down!
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I’ve been blogging for almost a year now and I think it’s an inevitable part of the journey to feel burn out at periods of time, especially when blogging is a passion project that takes a lot of internal motivation and dedication to keep up.
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Yes, exactly! Blogging is something we do for fun, so we’re more likely to notice when it stops being fun. And sometimes the best thing to do is to just wait until that excitement and passion comes back before you begin blogging again!
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i love this discussion, especially since i’ve been experiencing blogging burnout for what feels like over a year now! i definitely agree that it’s inevitable — i think burnout is inevitable in all parts of life honestly, but especially with something like this that requires so much time, energy, and effort. i think taking breaks are definitely super helpful, though! i feel like i should just take a long one and then come back super refreshed but the idea of taking a long break is definitely intimidating
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Yeah, I definitely feel that. I think I’ve been having minor blogging burnout for a few months, and having no time this summer just tipped things over the edge. I no longer has the time or energy to put in the effort required to maintain a blog, so I’m trying to take a step back for as long as I need.
I think I’m also scared of taking a longer or more permanent break. I like being in the blogging groove, but I do think I should take a complete break from blogging for at least a week or two sometime soon. I guess we’ll see if that ends up happening or not!
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I think that burnout is inevitable if blogging from a hobby turns into an obligation. If one makes posts nonstop every day, it will take its toll. Of course, there’s also real life problems. I used to read and write reviews more often but now I can’t do that. It was hard for me to accept that at first but now I feel quite comfortable where I am with my reading and blogging.
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Oh for sure! Putting pressure on yourself to blog is never a good thing! After all, everyone has their limits!
And life changes also can impact blogging abilities as well. I used to have a lot more time to read books, write posts, and blog hop, and now I can barely keep up with ANY of those activities, let alone all three!
I’m hoping that soon I’ll have more free time where I can find a happy medium to blog as a hobby, while still making time for other things I enjoy!
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It happens, that’s for sure. But you know, if you’re truly burned out, no one will think less of you if you take a break and recharge your batteries.
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Yup! And from reading all the comments, it seems like this is a pretty universal experience amongst bloggers.
And I think that I probably will take a complete week or two off blogging sometime soon. But for now I’m okay with my sporadic posting, and I hope that after a little time to recharge I can go back to being more consistent, even if I’m not posting or blog hopping as frequently as I used to!
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Here in Israel, we have what we call “after the holidays” which is a phrase that people use when they say they can’t get things done because of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Succoth!
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Oh I love this and relate to this so much. I agree that it can be inevitable if we keep on going with this for a little while. As we grow, our lives change, we get busy, things happen and sometimes, whether we need to and want to, or not, blogging has to take a step back. I’m always hoping that it will take a step forward again whenever this happens for me, because it’s such a dear hobby of mine but yeah. Sometimes with everything, it gets exhausting to keep up. You’re so right that it matters to take a break, instead of forcing yourself to go on. Just be there when you’re 100% there and excited about it, that’s all that matters ❤
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It’s been so nice to hear that I’m not the only one experiencing this. Sometimes I can feel so guilty about being busy and not having the time to focus on my blog, that I forget that this happens to other bloggers as well. I’m slowly learning to accept the fact that I need a break and to take one, instead of just pushing through and producing half-hearted content or comments.
Thank you for being so understanding and supportive! It means the world to me to know that I have blogger friends that get what I’m going through and that will be there for me when I have the time and energy to return to blogging in full force! 💕
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I do think it is inevitable simply because life works that way. Either we run on steam until we become exhausted, other things take priority, or blogging will simply not be motivating anymore. It happens and it’s okay. As long as we’re happy and like whatever we’re doing, it’s good 🙂
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Yup! It took me time to realize this because I started blogging when I had the time and energy to focus on it, and I couldn’t imagine any other scenario. But now that a few years have passed and life has gotten busier, I totally understand that burnout is not something that I’m able to control.
As much as I would love to be creating content for the blog, I just don’t have the time and energy right now. Taking a break until circumstances align well with blogging once more is definitely the right call, even if I’ll miss being a part of the blogging community during the time that I take a step back.
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Couldn’t agree more! Yes, it is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. Like unless a blogger has NO other priorities or responsibilities or interests outside of blogging, there is going to come a time when it’s like “you know what, I do not want to do this today”. I think time HAS to be the biggest. Because when I am strapped for time, sure I could squeeze in blogging, at the cost of sleep or self care, but that is a terrible idea. It’s also what I used to do, frequently. Now, I don’t let myself go down that road anymore, BUT I still feel quite guilty about it. I am trying to come to terms with the guilt though, because the situation is not changing anytime soon. So when I post I can, and then try to not feel awful if I can’t respond to comments as quickly as I’d like or whatever. It’s a journey 😂
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That’s a really good point! A few days/weeks/months can seem like a really long time to be away from your blog, but it doesn’t have to be forever, unless you want it to be.
Times is definitely the biggest factor! Especially since if I’m spending a lot of time on something that drains my energy or creativity, I need to take care that I use my remaining time in the day to recharge for the next busy day. It’s why even my weekends contain less reading now, since I catch up on sleep on the days I don’t work, which cuts in to what usually was my set aside reading time.
And YES! The guilt is so, so real. I feel so bad and so guilty that people still like and comment whenever I post and that I don’t have the capacity to reciprocate at the moment. At some points I feel like taking a complete break might be healthier, and so I’m considering doing that for a bit at some point in the future.
I also want to let you know that from my perspective, I’m glad you’re putting yourself before your blog. I love your posts, especially your discussions, but I never want a new post from you to be at the expense of you not caring for yourself properly! 💕
(Also, I’m responding to this comment two weeks late, and for me that’s an improvement from some of my other posts. Oh, well. Like you said. It is what it is!)
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Not only life gets in the way BIG TIME, but sometimes even churning out posts/commenting/replying to comments becomes a chore, when you don’t set for “less”. The fact is, we would miss our blogs and the community too much if we stopped altogether. So yeah, one has to take a break to come back to what they love with the same enthusiasm. It’s part of the process 🙂.
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Oh, definitely! I’ve been spacing out responding to comments on this post and most of my most recent posts as well, so that I’m only interacting when I genuinely want to be. It makes my responses more sporadic and delayed, but I feel like it’s the best way to go with how drained I am most days.
I definitely don’t want to stop blogging altogether, so I’m taking things slow and might take a more concrete break soon so that I can return at full force in the near future!
Thanks for your encouraging and supportive words!
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“I’d much rather be giving my full energy and excitement to this blog then dredging up crumbs of enthusiasm for a hobby I love so dearly.”
You perfectly captured one of the factors that made me stay on hiatus for the rest of this year, whilst I had originally planned to be back by April I just…I knew in my heart that whilst I could come back then I would not be giving my blog all the energy it deserves. Moreover I didn’t want to start creating posts just so I could be posting and remain active, when I wasn’t proud of the content I was creating. It’d be offering crumbs instead of a slice of bread or the whole loaf haha.
I think burnout is likely to occur in one way or another, whether it’s a lack of energy and motivation to blog, a creative burnout or just needing to reflect on your blog, life and what you want to be creating on the blog. A break isn’t always a bad thing though, even though I know it can feel like it. When you take a break, you relieve that pressure you’d put on yourself and all those self imposed deadlines. It immediately gives you space to breathe and just rest. In turn your brain has a chance to mull things over and figure out how you want to approach blogging from here.
So much has changed for me since I started blogging, when I first started I had just finished secondary school and was staring a 2 year course in college. Now I’m working and also working on a different course online and I recognised I really just needed a break. I’d rather have no pressure and just let myself freely pick up blog things and put them down when I feel like working on things. Over forcing myself to do things
cause then it’s not fun and it’s not helpful in the long – you’d only burn yourself out more doing it that way.
I’m currently on a hiatus, it’ll be my longest hiatus yet but a needed one to be honest. It’s given me space to relax, explore other things and figure out where I want to take my blog next year when I come back. I set myself these conditions for my hiatus: only my quarterly wrap up posts will be going live, I can blog hop when I feel up to it but don’t force myself to and I can work on other content throughout the year when I feel pulled to. It’s a much more laid back approach compared to how I used to be functioning but I’ve found I prefer the slower approach if it means I can create content I love.
Loved reading this post Malka! ❤
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I’m so glad that you’re staying on hiatus and doing what’s best for you! I currently feel a bit too scared to take the leap to a full on hiatus, so I’m being a sporadic blogger instead. I do think that in the near future I will be taking a full break, but for now I’ve decided to only post or respond to comments when I have the energy, as a sort of compromise. (Which is why you’re getting a response 3 weeks late. Energy is hard to come by!)
Burnout and the need for a break are definitely inevitable. Even by looking at the responses from this post, everyone has discussed the times they’ve taken breaks, their current burnout struggles, or their desire to go on hiatus sometime soon. I totally agree that taking a break is healthy and helpful, and I wish there wasn’t so much stigma and guilt surrounding going on hiatus. Everyone deserves a chance to rest and recharge!
It’s strange to me that an internship could take up so much of my time, but it is! When I’m in school I’m able to use the blog as a creative outlet, but at my internship I practically always have to use creativity, which doesn’t leave much for me to use recreationally. I can definitely see myself taking a longer break after I graduate and start a new job. I never want blogging to be a source of stress for me! Thankfully, so far blogging has only been a pleasure, but I try to stay aware of when I need to take a step away from it.
If a hiatus is what’s best for you, then you take all the time you need to recharge! I also really like the relaxed approach you took towards your hiatus, where you didn’t completely cut ties with the blogging community, just took several steps away. But mostly, I’m happy that you found an approach that works for you!
Thank you! 💕
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I agree that it’s inevitable. Even with all the free time in the world, at some point, after blogging for so long, there’s only so many posts that you can write about a topic before it becomes repetitive and at times, exhausting. I’ve definitely experienced burnout multiple times since I first started in 2012 – back then, I was a high school freshman with no job and just school work, so I had plenty of time to draft out posts and interact in the community. But as I grew older and went to college with jobs and now as an adult, I go back and forth a lot with burning out (though I definitely don’t make it seem like it sometimes.) Sometimes I debate leaving blogging (then I’ll get free time for other things in life) but it’s been such a huge, integral part of my life that it’s like cutting a piece of my soul.
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Yes! That’s a really great point! Trying to come up with creative, new post ideas gets increasingly difficult as time goes on! And especially since coming up with ideas takes energy, the busier you are, the less energy you’re able to expend on blogging!
Yup. This blog started in the summer time when it was pretty easy to blog. Then the fall semester started, and eventually we fell off the face of the earth as classes got busier. But now I’m seeing that working full time doesn’t simplify matters either! It’s still just as difficult, if not more difficult, to find time and energy to blog!
Everyone definitely has periods of burnout, but I’m happy you decided to stick around and blog! I definitely understand the feeling of burning out, but I also feel similarly about leaving my blog indefinitely. I may not have been blogging for as long as you have, but blogging is definitely a part of me by now!
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Life can definitely get in the way sometimes, and you just need to take a break. I think it happens to all of us in different degrees.
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Yup. Life has many different stages, and at some points those stages don’t allow for blogging. I definitely think a break is a good idea, and hopefully will be taking a more thorough hiatus in the near future.
Reading through the comments, I definitely get the feeling that I’m not alone in feeling burnout, and it’s so nice to know that I’m part of such a wonderful community that understand the importance of taking a break!
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it definitely feels kinda inevitable to me, as I’ve definitely been burning out these past few months/almost a year now? I feel like stats are part of it; while I look rarely at stats now and mostly don’t care compared to how obsessive I was when I started blogging, every now and then I’ll see how much more “successful” someone else is, especially with bookstagram and booktok blowing up, and just feel tired like… why do I bother? also I think it’s kinda interesting to think about how the community changes, like, a lot of the people I talked to when I was most active when I started blogging 3 years ago have either stopped blogging or blog way less and as I blog less now I feel like I’m not building more relationships with the people who are super active now so I’m feeling maybe a little lost in the community. here’s hoping we both (all?) take the breaks we deserve to recharge and come back in full force loving blogging ❤
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YES! I feel like I’m been in a blogging slump/burnout mode for several months now and it feels so weird! It just happens to be that more recently I’ve had a solid few weeks in a row with zero blogging energy, which is what prompted this post, since it seemed to be the peak of my burnout!
That’s a good point. I think I get frustrated the most when publishers don’t offer the same opportunities to bloggers as they do to bookstaggramers or booktuber. Like, I have a wonderful platform right here. Allow me to help provide some free promotion!
And I definitely hear that. We started blogging 3 years ago as well, and the blogging landscape has definitely changed since then. It’s sad when your friends are no longer blogging or as active, but I guess the burnout was just too much for them, and I totally get that.
Breaks are wonderful, and I think that previously I did not appreciate them enough! I think I might take a complete hiatus in a few weeks to take the time I need to fully recharge before I return to consistently blogging once again!
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I think it’s completely fine to step away from blogging when you feel overwhelmed or when you don’t have the same desire to keep blogging as you used to. I relate to what you said about the community – interacting with other bloggers is my favorite thing about blogging, but I haven’t been able to interact a lot recently, because I’ve been busy with uni and I wanted to pour my remaining energy into other things, like reading or writing blog posts. I’ve just started to work, so that definitely makes me worried if I can even keep blogging – I definitely hope I can (and I have a lot of posts scheduled as of right now) but who knows how I’ll feel about it in a few weeks / months? I’m trying to give myself some slack and be fine with the idea that a break might be necessary in the future.
Great post, Malka! I hope that you’ll come back to blogging soon, because I miss both you and Chana from the community, but at the same time I hope you’ll take all the time you need and will focus on what you have the energy for right now. 🙂
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I’m so glad that you found this post relatable. It’s been so comforting for me to see how many others struggle with blogging burnout and to know that I’m not alone. I currently have a break for a few days before I start school and continue my internship part time and I want to take this time to see how I feel about blogging when I’m less busy and stressed. I know that I’ll probably be taking a full break in the next few months as things get busier, but until that point I’m trying my best to be as involved as my mental health will allow me to be.
Thank you! Knowing that friends like you still care about us and our blog even when we can’t properly reciprocate by blog hopping and such means the world to me. I really hope that I’ll be back soon in full force and I can’t wait until I have the time and energy to catch up on so many of the fantastic posts that I have waiting for me! 💕
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A brilliant, thoughtful discussion Malka. I love blogging and even though it can be another thing on my increasingly long to-do list in my life, I always feel a sense of duty towards it. The area where I sometimes burn out is taking the time to really think of interesting new post ideas, or to comment on as many blogs as I can. But I guess we just have to avoid placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves. I post twice a week and that, I have found, gives me a good balance ☺
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Thank you, Stephen! I feel like my thoughts stray to blogging when I think of tasks I need to accomplish since it takes so much work, even though it still is very much a hobby!
For me I need time and energy to come up with new ideas, and that process cannot be rushed. But even responding to comments and blog hopping takes a fair amount of concentration that I don’t always have on hand.
I’m finding that being a little more sporadic with all my blogging, blog hopping, and commenting allows be to find some kind of balance when life gets hectic. Eventually though, I know I’ll need to take a full break for a week or two to really recharge, but that probably won’t happen for another few months!
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