We Asked Bloggers, "How Do You Deal With Burnout?"

From time to time we crowdsource a blog post from Lyrical Host customers. We pick a topic, and ask them for their best advice or their own experiences on the subject so you can get some great advice from people in your position, or take a walk down memory lane to share their journey.

In this post, we asked bloggers for their best tips on beating burnout – whether it’s reducing the chances of burnout happening in the first place, or how to get through it if it sneaks up on you.

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Bloggers are at high risk of burning out from time to time, and it’s rare to come across a blogger who hasn’t been burned out at one point or another. With a huge variety and number of tasks, blogging is one of the most versatile and rewarding paths to go down, but sometimes you can be a little too committed and end up with your body and brain telling you to take a breather for a while.

This is more difficult than it sounds for a lot of people, as their minds just don’t stop, or they worry about falling behind. The truth is that, while blogging, like everything else, has its challenges, it also needs to be fun for you, and that’s really the most important thing.

We hope the advice from seasoned bloggers below encourages you to take a break, or evaluate whether you’re doing too much and how to reframe it.

If you’re interested in reading more posts in this series, check out what bloggers said when we asked them about:

Or, carry on reading this post for burnout-beating tips!

My worst burnout trigger is overwhelm. Sometimes I’m so consumed with looking at ALL the work my blog needs to get it to where I want it to be I lose the will to do anything on it at all. I’ve recently found it easier to break things down into chunks – what are the little steps I need to take in order to achieve the bigger goal.

Writing more content is a huge one so I’ve set myself the task of 3 new blog posts every week, then I do a couple of hours of blog maintenance every week where I’m looking at things like organising the mailing list and thinking about new opt ins to create. This makes it feel more manageable.

But ultimately some times it’s good to just take the rest of the day off and do something totally non blog related.

– Vicky Smith MoreThanAMummy.com

I work on what makes me happy at the moment. It’s also ok to take a break and relax. This is our business and we can do it our own way.

– Gina Butler GinasLibrary.com

I find all the talk of hustling exhausting and toxic – my business hasn’t grown as quickly as others but being able to take days off when I need or want to is totally worth it. I work to my own schedule, sometimes all day, sometimes just an hour and while I have a list of jobs I pick and choose what I feel like doing. This is my passion and I don’t want to kill it by working like I did on a full time job!

– Claire Sturzaker TalesOfABackpacker.com

I know how to pick up the signs now, so I haven’t had burnout since summer 2020. I basically take some time out and go for a walk (on my own!)

Listen to my favourite music and spend some time in my own world.

If I can’t do that, then locking myself in my studio and playing relaxing things on the piano helps too.

– Jen Griffiths TPGAnxietyWarrior.wordpress.com

I really try to work ahead- laying out a preliminary schedule and working on posts when I’m interested in them has made a massive difference! Having a consistent posting schedule really sets me apart from other blogs in my niche, and with a bit of planning and creativity, my schedule doesn’t feel overbearing.

For example, I’m a big Christmas person and I tend to stay in the spirit until mid-February- I got some of my 2021 Blogmas posts finished then. It might not be when most people are working on holiday content, but it worked for me!

– Jessica Storoschuk AnHistorianAboutTown.com

Taking time out for me is really important when I feel myself starting to slip. The best tonic is a walk and taking in nature’s medicine.

– Kim John LifeCanBeToff.co.uk

When I feel like I’m getting burned out I take a break, rest, and do something else that I enjoy. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and work without taking time to rest and care for myself occasionally.

– Melissa Mackey MelissaMackey.net

1. Get outside, away from noise and social media in order to get back to the real you.

2. Pray, then write about the bigger purpose for your work.

– Tawnya Kordenbrock ARenewedLife.com

Take a break. Or, focus on the things that you enjoy. I’m a food blogger. So if I’m feeling burned out, I’ll spend a week literally just making new cake recipes and leave everything else for a while.

I still feel like I’m working. But it’s the bit of work that I love… and I get to eat cake.

– Donna Dundas DonnaDundas.co.uk

Before having a blog, I was constantly in a burn out state, on and off and I didn’t even know it. A neuropsychologist suggested that I look into self- compassion and that’s where my life changed for the better. It all started with awareness and practising self compassion.

So my tips to avoid burn out or to at least handle it when it happens are:

1. Self-compassion (pause, reflect, and do a lot of self-care. Do what makes you happy.
-we don’t have to do all of these in one go, start with just the first step and build on it.

2. Learn how to prioritise. In my own experience burn out happens when I’m constantly on a hyper productive mode. I fell into this trap because I thought I had to do everything when in reality, I didn’t have to. We just need to pick what’s essential and learn to let go of the rest.

3. Embrace the power of taking one goal, one step, one day, one week at a time.

This is mostly applicable to our big blogging projects and goals. Setting a maximum number of capacity at a time is helpful too. I always try to work on 3 big projects at a time and then break the steps down into smaller action steps.

1. Focus on only one thing at time especially when doing something that takes a lot of brain power. Pomodoro technique can be a great friend.

2. Everyday, practice being purposeful starting with our thoughts, then the right actions and outcomes will follow and aim for a healthy balance.

Work is never done, and it’s ok not to do it all.

– Grateful Heart IntentionaleBlog.com

Knowing my warning signs of burn out means I know when I am pushing myself too hard and can give myself a break. I focus on my self care and what my body needs at that time.

I make sure on a daily basis I do yoga, and spend time with my family, and remember that I am working on my business for the freedom to spend that time with my family.

– Natasha Lewis MamahoodMindset.com

I’ve learned to schedule things into my day that help keep me centred such as a skincare routine first thing after a shower where instead of just slapping on the face cream, I give myself a mini face massage followed by 10 minutes of deep breathing and setting my intentions. I also take awareness breaks through the day, checking in with myself.

Lunchtime walks in the local woods breaks up the day and often forces me to eat away from my desk. If I need to step away I’ll do some crafting or crochet (or if the weather is good, take my current read out into the garden.

– Sharon Goodwin JerasJamboree.co.uk

Don’t forget it’s okay to take time out and just refresh. Sometimes on those mini breaks you’ve get those sparks of inspiration. You’re in control of when you create!

– Shelley Busby ByBusby.co.uk

I’ve been doing the Pomodoro technique lately. It has helped me work smarter rather than harder and therefore reduced burnout. The technique utilises short and long breaks to increase productivity.

– Roshni Patel TheWanderLustWithin.com

Rhythm and Grace. In a world that makes you feel like you’re constantly failing by comparison, take a step back and think about what is truly important. Hard work is important, but so is finding a rhythm in your life that allows for work to flow as a healthy balanced part of your life. If you are a digital nomad, surely you chose this as you are attracted to freedom, try not to lose sight of this. Work out a rhythm that is true to you and your overall life goals, not just your work goals. When, not if, but when, you get it wrong, be gracious with yourself. Everything you are doing is part of a learning process and if you are reflecting, you are already winning.

Comparison is the Thief of Joy. There will always be someone more successful than you and someone less successful than you. Find a pace and output the works for you.

– Emma Tryon GlobeMad.com

Burnout is real! It used to try and take me down when I spent too much time working and not enough time enjoying family and eating biscuits. Working 24/7 is guaranteed to bring on burnout, and fast.

Try to take regular, scheduled time away from your blog. This could include one blog free day a week (like a Sunday) or specific evenings when you don’t do any blogging at all.

Plan all of your blogging tasks in advance and try your best to stick to it. But don’t be too hard on yourself and remember to step away if needed.

– Eddy Hope EddyHope.com

I’ve been flirting with burnout on and off since this past October and the biggest thing that is helping me, is first recognizing the signs that it’s coming on, then taking a break from screens and getting more rest.

I’m not working in time blocks with time in between where I do active things away from the computer like exercise, cleaning the house, cooking, and I’m making sure I do more of the fun things.

– Heidi Medina TalkToHeidi.com

Even for the stuff you enjoy the most, doing it regularly makes it boring. I too sometimes don’t feel the energy to write or click pictures. I then mentally decide to take an off, write this into my planner instead of putting myself into procrastination mode.

I then watch Netflix, sort out my lipsticks, read books, and online shopping. All of this goes to my planner. Having a beautiful pretty planner with loads of stickers where you can actually write these stuff helps you a lot.

– Niharika Verma ThePinkVelvetBlog.com

What are your top tips for dealing with burnout? Let us know in the comments!

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How to beat burnout as a blogger