How to Reduce Blogging Overwhelm
When you’re starting out blogging and doing it all by yourself, you have a never-ending list of things do to for it. You’re writing posts, taking pictures, editing your posts and pictures, posting on social media, writing to subscribers, brainstorming content, planning how to grow, and more.
You may also be following several more advanced bloggers who have all sorts of advice on how to grow your blog and business. It’s overwhelming!
Believe it or not, being overwhelmed is detrimental to your blog and mental wellbeing. It can stop you from being your most productive self or even producing anything at all.
Are you feeling blogging overwhelm? Here are some ways to help you overcome it.
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1 | Put on the blinders
Many new bloggers search for someone to guide them in growing their blog. If you’re one of them, you may have found 10, 20, or even more advanced bloggers who have advice for you.
Nowadays you can find someone selling you the secrets to blogging success everywhere you turn. You may have found that trying to implement all of those methods is impossible and not helpful for your blog. This is where wearing blinders is helpful.
Find one or two blogging teachers out there to follow and shutting out everyone else.
Focus on what those one or two leaders tell you to do. That may mean focusing on writing articles so that you have more content on your site, or targeting email growth or Pinterest pageviews for the next quarter.
You don’t need to be doing it all, especially not at the beginning. You’re better off focusing on one or two blogging leaders and implementing their methods than trying everything haphazardly at once.
Don’t forget that many advanced bloggers have a team of people to implement every idea or strategy. They’re not doing it all by themselves.
2 | Get off of social media
Nowadays it’s widely known that using social media such as Instagram and Facebook can be detrimental to people. It can cause increased feelings of depression and anxiety, sleep loss and poor sleep quality, and exposure to cyberbullying.
That’s not to say social media is all bad. It’s a key component of marketing one’s blog and you can learn a lot from other bloggers there.
But if you’re feeling blogging overwhelm, it’s time to take a break from social media. Take back your sanity and your time by cutting it out of your life
You may think that you’re going to lose all your followers or face a setback in the growth of your blog. If you announce it, people will understand. While you may lose some followers, you’ll have your mental health intact, and you can pick up again in the future.
If you absolutely need to use social media, set some rules for it:
Limit the amount of time on it – 30 minutes a day to respond to comments. No browsing for the sake of browsing or passing time on it.
Have specific tasks in mind on it – Know what needs to be done before getting on a platform so that once you get on, you get it done. You might schedule posts, answer questions, connect with followers, view a live training, etc. Once done, hop off the platform and move on to something else.
Have someone else handle it – If you work with anyone else on your blog, let that person handle your social media accounts for a while. You can also schedule your posts with Meet Edgar, Tailwind, or another tool like those.
3 | Prioritize your activities
One of the things that helped me reduce the stress I felt around blogging is realizing that I’m not going to get it all done…ever.
Write down everything you want or need to do to get them all out of your head.
Then cross out the least important ones until you’re left with your top tasks for the week. The tasks you keep should be the most beneficial to blog growth too, like writing new posts and emailing your readers.
Keep those most important tasks and goals in mind in the days and weeks ahead.
Every time you sit down at the computer to do blog work, do something towards one of those goals.
You won’t be wondering what to do that day or worrying about the other things that aren’t getting done. You’ll see progress by focusing on only what you need to do in the present.
In my case, on Sundays I write down everything I want to get done in the week ahead. The list is sometimes 20 items long because I include the most minor mundane tasks and items for long-term goals too.
I select the top 3 or so items that are most important to get done that week.
If they are time-intensive tasks, then I might only work on 1-2 tasks that week. I then break down the tasks in my planner depending on how long they will take to complete and how many hours I have available to work on them each day.
The rest of the items on the list go by the wayside. They either get pushed back to the following weeks or don’t get done at all. And that’s okay!
Prioritize what’s going to give you the biggest return for your efforts. Don’t worry about the rest.
4 | Ask for help
When you’re starting out, you may not be making much money, so you may not be in a position to pay for help. Help can come in many forms.
Paid help
If you have the funds – perhaps you’re making some money from your blog or from your day job, then it may be worth paying someone to help you with the aspects of your blog that could use the biggest boost or the necessary things you dislike doing.
That could be hiring a freelance writer to write a few posts so that you have more content on your site. You could hire a virtual assistant to manage your Pinterest and Facebook accounts. You may want to find a business coach, join a mastermind group, or join some paid Facebook groups to direct you on your journey.
As you grow your blog, at some point you will need help because it’s impossible to do it all on your own. Consider if it’s worth it to start hiring help now.
Unpaid help
Another option is to look for free resources, and there are many out there.
Facebook groups – I joined a few Facebook groups for bloggers and social sharing. Some were better than others.
Paid ones such as those associated with courses or mentoring groups tended to be higher quality, but I was still able to glean tips and help from others.
Google search – There are many top bloggers out there offering free advice on every aspect of blogging. A Google search can help you find good information on affiliate marketing, acquiring sponsored posts, getting started with SEO, and so forth.
Unpaid help can come from family and friends as well.
A sibling or partner can take care of children for a few hours or take on some extra chores so that you have time to work on the blog.
Family and friends can provide encouragement and support, which are also important to success. Sometimes people want to help but don’t know how, so ask for it and you may be surprised at what comes your way.
5 | Spend time doing other things outside of blogging
Sounds counterintuitive right? But if you spend 40 or 80 hours or eternal amounts of time on the blog, you will burn out.
You might find yourself no longer enthusiastic to work on your blog. There’s nothing you want to write about. Your energy is constantly low. Or you dream about spending your time doing other things.
You need time for the rest of your life, so go ahead and make time for those things.
It can be one day a week completely off the computer. If you’re feeling completely burnt out, why not give yourself a month off instead?
The blog will always be there ready to grow when you come back to it no matter how long or short your break.
You’ll feel better and whatever else you tend to – your family, day job, sleep, etc. – will appreciate the extra attention too.
Blogger burnout happens. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with blogging, have grace on yourself. See where you can switch things up using the tips above. You’ll soon find yourself in a better state of mind and ready to work on your blog again.
