I've started a little discussion on my blog regarding blogging burnout. I'm currently facing it and I was curious how people deal with burnout in general. So what do you do to deal with burnout?

Thanks for the ideas,
CD

This is an awesome question. I've actually been facing something similar lately, as you may have noticed by the reduced pace at GRS. When I just had a personal site, burnout wasn't an issue. If I was feeling drained, I just didn't post. Now I feel like I have an obligation to GRS readers. I feel compelled to post frequently. But this leads to burnout! Not a good thing.

To combat this in the past, I've usually forced myself to take a short holiday from blogging, usually just a day or two. I do something completely unrelated. Go rollerskating. Drive to see a friend. Build a garden. Whatever. Just anything to get my mind off the same old routine and refreshed.

Here's a strange thing: I've found that the #1 best way for me to recharge is to mow the lawn. It must be something to do with the zen-like exercise involved. Whatever the case, mowing the lawn always brings a flood of entries. Yesterday I got four entries alone out of a half-hour mowing job. I can't explain it, but it happens nearly every time.

I feel similarly about mowing the lawn. I think it's b/c it's a mindless exercise that provides immediate gratification. You can let your mind wander but still feel a sense of accomplishment when the job is done.

I agree with mowing the lawn... I've come up with all sorts of ideas for everything in my life while pushing that machine around.

I've found lately as I've been working on training for a marathon that Running also has the same influence. While I'm running I have thought of a ton of entry ideas for my marathon blog. When I get home, I login, write down my ideas and save them for future posts.

Even with a ton of ideas I sometimes feel like just posting a snippet.. And I think thats ok. Its better to post less and relevant than too often and crappy.

J. D.

Two ideas: Some bloggers constrain the number of entries in a day, this allows them to get ahead on material so they can take a break without alerting the audience. Alternatively, I'm not going to hold it against you if you need a break from this very useful resource that you are so kindly making available to those of us crawling out of money pits. Draw up a cartoon battery with a power cord coming out of it, and when you need a break, stick it at the top of the front page with a caption "J.D. is recharging, back when the charge light goes off."

I like the plug coming loose from J.D. idea. That cracks me up.

Fortunately, I'm out of the doldrums now, and am actually producing TOO much. To cap it off, I've got to go finish mowing the lawn, which is just going to stir up more ideas!

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I tried cutting the lawn and I didn't come up with anything. To be fair I was getting sick at the time (an hour later I was sitting down with a cup of tea and thinking about going to bed at 8 pm).

As to the burnout issue I came up with a modified posting schedule that should allow me to keep posting 5 days a week without feeling like I'm dying to do it. Regular posts M, W, F and then a link post on Thursday and then a wildcard post on Tues which should allow me to be more creative and go off topic a bit once in a while.

Thanks for the ideas,
CD

Just suck it up and keep typing.

Actually, just taking a break of a day or two will usually get things stirred back up for me.

CD, if it's any consolation, I've overcome the burnout I was experiencing recently. I'm not sure what happened, but one day I found that I had three or four extra articles written. Nice spot to be in. Actually, it may have been the guest posts from Friday and Sunday that bought me the time I needed to get caught up. I'm ambivalent about guest posts: I love hearing other voices and reading about things I wouldn't normally encounter, but they're still a lot of work for me if I want them edited to my standards. But they serve a purpose!

JD

What you could do is cultivate a few guest posters and designate a dayfor em. 1 month's worth of investment of time working with 2 guest bloggers to ensure that they adhere to your quality controls means that hey, once every two weeks you get a vacation weekend.

Throw the guest bloggers a fancy title and a book for xmas, and you've got high quality help for little pay. Lots of folks would jump for an opportunity to guest-blog on a blog with your reach and exposure.

Heck, you could even make it a contest.

- calling in sick and doing absolutely nothing at home
- a day at the ball game
- walking
- driving around and listening to tunes
- time alone
- weekend getaways

that always helps me

A vacation always helps.