Last Updated on June 6, 2025 by Jan Barley
Blogger burnout is real. I know because I suffered from it in 2024, and it wasn’t nice, I can tell you.
It started with a to-do list and a cup of coffee (or three). Innocent enough, right? However, four hours later, I’d cleaned the fridge, organised my Google Drive, redesigned my homepage banner, and written exactly zero words for my blog.
I’d also sneaked in a 30-minute nap because I felt so bone-achingly tired.
I had a classic case of blogger burnout.
I was turning myself inside out rather than sitting down to write a blog post.
If you’ve ever found yourself furiously busy but wildly unproductive, avoiding your blog like it owes you money, you’re in good company.
Blogger burnout creeps in quietly, disguised as “I’ll just finish this one thing first.”
Before you know it, the joy is gone, the traffic’s tanking, and you’re wondering if you should just sell candles on Etsy instead.
Let’s talk about why blogger burnout happens, how I fell face-first into it, and precisely what I did to dig myself out, coffee still in hand.
How I Knew I Had Blogger Burnout (Besides Falling Asleep At My Keyboard)
At first, I just felt tired. Not the usual I’ve-been-up-late-finishing-a-post tired, but that bone-deep exhaustion that makes you question your life choices.
Falling asleep watching Clarkson’s Farm in the afternoon is a debatable error of judgment, depending on where you sit with the ex Top Gear star. I have begrudgingly grown to enjoy him and his dry sense of humour in his role as a welly-wearing farmer.
Anyhow, I started procrastinating. I’d open a Word document and immediately decide it was the perfect time to reorganise my sock drawer.
When I did manage to write, everything felt flat and joyless. No sparkle, no sass, just blah. Why the f*ck was I doing this!
And that’s when it hit me: I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated.
I was neck-deep in blogger burnout.
Why Blogger Burnout Happens (Even When You Love Blogging)
Here’s what no one tells you when you start blogging: passion alone doesn’t protect you from burnout.
Here’s what contributed to my personal crash:
- Chronic Multitasking: Trying to blog, manage clients, learn SEO, create pins, edit reels, walk my dogs and occasionally eat.
- The Comparison Trap: Watching other bloggers hit 100K views while I hovered at 3K and pathetically slobbered into a bucket of ice cream.
- Content Hamster Wheel: Feeling like I could never take a break from blogging without losing momentum. This one impulsion sucked the life out of me.
- Zero Boundaries: My blog consumed me. I couldn’t separate an actual life from my blog. I became obsessed.
I was (too) desperate for my blog to work and start making an income. It was too much pressure, and my mental health buckled under the strain.
To avoid blogger burnout, I focused on reducing the importance and started trusting that time and consistency would ultimately reward me.
If you’re experiencing blogging burnout, know that you are not broken. You’re a human running at full capacity without a break. And yes, even seasoned bloggers feel it too.
What Helped Me Recover From Blogger Burnout (Without Chucking My Laptop Out the Window)
Let’s get into the good stuff—the turnaround from blogging exhaustion to bouncy writing for fun.
These are the simple strategies that helped me not just crawl out of blogger burnout but come back stronger (and with fewer snack-related breakdowns) and start loving the process again.
Strategy #1: Let Go of “Should” Blogging
I think the word “should” should be banned from the dictionary, which is a should I shouldn’t have said, LOL.
Anyhow, I (eventually) stopped writing what I thought I “should” write and leaned into what lit me up. That change alone pulled me back from being burned out from blogging.
Writing about blogging is what motivates me, rather than writing what I thought people wanted and doing it to try to make money.
Writing’s gotta be fun, right?
Surprisingly, taking the pressure off yourself often leads to better productivity. It did for me, anyway.
Strategy #2: Used AI to Work With My Wonky Brain
I have ADHD, so focus is sometimes as elusive as a squirrel soaked in coconut oil climbing up a wet pipe. Blogging with ADHD adds a new layer of challenges.
AI tools became my sidekick. I use them daily to brainstorm content ideas, outline posts, and speed up editing. Suddenly, tasks that drained me felt doable again. I no longer feel alone and overwhelmed by the thought of writing three or more blog posts each week.
Strategy #3: Set Boundaries Like a Boss
My blog no longer wakes me up at 2 am with “quick ideas.” I have office hours. Weekends off. Scheduled creative sprints.
Revolutionary.
When you have a flood of energy, take advantage by creating a blog content strategy or batching draft blog posts.
Strategy #4: Made Blogging Fun Again
I rebranded and played with new formats. I studied storytelling (that was fun) and introduced more humour into my blog posts. My friends tell me I am funny. Well, I see the humour in most things – except my blog, hahaha.
I use Grammarly for editing. I love it and would never be without it, but it’s grammatically bossy. It pushes you into writing more formally, and I’d got into that habit. It doesn’t like the words “just” or “actually” when, in fact, we use “actually” rather frequently in conversation. So, actually, I will use actually if I actually damn well please.
So, let go of rigid structures. When blogging feels like play, you don’t need to drag yourself to do it.
Strategy #5: Tracked Energy, Not Time
I stopped trying to force myself to write when I felt tired. Instead, I tracked when I had natural energy and scheduled blog tasks for those times. Game. Changer.
Yesterday, I woke up feeling compelled to write an article. Within two hours, I’d written, edited and published “Blogging With ADHD” and loved every minute of the process.
Later in the day, I drafted two more blogs, including this one. Next week, I’ll edit and publish.
Today, I have edited three blog posts and put them in draft. Next week, I may hit an energy slump, so it’s good to have some content in the bag.
Jump on the energy wave when it’s rising and coming into the shore because you never know how long that wave will last.
Tips to Avoid Blog Burnout Before It Happens
Even if you’re not in full-blown blogger burnout, these tips can help keep things flowing:
- Batch content when you’re in the zone
- Create a “just ideas” doc to ease the pressure
- Delegate things you hate (Accounting, I’m looking at you)
- Connect with other bloggers because isolation is a creativity killer
- Have one blog-free day a week, minimum. Celebrate tiny wins, not just massive milestones.
Final Thoughts on Blogger Burnout
If you’re there right now, stuck, exhausted, and considering selling your blog for a pickle sandwich, you’re not alone.
Blogger burnout happens to the best of us. The trick isn’t to avoid it forever; it’s to notice it early, reset with kindness, and come back with better systems in place.
Decide to work smarter, not harder. I use several AI tools to make my life easier.
The days of writing a blog from scratch are over for me. Using AI Tools, I can produce and publish a blog post in a few hours instead of a day or more. That means I can publish more content.
AI has helped me move from struggling to publish one post each week to generating three or more without needing an espresso drip.
Let Go of perfection, too. Good enough is better than perfect if it means you can write more with less energy drain.
Remember: your blog is a business, not a boot camp. You can grow it and still enjoy your life.
As they say, build it, and they will come. “They’ being sales, ad revenue or whatever your goal is. But don’t sacrifice your mental health trying to “get there” sooner.
Now, get up and make a cuppa. Your blog can wait.
