It seems like every so often, someone in the blogging world posts that they are burned out and feeling overwhelmed and need a break. Because of this, I did kind of wonder when this would happen to me. Well, I think it was last week. Here were my symptoms:
- Not being able to get into anything I was reading and having to put down books after a few pages and start a new one.
- Because of this, not being able to write reviews and having zero other ideas on what else to post.
- Being unenthusiastic about new books and seeing them not as great stories, but as more to load onto my overwhelming TBR pile.
- Waking up in a cold sweat and then being unable to get back to sleep because of the worry about said TBR pile and how I was ever going to get through it.
I was trapped in a horrible cycle. My TBR pile had me so stressed that I couldn't stop worrying and get focused on reading. And because I wasn't reading, my TBR pile wasn't getting any smaller. Does this sound familiar at all?
The not-sleeping thing is what spurred me to do something about this. If there's one thing I can't sacrifice for reading and blogging, it's my regular 40 winks because I seriously can't function on little sleep. However, trying to cut down my TBR pile has been only marginally less painful that cutting off one of my limbs. One thing I decided to do was return the 17 library books I had out on loan. I want to keep using my library, libraries need all the support they can get, but it got to the point where I was just holding these books hostage and preventing other library-users from picking them up. I have more than enough bought books on my bookshelf and on my Kindle to last me for months.
To get myself back into reading, I reread a book I love (The Book Thief) and although it took me longer than usual, I think it got me out of my funk. I'm also hosting a giveaway and it always feels good to make other people happy. Sigh. I'm feeling better now.
But I can't help but wonder why we bloggers put so much pressure on ourselves. Our blogs don't have deadlines and aren't being graded, yet I think my dissertation was the last thing to get me as worked up as this! On the one hand, it's a good thing that our blogs are so important to us but on the other, we need to chill out sometimes.
I'd like to ask how many of you have felt this way and what you did do to overcome it? Maybe a self-help and relaxation guide for bloggers is in need!
