Let’s Talk Bookish: Blogging Slumps

Hello readers! In today’s post, we are discussing blogging slumps. Today’s post revolves around a topic very close to my heart, as I recently emerged from the depths of one myself.

How’s everyone’s reading escapade going this month? I know it’s time for holiday shenanigans, at least in America, so I totally get it if your bookish adventures are taking a backseat. Does anyone actually do anything for 4th of July? I don’t really care for fireworks.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originated by Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Book Nook Bits. The accompanying thumbnail was also designed by Book Nook Bits. Each Friday, bloggers craft posts where they engage in discussions centered around the designated topic for the week.

Prompts: Do you often find yourself in blogging slumps? What qualifies as a blogging slump for you? What causes them? Can you sense one coming, or do they hit you unexpectedly? What do you do to prevent blogging slumps? How do you get out of them? 

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I haven’t had blogging slumps very often, but it has happened a few times. Being on the autism spectrum gives me a unique perspective, which makes it easy for me to get fixated on things and write constantly until I can’t take it anymore. This urge to express myself through writing can be both a good thing and a bad thing. I just want to make it clear that I still have a strong passion for writing. However, sometimes the pressure to create amazing content takes a toll on my mental well-being. I find myself caught in a whirlwind of self-doubt and perfectionism. I used to sit, read, and reread my posts for fear of saying something stupid, which wasn’t healthy.

What qualifies as a slump for me is when I just don’t feel like writing anything. As a matter of fact, the idea of writing might cause me some stress. I can’t even read other people’s blogs when I’m slumping. It just reminds me of my failure in a way. I do the same when it comes to reading. I don’t like consuming bookish content on any platform when I am in a reading slump.

Going through these blogging slumps has taught me the importance of taking care of myself and finding a healthy balance in my writing routine. It’s okay, and even necessary, to take breaks and give myself time to relax and recharge. I know that the words will flow easily again when the time is right. So, I don’t see these blogging slumps as obstacles that I need to overcome, but rather as valuable experiences that help me grow and develop as a blogger.

For me, a period of decreased productivity is typically the result of dedicating excessive time to blogging until I can’t bear to open the site. However, this last slump was due to external life circumstances beyond my control. Every time I finally get into a good groove, something happens. If you didn’t see my last Sunday Post, I talked about the power outage that left me without power for almost 60 hours. I had a few posts that I could barely write because of that outage, but luckily I had a few posts prewritten and scheduled.

I can usually see a slump coming. I did so well in 2021. I was scheduling a weeklong break each quarter. Then, I got to Blogmas and overworked myself. I had been posting 4 times a week for almost a whole year before Blogmas 2021. Blogmas 2022 was the only one I’ve had that was successful. In the middle of Blogmas 2020, my laptop stopped working and I couldn’t get another one until almost January. Not only did I have Christmas to buy for my daughter, but our car also broke down around the same time when we only had 3 or 4 payments left on it. It was a crazy end of the year.

What I’m doing now to prevent a slump is taking plenty of breaks. I will disallow myself from going onto my blog some days, which is hard. I love seeing comments! I have trouble articulating responses sometimes, but I still enjoy reading them. Like I said before, I have a habit of working on things too much. I do this with reading, too! Sometimes I tell myself I am not reading that day because I need a good break. Having too much of anything is never a good thing.

To snap out of a funk, I just stay away for a while. I wait until that writer’s itch comes back naturally. It’s not the simplest thing to do, but I can’t push myself to do stuff if I’m not feeling it. It’d be a whole other story if I relied on this blog for a living, I suppose. So many folks don’t get extended breaks from work! Everyone gets worn out, even when they’re doing something they’re truly passionate about and that’s totally human.

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