Blogging tips: 5 ways to make blogging be less stressful

Blogging is one of those things that I absolutely adore, but towards the end of last year I found myself getting a bit overwhelmed. I’d been spreading myself too thin, was trying to do too much and had begun to feel stressed out about carrying on. Since then, I’ve made a few changes that have really helped me to find it a lot less stressful and rediscover the joy in blogging. I hope you find these tips helpful – and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

1. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else – it’s incredibly easy to get stuck into a vortex of thinking people are doing things better than you, or getting opportunities that you know you’d love to have. But sit back, give yourself a mental slap and stop. Not only does this suck pretty much all of the joy out of life, but it’s a futile exercise as you can only ever be the person you are. Instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing, concentrate on all the positive things you love about your blog. If there’s areas you’d like to improve, go for it! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best version of yourself, but the minute you start focusing more on you, and less on what everyone else is doing, the happier you’ll become.

2. Don’t feel like you have to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes along – it’s so exciting getting an email saying ‘we would love to work with you’ but don’t feel like you have to say yes to everything, or attend every event you might receive an invite for. Pick out the ones that you find truly exciting and are the best fit for your blog – that way you’ll not only feel  more passionate about it when it comes to writing up your blog post, but you won’t find yourself stuck in the situation of having so many things to review but no time to do it in.

3. Measure success on your own terms – this ties in nicely with point 1, but I think it’s really important to decide how YOU want to measure your own success with your blog. Whether it’s through follower numbers, the comments you get or maybe just the fact you love being able to interact with your readers, decide what it is that is key to you and focus on that.

4. Keep organised – take time out each week to sit down and plan your to do list. What posts are you going to write? What do you need to test out? Which photos do you need to take and how might they look? Planning in advance means less panic when you sit down to actually do some blogging as you’ve got a clear list of things to work through. I find it really helps to focus me and stop that sort of ‘oh my god I have 2 billion blog posts to write, arghghghgh’ panic that sets in when I don’t have a plan.

5. Take time out for ‘real life’ – it’s easy to get bogged down in ‘must blog, need new content’ but taking time to spend with friends and family is equally important. When I first started blogging every day, I used to spend my entire Sunday chained to my laptop and after a few months of that I got a bit resentful. Now I make sure to use my blogging time more smartly, and while I still set aside a few hours on a Sunday evening, I also make sure I keep time for lunches with my friends, days out with my boyfriend and time with my family. I think having a good balance also keeps your brain a bit fresher – lots of blog post ideas comes to me at random after a conversation with a friend, or while I’m out in the country walking with my boyfriend. I note them down really quickly so I don’t forget them and then come back to them later when it's ‘blogging time’.

What are your top tips for making blogging less stressful?