Ugh. It happened. I reached a point last month where I was at max capacity mentally. I wasn’t feeling excited about creating new content, I gave instagram the side eye, and I turned down way too many collaborations. I had heard about this nasty monster, but honestly never though it would happen to me. I was in a blog funk. I was overwhelmed. This was a bit heartbreaking because I LOVE my blog, I love my readers, and I am definitely not about to quit. I knew what I needed to do to overcome the blog slump and get back to enjoying this rewarding hobby of mine. I needed to get organized and I needed to find a fresh spark of creativity. So that’s what I did. Y’all, it worked. I feel like that brand new blogger feeling is back! I’m more excited about Somethin’ Southern than I’ve ever been.
If you too are in a blog “slump” and starting to feel a little (or a lot!) overwhelmed, I encourage you to follow the steps below.
one | create a vision board
A fresh vision board helps you hone in on your blog’s identity and it’s fun to make. If you’re feeling uninspired with your blog, take some time to create one for yourself. Select not just pretty photos, but photos that mean something to you and represent different elements of your blog. I love the South, sweet little dresses, and spending time on the beach. These things fire me up. I tried to select photos that represented the different categories here on Somethin’ Southern, style, life, home, entertaining, and travel. Which elements would you include on your board?
Ps. I also keep a secret pinterest board where I pin visual inspiration for Somethin’ Southern! It’s gorgeous and filled with various elements that inspire me and bring personality to Somethin’ Southern. It’s a great pick-me-up to take a peek when I’m feeling uninspired.
two | remember why you started
Ever wonder what the heck you’re doing or why you’re spending so much time and energy blogging? It’s okay to feel that way because it forces you to answer a majorly important question, why did you start? Answering that question might just light that fire again. Heck, write your answer down and stick it on your desk! It’s so important to know why you’re doing it and what you hope to gain + give from it.
three | get + stay organized
This is crucial, y’all. I believe in any situation, overcoming (and avoiding!) overwhelm starts with organization. I could write a book on staying organized while blogging (not because I’m a pro, but because I’ve failed a time or two!) but I think a few of the biggest points to hit on are as follows:
- work from an editorial calendar – it all starts with a plan, my editorial calendar is about two months out – I keep it in my google calendar so things can easily be moved around.
- set office hours – this one will change your life. I spend a couple of hours each morning responding to emails, creating content, and keeping up with everything else that goes into blogging. And once a month I hit up my favorite local coffee shop on Friday evening to plan + write.
- streamline designs – have templates ready for pinterest + other social graphics, save your lightroom or other photo editing software as presets so you can batch edit posts, create templates in illustrator for any series posts you have, for example – my add to cart series has it’s own template.
- keep your files organized – this one has changed the game for me. my desktop used to look absolutely insane (files galore, couldn’t find anything!) now I have designated folders for monthly content, photos, graphics, documents and forms, media kits and contracts, etc. it makes creating a new post so much faster and I always know where old content is incase I need it.
- schedule out social posts – one of the first things to go when the overwhelm hits, is social media. using programs like planoly, later, facebook scheduler, and tailwind will help streamline the process and keep things moving!
- remember the golden rule – done is better than perfect. in the blog world (even if you’re doing this full time) perfectionism will get you where it hurts. get it done and get it out into the world, my friend!
four | take a break from reading blogs
While it definitely sounds like a good idea to read other blogs for inspiration on the daily, when you’re feeling overwhelmed by the blog world, this is the last thing you should be doing. Our old pal, Mr. Comparison jumps in at this point and 9 times out of 10, makes you feel like crap about your own blog. This isn’t inspiring, in fact it’ll kill your passion for blogging. When you’re feeling overwhelmed (or think that feeling might be right around the corner) take a break from reading other blogs and find your inspiration elsewhere. Focus on you!
Sweet friends, if the blog world has you down don’t hesitate to reach out for a little encouragement! I’d be more than happy to chat with you!
xo, mckenzie
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