My Top 5 Ways To Combat the Blogging Blues

Most people that have had a blog for any amount of time, tend to be familiar with the blogging blues. Those moments of apathy or frustration against our own hobby that can make the experience less enjoyable. Sometimes we have good reasons for catching the blues. Other times they just come up out of nowhere to ruin our blogging picnic for no reason! Sneaky sneaky blues.

And of course, I’ve been there too. Wondering where my blogging cookie went.

O.k., this picnic metaphor just isn’t working. Now I’m confused and hungry!

This is the top 5 ways I use to give myself a little blogging morale boost whenever I need it!

5) Social Media/Engagement Vacation

For me, one of the draining aspects of blogging is all the social interaction around it. I love it but it also requires a lot of energy. Responding to comments and engaging on social media with other anime fans. Because online communication is imperfect, or maybe because I’m just not that great at it, I feel the need to weigh every word extra carefully and moderate my opinions.

Let’s not even get into that weird mess I call a sense of humour. I should probably leave that at the door under most circumstances.

Most of the time, these interactions are wonderful and rewarding. However, if I’m in one of those negative grumpy moods then I’m likely to be pessimistic and nonproductive in conversation. In those times, I think the best thing for me is to just unplug, take a step back and recenter myself. These little moments all too myself can do wonders for putting everything back in the proper perspective.

4) Seeking out anime I’ve been wanting to see

As an anime blogger, naturally anime is completely linked with my blog. This is actually a huge plus to keeping my blogging enthusiasm up as I genuinely enjoy anime a lot. And so, if I’m watching a series I love, I get excited about sharing it with readers and collecting screencaps.

Unfortunately, it can be tough to predict what anime I will like. Actually. scratch that. I’m easy to please, I like most anime. But there are few I really love. So, to bolster my chances, I try to watch titles I’ve been excited about for a while but either couldn’t find easily or was waiting for them to finish airing. Starting a new show, I can get completely engrossed in, never fails to also make me enjoy my blog a bit more.

3) Starting new projects/features

I’m not one of these people that needs constant change. I can do repetitive tasks for a long time without getting too bored. Man do I sound exciting right about now! This said, what’s better for getting those creative juices flowing than a good old project!

There’s something invigorating about setting everything up and laying down the groundwork. Seeing a project take shape is a special type of fun that’s different from a simple post. It does take a lot of work though so you can’t just take on anew one every week and my own initiatives are generally very hit or miss but I always have fun putting them together.

2) Redecorating my blog

Ok, so I actually do this just for fun as well. Moving a few widgets around or changing up your colour scheme can give your blog a whole new look and make you feel refreshed! It’s like a haircut or a new dress. I’m not sure this will speak to all of you but for me, I little outwards improvement helps with the inner as well.

And it’s just fun! Making stuff pretty allows me to tap into a creative side I don’t use when I’m writing or coming up with subjects. There’s a nice therapeutic effect. Like drawing. And then you have this pretty shiny blog, so you feel like using it more.

At least I do.

1)      Collaborations

It’s funny that I started the list by saying that a bit of alone time was the perfect solution and I ended by saying more together time!

For reals though, writing by yourself and writing with a friend are two very different things. I have never found a collaborative post to be a chore or difficult to put together. In fact, Matt made episode reviews of Cinderella Nine seem fairly painless which is no small feat indeed. While all the other shows I’ve done collaborative reviews for I enjoyed, I still found it so much easier to get the post out with the help of a co-author.

Not only is it practical but it also helps you feel like blogging is a team sport. You know how people tell you to get a workout buddy, so you won’t quit the gym. Same principle!

There you go, my top 5 personal ways of staving off blogging ennui. There, not all that revolutionary, I bet you’ve heard them before but that’s because they work! Well, they work for me.

If you have any other ways to keep yourself excited in your blog, let us know. I bet it could really help someone out there!