When Blogging Feels Like A Chore

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My blog is over 8 years old. I want to post more frequently, but I’ve seem to lost whatever spark or inspiration I had some time ago.

I envy new bloggers because they seem to be a lot more motivated and excited than I am. They have fresh ideas. I feel the same toward old bloggers that are still at it.

I am not quitting. Don’t get me wrong — this is not a farewell announcement. But it is harder to blog now. No motivation, no original ideas, the list goes on. It would be lying if I said I don’t feel this way with my other hobby, cosplaying.

Is it the passage of time? Laziness? Tiredness? I don’t know.

Not enough engagement, perhaps? I don’t think so. I don’t think I’m fixated on numbers.

Whatever the reason, I don’t know what to do. Blogging is supposed to be a hobby, isn’t it? So why would I push myself to blog if it feels like a chore. Though it does feel sad to leave it alone.

Have you ever felt this way?

31 thoughts on “When Blogging Feels Like A Chore”

  1. I’m sorry to hear it, but I can relate. There have been times when I felt I couldn’t write on my blog. It was never a matter of number for me either, but without that motivation, it just can’t happen. Sometimes a break helps, but I think we all have different ideal writing schedules/paces as well — I could never post on a daily basis, for example.

    Here’s hoping you can find motivation soon.

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  4. I feel your pain.

    My blogging output has dropped to very low levels. I don’t have any ideas that get me excited about writing. There are things I enjoy doing but I’ve blogged about them so much I feel like there’s no point in yet another post about them. Other people blog about anime so well, I don’t feel like I have anything to add.

    A sailor would say I was in the doldrums. There is no wind in my writing sails.

    https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/doldrums.html

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  5. Part of the reason I ended up offline for a lot of last year was that while I enjoyed blogging, with so much else going on it felt like an extra weight and I just couldn’t take it in 2020. Fortunately, now that things are returning a bit more to normal (or I’ve acclimatised to how things are) blogging is feeling relaxing and comforting again so I’ve gotten back into it. Still, I think if I’d pushed myself to continue in 2020 I would have ended up feeling it was more of a chore than fun.

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  6. I’ve been feeling this way a lot with my own blog. I even revamped the categories and my personal blogging schedule, but I feel like I can’t really compare to other bloggers and it’s been making me super self-conscious. It blows, feeling that way. It takes me hours to write one post (let alone think of one to write) where it used to only take about a half hour, maybe an hour tops. But I also think I’m growing a lot as a person outside of my hobbies, which make them feel less of a priority right now. Like, I’m studying to get into Pharmacy School and my attention is just centred on other things, which makes my favourite hobbies feel less important and fun. I dunno if that makes sense.

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    • I find it hard to even open a ‘New post’ page sometimes… It’s definitely taking me longer to write posts as well, not the formulating my thoughts part, but just motivating myself to write at all. Thanks for sharing your experience. That does make sense — It seems that maybe because you’ve got other things that are higher priority in your life right now that blogging has been put to the side? And when you finally have time, your hobbies shouldn’t have to feel like a chore or exhausting. I just hope that we find some peace with this, whether it’s with blogging or some other hobby because they are necessary and important…

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      • I’ve realised that sometimes stepping away from hobbies when I’m not feeling connected to them, helps to maintain a fondness for them which allows me return to it again in the future with joy instead of feeling compelled like it’s a chore as you’ve mentioned. For me, blogging is probably going to be something I step away for a while just so I don’t get a negative association with it. I’ve done that with reading and anime in the past and that’s helped me to still have it as a passionate hobby on my life today.

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  7. First up, don’t compare yourself with the new bloggers who churn out a lot of content – comparison is the thief of joy.

    Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? Slow and steady wins the race! Blogging isn’t a 100-meter dash Olympic event; think of it as akin to running the Boston Marathon. Just like you, I’ve been blogging for eight years on this platform. While I’m far from gaining view counts that PR agencies would find ideal, I’ve learned that legitimate and authentic human engagement (not from bots) is more fulfilling. Don’t push yourself too much; take your time and take breaks if you need to!

    Cheers!

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  8. In 2020, I think I blogged just a dozen times. 1 blog a month, although I remember not posting anything from October 2020 to Feb., 2021. I feel it’s become more of an obligation , rather than a chore. I couldn’t even maintain my manga /anime blogsite. My first post was in October , 2010___ that’s 11 years. Even then, it was only 2 blogs a month. I have readers who have been with me for 10 years, and I think that’s where ” obligation” comes from. Anyway, don’t force yourself to come out with a blog if you don’t feel like writing.

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  9. I definitely feel this. I’m in the same boat. It’s like I do actually want to post more, but I also just lack any motivation to actually write anything. That, all the unexpectedly crazy things from the past couple of months, and being busy with IRL stuff kept me from writing as consistently as I did. I think it’s also a combination of burn out too. So I feel like I’ve just kind of been thrown off my groove. In a way I kind of feel like I forgot how to write blog posts too. I feel bad since we’d been doing well, and I had been fairly consistent over the past year. At the same time, I know I shouldn’t force myself to write if I don’t feel like it. Because like you said, it’s a hobby. We’re supposed to enjoy ourselves, and not feel like we’re just forcing ourselves. So although I feel bad, I am trying just do things naturally. I’ll just write when and if I feel like it, and if it’s about something I’ll actually enjoy writing about. I’m just trying to remind myself that it’s ok to take breaks (one of my goals for 2021 haha). I figured after I take my time enjoying myself, I’ll probably feel rejuvenated enough to write the more complicated and fun stuff I wanted to do~

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    • Thanks for sharing. I kind of figured we were in the same boat from our Tweet exchanges haha~ I also think that taking a break is probably the best thing to do right now. I am just going to take things one day at a time. Who knows when I’ll feel rejuvenated to blog regularly again but for now, I’m just going to enjoy life as much as I can. 🙂

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      • Yeah haha. I basically used to make myself stick to a 1-2 post a week schedule. But now I’m just trying to do posts if I feel like it. If not, I just take it easy and enjoy a break~ Definitely trying to enjoy things as much as I can~ Plus, taking the time to catch up on alot of things haha~

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  10. Maybe your motivation for blogging is changing or it might just be normal tiredness because of real life things you need to do. I haven’t been has motivated and I am not up to 8 years old blog wise I think it’s natural to feel this way, maybe this is the real feeling of having a blog. Just don’t feel pressured to write since you do it has an hobby and not for the numbers you can always take a break and come pick it back up where you left it.

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    • Ah, you might be right about the real life part. I am getting busier with work and I’m no longer a student. I have “adult” things to do now. Yeah, this could be the real feeling of having a blog. That’s a good point. Thank you!

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  11. Blogging is one of my hobby too but I’m currently out of idea stock and still focus on my career. That’s why I seldom post on my blogs. About seldom post, this doesn’t mean that I’m inactive. I still read the other’s blog and hope that I could get a fresh idea so that I could post again to the blog. Don’t give up because of lost some inspiration. Cheers, Rose. 😀

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