Hey, everyone! I wanted to contribute and bring some encouragement to the discussions going around the book blogging community. I read two great posts from Eustea Reads & The Orangutan Librarian about this topic and highly suggest reading their posts. Let's discuss reader burnout and what it is.
I define READER BURNOUT as the point and time when reading has become too much. You may be not able to enjoy anything you are reading at the moment. You may feel overwhelmed by how much you have to read. You may want to never look at another book again because you just read twelve books this week and you need a break. The point is reader burnout looks like many different things and it's okay if it looks like several different ones.
Like Eustea pointed, reading and blogging is a hobby. However, bloggers tend to treat their blogs like pet projects. They can poor out their energy, free time, money, and other resources into this hobby. I love blogging. I've been doing it since 2012 (7 and 1/2 years!!), but I take breaks from it all the time. It's why I'm still here. I allow breaks because while I love my blog and it makes me happy it is not the only thing that I allow to make me happy.
If we pour out too much time an energy into one thing, then that one thing becomes an obsession, chore, or job. You may lose your ability to find happiness or joy in the task because it is no longer a time to relax or unwind, but to slam all your excess energy into.
Find another hobby! I know that sounds really simple, but you already have two. Reading is a hobby. Book blogging is a hobby. That's two hobbies rolled into one! I enjoy spending time with friends because I'm a people person and I love doing ministry work. I love the opportunity to unplug from media and to just be with people. I don't consider it to be a hobby, but I recognize that it's an area of my life that brings me joy. I love sitting outside and being in nature. I consider that to be a hobby that I indulge in when I need some time away. I love watching movies. That's a hobby that requires just me, friends, and food.
There are some many other little parts of the day that bring me joy, but it's important to recognize that burnout happens when the things we get filled from start to drain us. Find a new source and well. (I usually turn to Jesus and my devotional and prayer time. If you don't know Jesus, then that's okay. Find an outlet that brings you freedom, peace, and comfort.)
The key to overcoming burnout is admitting you are burned out. A thing no one in our current wants to do because we see rest as lazy and we don't allow ourselves to take time to be still. Be still. Embrace another hobby. Unplug for a day or week. Find joy with others or just by yourself. The point is not pour out all your energy into one place and forget to get full. You need to have a source. Burnout comes when we have no source to go back to.
What are your thoughts on reader burnout? Have you experienced this recently or in the past? How did you combat it? What is some advice that you would give to other people experiencing the same thing?
