Hello Internet!
That’s right. You’re not imagining things. It’s a new Weekly Blog from me, Allen. It has been over six weeks since we’ve had one of these. I know I joked that these Weekly Blogs were becoming monthly blogs but now we’re entering bimonthly territory. As you may or may not have noticed, I didn’t publish a single new piece, Weekly Blog, Poem, or Writing Prompt Piece, in the month of August. This is the first time ever since I started this blog that a whole month went by where I didn’t publish a single piece of new content. And I wish I could come here and tell you all that the reason that I didn’t publish anything was because I was working on some new, big project that I’m going to premiere. But that’s not the case. From the title you can probably guess that the reason that I didn’t publish anything is because I didn’t write anything. And I didn’t write anything because I have been dealing with some major burnout. So let’s quickly talk about what’s been going on with me and then I’ll finish up by telling you all what you can expect from me in the near future and the rest of the year.
First I want to say a thank you to all the people out there who read and enjoy the stuff I write. It still amazes me that there are people all over the world who read the stuff I publish on this blog/website. Even in the month of August, when I didn’t publish anything new, there were people reading my stuff and liking it. I even got some new Followers. So hello new readers. I’m glad you found my stuff; even though I wish you found it when I was more actively publishing things on the website. But for readers new and old, I better get to my explanation on where I’ve been. Long story short, I’ve been dealing with major burnout which has left me exhausted and creatively bankrupt. Many of you probably already know that I’ve been dealing with burnout off and on for a while. There will be moments where I’m writing a lot and I feel fulfilled by writing and there will be times where I can’t write a single word. This past year has been extremely hard on me when it comes to being motivated to write. I feel burnout almost constantly and I’ve tried taking breaks in order to remedy the situation, but nothing has worked. I used to consistently publish three pieces a week. Then it was consistently hitting two out of three pieces in a week. Now I’m lucky if I can get one piece published a week.
Obviously burnout hit its peak this last month when I didn’t manage to publish a single piece in a month. And it sucks. It really sucks. I want to write stuff and have you all read it. Writing is a hobby and a passion for me. And it sucks when I can’t find that motivation and can’t get those creative juices flowing. It’s frustrating which then makes the burnout worse. It’s really a vicious cycle. When I don’t write and publish something, I miss those self determined deadlines, and then I feel bad about it. That frustration makes me even more exhausted and then hurts my creativity. I feel like I have so little time to do my hobbies and even when I put time aside to write, it’s impossible for me to be creative on demand. I’ll spend time staring at a blank page, unable to write anything. That frustrates me because it becomes a thing where I’m just wasting time that I could spend doing anything else. I have so many movies and shows to watch, video games to play, or books to read. I don’t want to spend my time doing nothing. And when I can’t write, it feels like I’m just wasting time.
Couple this with the fact that I’m exhausted. I’m burnt out trying to live my life and work hard and then there’s the state of the world. I mean we aren’t fully out of the pandemic that has been going on for two and a half years. As I write this, I am personally recovering from having Covid for the first time. And obviously the sickness has exhausted me too. So many people have been put under pressure from the pandemic and their job and their relationships and so much more. So many people are like me. Totally exhausted. Now try to be creative when all you want to do is just sit on the couch, throw on a TV show you’ve already watched, and just melt into the cushions because you are tired of putting in the effort. I’m not saying that my writing is the most complex or incredible or anything like that. But any writing, and especially creative writing, is going to take effort and brainpower. It’s way easier to consume media than create it. And when I don’t feel like using that brainpower or putting in that effort, it leaves me unable to write. Again, I don’t feel like I’m alone in this. I’m sure many, many writers and content creators have felt burnout become too much during the pandemic. Like I said, this past year burnout has become a lot to deal with, but this last month it just completely wiped me out. I had no energy to write anything so I didn’t. I don’t really count this as a break though because I didn’t get a chance to relax and recharge. I’m still at the same level of burnt out. I just didn’t want to keep this unannounced disappaterence going.
So what’s next? That’s a very good question. I’m planning on going back to my normal-ish schedule of publishing six to eight pieces a month. I want to get back into a rhythm of publishing Weekly Blogs on Sundays, Poems on Wednesdays, and Writing Prompt Pieces on Fridays. I can’t promise anything, but I want to try to finish this year on a strong note. I still want to grow my audience here on WordPress and I want to write the stuff that I know all of you will enjoy reading. It’s easy to say that but I know it’s much harder to keep up the motivation. I also know at the end of this year I will really have to think about continuing writing on this website altogether. Do I have the time for it? Do I have the motivation? Is it something that feels like I have to do it? Or am I having fun with it? This whole thing started because I told myself I needed to write more, flex that creativity, and better my writing skills. If I’m not doing that, then what’s the point? Again, I want to finish this year strong with a schedule of six to eight pieces published a month. After the new year, that schedule might change to only three to four pieces published a month. Who knows? That’s something that I’ll have to consider for now and when I have made a decision, I’ll let you all know.
So what was the point of this Weekly Blog? Was it so I could just complain about burn out? Yeah kind of. Well it was really more about letting you all know where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. I don’t want you all getting too worried about me. I’m fine. Just struggling a bit with creativity and motivation. Really nothing is new there. I’m hoping that I can build some momentum and that it won’t be two months before you hear from me again.
Thank you for reading that Weekly Blog. I’m sorry that it wasn’t an exciting one. But maybe you are just happy to hear from me. If that’s true, thank you for being very, very kind. I appreciate it. I really do appreciate all my readers new and old. Everyone who continues to read my stuff and stands by me as I don’t publish anything new really means the world to me. So thanks! If you are new here this was probably a strange one to start with, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Or at least this Weekly Blog has led you to reading more of the stuff I have written. There’s over 700 published pieces on the website so check them out if you want to see what I normally write. Also I’m trying to grow a positive and creative community here on the internet. So if you want to join that community, Follow Me here on WordPress. That would make the world for me.
Thank you again and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to Pexels.com
https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-overworked-man-holding-a-cup-8472560/
Allen The Writer 