Rachel is a workaholic. She blames the internet. Me too.

Blogger burnout? Oh I know you well. Thanks so much for coming and crapping all over my head last week.  Appreciated that.

You certainly don’t have to be a blogger to feel overwhelmed by the relentless pace of modern life. Technology has unleashed a tsunami of information and communication that is often difficult fucking impossible to cope with let alone digest, process or stay on top of.

Perhaps that’s why, when I saw this piece on Rachel Hills blog Musings of an Inappropriate Woman I nodded my head until it fell off, bounced off my keyboard and rolled out the door. It’s been republished here with full permission

Since around the time I turned 20, I’ve worked what most people would consider to be … a lot. I don’t think I’ll ever be the kind of person to hold down a regular job, switch off and relax at the end of the day. But the internet might just be the medium to push me over the edge into bona fide workaholism.

It serves as a constant reminder of all the things I could be doing and thinking about. The stimulus flies thick and fast, so that every day I come up with more ideas than I could ever have time to pursue. It also reminds me of all the things everybody else is doing, which often ends up equating to the things I begin to think I should be doing.

Net culture’s emphasis on ”ubiquity” (be everywhere at once! make it shareable! ship!) plays into it as well. People tell me I’m “so prolific”, but I don’t think it would be physically possible for me to produce at the relentless pace of online media sometimes seems to demand. Especially not while maintaining an offline life, career and projects as well (although that seems to be part of the aforementioned ubiquity).

I know I’m not alone in these anxieties. I see it in the posts of Erica Bartle of Girl With A Satchel, when she talks about juggling the demands of her very popular blog with the demands of paying her bills, and Sarah Ayoub of Wordsmith Lane, when she talks about trying to prioritise her YA novel (due in two months), thesis, job and freelancing gigs. “Get the novel done!” I tell Sarah. “All the rest is small change in the scheme of things.”

But I know it’s not that simple. On a practical level, I find that narrowing my focus to the work I think will have the greatest impact (in my case, thesis/book proposal and this blog) helps me manage and prioritise my load. On an emotional level, though, there’s a constant sense of “oh shit, I should be doing something that instead. And that. And that. And that.”

Nor is it all “woe is me” misery. Workaholics don’t chain themselves to their laptops because they hate themselves (well, not always, anyway). They do it because, for them, it’s pleasurable, and the internet doesn’t just exacerbate anxieties about work – it also enhances its pleasures.

My own moods are probably overly influenced by external stimuli – small victories and new possibilities excite me – and every pitch accepted, story published, interesting invitation or well-received blog post has always given me a little high. The internet creates an additional means to access these highs – one which is always available, but impossible ever to fully satisfy. There’s always new stimulus, new inspiration, new things I could or should be doing.

This state doesn’t just apply to work either, as the non-workaholics reading will know well. Last year, when I posted a status update on Facebook asking if anyone else felt crap and inadequate after reading a series of Tweets or status updates, I got upwards of 30 replies.

This constant stream of information invites comparison amongst the externally stimulated and insecure, whether it’s “hey, that person who’s not my best friend likes that other person who’s not my best friend more than they like me” or “why did I stay home on Friday to read journal articles and watch 30 Rock when all those other people were out having fun?”

When I mentioned that I’d be writing a post on this issue to Erica last week, she suggested I take a look at this one, titled ‘Insecurity does not pay the bills’. Indeed. Nor does it provide value to others, or help you get your most important work done. Or help you enjoy your greatest pleasures, for that matter.

One way to beat the anxiety is to be confident in our own choices. I may wish I was doing more work (like I said, workaholic), but I’m also pretty secure that the work I do choose to focus on is the more important and effective for the ends I’m seeking. I’m also secure in my ability to choose which people I want to spend time with, which events look like they’ll be the most fun, what time I want to get there and what time I want to go home.

It also doesn’t hurt to switch off from time to time – to put a break on all that delicious information and inspiration. Just because it’s there to know, respond to, and do, doesn’t mean you have to know, respond and do it all. If you’re overstimulated (I know I have been lately!) put a limit on the stimulus you allow yourself to access.

Is anyone else feeling the pressure to produce? Or just generally inadequate in comparison to the collective weight of other people’s lives? If so, how do you deal with it?

After Rachel sent us links to this piece, Erica Bartle from Girl With A Satchel  (who I know has a strong following among Mamamia readers…) who is my frequent venting buddy when blogger burnout gets too much, had this to say:

“I think it’s definitely an educational process, particularly with regards to setting your own work boundaries and determining what constitutes a full day’s work. Where do you draw the line? How much content do you have to produce?

When I worked in magazines, in an office environment, I had a number of pages allocated each month, photo shoots to coordinate, events to attend, work to sub and underlings to mentor – but though I started work before my colleagues, I was always adamant about leaving the office at 5.30/6pm at the latest, so I could get home, exercise and spend time with family/Husband.

When I started blogging, there were no parameters. I also used blogging to escape the fact that I was unhappy in my new living circumstances – away from friends and family and very alone. That was much to my detriment. Blogging can be cathartic, for sure, but the associated pressures of delivering timely, accurate and opinionated content often outweigh the benefits of having one’s own voice.

As a victim of blogger burnout, I now try to prioritise my work day according to my own value system: I walk in the morning, I pray/read the Bible, then I set about my to-do list (today’s includes: new glossy post; May advertising bookings; magazine review; commission guest reviews; anniversary coffee with Husband; start on uni lecture presentation… then there’s the Tweeting, email replies… often my list is longer than I can possibly manage).

I also now tutor a feature writing class, which means time for marking. Producing Cosmopolitan’s monthly book reviews page is also a taxing task (with little financial reward). And then there’s domestic duties, friend commitments, play time…!

Unfortunately, the bigger your blog gets, the less time you have for generating quality content, so I’m getting smarter about the material I enjoy producing and taking on contributors who can take the slack when I need a day off/a few hours off to refresh and refocus… and also when I’m labouring under freelance deadlines.

Alas, these days I’m aiming for quality over frequency – I’ve had too many experiences of premature blogging to let whimsical/silly posts get in the way of the site’s integrity. As a result, my hit numbers may drop off, but at least I’ll be able to sleep better at night.

Getting into a productive rhythm that keeps anxiety at bay, I’ve found, is the result of having a plan, taking time out to sit and be peaceful, ensuring your values are consistently in alignment with the content you’re producing and getting away from the computer… often!

On an ideal day, my blog content just flows seamlessly. But if I let expectations generated by feeding off social media/mainstream media/other blogs get in my way, I quickly lose my peace and it all falls to shit (for want of a better phrase).”

Can you relate to the idea of burnout? Have you experienced it in your own life – as a worker, a mother, a partner, a content producer……?

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