I was at Blog Elevated this past weekend, and the conference wrapped up with how to avoid burning yourself out as a blogger. Some of the things mentioned were common sense and good ideas in theory but difficult to implement, and some were more eye opening. I'll cover all of them in case my "ah-ha!" moments are different than yours in avoiding blogger burnout. Blogging is competitive. It's personal. Usually, it's something we do in addition to our full-time jobs or responsibilities. Others view it as a hobby while we view it as our brand and our business. It is so easy to take on too much and end up stressed out or pushing deadlines than it is to simply enjoy blogging as a passion! Here are some tips to keep you grounded and intentional as you blog, build your brand and network your space: Set your priorities and give yourself grace. Yes, this blog is my small business that I run and my personal brand I'm building... But I'm a SAHM first. My priority is my son (soon to be two sons!) and while I find myself getting frustrated that I can't implement everything that I want to when I think of it or when it's best strategically for my business, HE is my priority. Figure out what your top three priorities are in your life as a whole - family, work, relationships, blogging, motherhood, caregiver, etc. Figure out your top three and keep it to three! Write your priorities down and put them in a place you see them often. When you find yourself getting frantic about all that you have to do, look at that short list and ask yourself, "Is all of that taken care of today?" If it is, then you did a job well done! We cannot be all things to all people and be the best in our craft and offer the best to our families and friends. Be intentional. I loved this one because I really have to be intentional as a SAHM who gets nap time and after bedtime to really work on this blog. Set goals every month and keep track of them. Set your daily to do list to drive those goals. If you're looking to monetize, figure out what brands you want to work with, research who they want to work with, and set your to-do's to meet their objectives. Don't have 15 tabs open, jumping from task to task! Look at your to-do list and accomplish each one, line by line. Stay focused. Focus and intention is the BEST way to actually achieve both your daily tasks and ultimately, your monthly and yearly goals! I would also note that it's important to not set too many monthly goals, or have too many items on your daily to-do list. I set my first monthly goals just this month, and kept it to three! On my daily to-do list, I try to keep it to 3-5 items. This way you're not staying up all night, and you're able to do those things WELL instead of rushed and half-a$$ed. I've seen some bloggers set 10-15 monthly goals and that's just too many. Can you get one of those things done every other day? Probably not. Set yourself up for success, not failure. Limit your monthly goals! Stop comparing yourself and your blog to others. As you can see from my above tips, I've really honed in on setting priorities and being intentional with my goals and objectives to that I don't have burnout from attempting to do too much. But this area is my weakness. I'm competitive by nature. I'm analytical and strategic by nature. So I love to look at others' blogs and compare and crunch number data and have internal competitions with their blogs and mine. Now, a little competitive spirit is great! It's motivating. But if it's too much, it's debilitating. I'd say several times a year my extreme competitiveness puts me in debilitating mode. I see what others are doing and discourage myself. I think, "Ughhhh, I don't have time to hire a photographer and style a shoot! If I did, _____ (fill in desired brand) would probably love to work with me, but I'm stuck toddler chasing all day!" or "Yeah, if I had time like ______(fill in the blogger) to edit my DSLR photos, then I'd get 500 Instagram followers this week too! But my child decided to scream the second I opened my editing software... Must be nice to be child-free/have a nanny like ______ (fill in the blogger)!" Then not only am I unhappy with my blog, I'm also left upset that I'm a SAHM. Comparing your blog or your brand to others isn't helpful to anyone - not yourself, not your blog, not your family and certainly not your friends who are likely left listening to you complain! Comparison deflates you and your brand. Why do that to yourself?! A big takeaway from my conference was that I need to take that energy I spend comparing and overly-competing, and focus it on DOING. Why sit and compare when I can be doing things to improve my space and take it to where I want it to go?! Main points made in avoiding blogger burnout at the 2015 Blog Elevated conference Bloggers are busy. Most of us have full time work/responsibilities, family, friends, and other obligations competing for our time. It's easy to get burned out as a blogger, because having a blog is another set of things to add to your to-do list! But you can avoid blogger burnout if you follow these tips!