Real Words

As mentioned earlier today, one of the news articles that caught my attention this weekend as the New York Times report called In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop. The article points to three different high-profile bloggers who have died (or nearly died) prematurely in recent months as a result of heart problems. Discussing the nature of blogging work in the modern world, the report indicates that blogging could be considered a high-stress job. Citing long work hours and the need to always be online to get the latest scoop, the article says that publishing daily on the web can be the cause of numerous different health problems.

As a professional web writer and blogger for more than five years, I’ve definitely experienced my moments of high stress. I can see where some of the points in the article come from, especially for those high profile bloggers that really need to work more-than-full-time to keep on top of their sites. But I don’t think that blogging has to be a stressful experience on the whole.

Here are some basic tips that the average blogger can use to reduce their daily stress:

• Set normal work hours. The biggest cause of blogging stress seems to come from the fact that bloggers are never NOT at work. They’re always on their computers, always researching the latest news for their blogs and always reading up on blogging information. Just like with any other job, doing it too much is going to cause you to burn out. You need to set some basic working hours for yourself and try to stick with them as much as possible. For some that’s going to be Monday - Friday from 9-5. For others it’s going to be Friday through Sunday from noon to midnight. (My schedule is generally Thursday through Monday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. although weekend hours are sometimes shorter.) The hours themselves don’t matter. What matters is that you set them, stick with them and make sure that you take some time off.
• Take tech-free days. When I say that bloggers need to take time off, I mean that they need to get away from all technology for at least one full day each week. That means that you turn off the computer. You don’t use your mobile phone to update things via Twitter. You choose some form of mental escape that isn’t the television. The first few times that you do this, it may actually be more stressful to you but once you get in the habit of really taking some downtime, you’ll be glad that you did. Your body will thank you for it. And so will the earth!
• Hire some help. One of the things that was highlighted in the New York Times article was that bloggers frequently feel that they need to be online all of the time so that they don’t miss the latest news. This applies primarily to news and politics bloggers but can also impact people such as technology and celebrity bloggers. Basically, the idea is that if you aren’t there to post the latest news, your site is going to suffer since someone else will get to it first and get the attention of those seeking immediate information. If this is the case for you, consider hiring some blogging help to make sure that nothing is missed and your stress levels will go down. Think you can’t afford it? It’s a business expense and if you’re this serious about blogging, you need to treat your work like a business.
• Get organized. A whole lot of blogging stress can be reduced if you’re organized about your work. This includes everything from getting your work space cleaned up to creating a business plan for your blog. The more clearly you’ve delineated what needs to be done, the more efficiently you’ll be able to do it and the less stress you’ll expose yourself to.
• Eat right. Most of the bloggers and at-home writers that I know fail to take basic proper care of themselves. This is particularly true when it comes to food. Either they forget to eat throughout the day because they’re tied to their computers or they munch all day long on bad snacks because they’re home and therefore they can. Make sure that you take time to eat good full meals throughout the day. If you’re body is healthy, it handles stress better.
• Socialize with other bloggers. Blogging stress is exacerbated by the fact that you probably sit at home, on your own, stewing in your own brain. Sometimes, you just need to vent about things in order to relax. And who is better at understanding that than another blogger. Don’t use social networks and forums as your sole source of doing this, though. Believe it or not, people really need human interaction. Join or start a group for bloggers in your area and meet with them a few times a month to chill things out in your life.
• Create a budget and a savings account. One of the largest sources of stress for most bloggers is the money situation. For most bloggers, earnings go up when two things happen: the blogger is insanely prolific and writes all of the time and/or the blogger is a genius at gaining advertising and marketing revenue. These two things take up a lot of time and energy … but more importantly, they’re often not consistent. It can cause a lot of panic to a blogger to think about taking a week off of work because it can mean a significant drop in revenue. You simply can’t control what’s going on in the blogging market all of the time. But you can control your own finances! Create and stick by a workable budget so that you can start saving up some money. A savings account in the bank can do wonders for reducing blogging stress.
• Blog about what you love. Many bloggers end up writing about topic areas that they like but don’t love. If you are going to immerse yourself in a topic day in and day out, you’d better love it. If you don’t, the idea of going to work is going to be stressful for you even if that work is done in your own home.
• Take a moment each day to focus on why you love blogging. Many bloggers wake up, grab their cup of coffee and dig into their work. By taking just a few moments each morning to reflect on what you love about blogging, you can really boost your own ability to appreciate what you’re doing with your time. Those few moments might just save your life.
• Listen to your own needs. Your body and mind will tell you when the stress is getting to you. Pay attention to yourself in order to make sure that you’re not letting the stress of blogging get to you.

Blogging - and web writing in general - is a terrific job. But like all jobs, it has its pros and cons. You need to reduce the cons - such as stress - if you’re going to maximize the benefits of the job. Taking care of yourself, listening to your own needs and lightening up a little about your work is going to help you to enjoy the world of blogging a whole lot more!

Question of the Day: What is the biggest source of stress that you feel about web writing … and what do you do to counter its effects?

[Tags] writing, blogging, stress, heart attack, death, tips, freelance, web 2.0 [/Tags]