Confession time.

I’ve been feeling burned out. I’ve been pressuring myself to meet the goal of posting on this blog each week for the whole year of 2021. And as much as I love reading and writing, having to keep up with this post schedule has put a lot of strain on me (because, you know, life happens outside of this blog).

I’ve rushed through reading, writing and editing my content. Felt less creative and productive over time. Felt like I’ve been playing catch up for weeks now and it’s impeded my quality of work.

Books that I was excited to enjoy became a chore to read. When I do have to create content, I find myself procrastinating. Sad. Frustrated. Tired. Dragging my lazy, unmotivated, uninspired self to the desk to type or to get through the book ASAP. Forcing myself to get shit done.

And by forcing it, that’s exactly what I felt I would produce – shit.

Listening to my body, I realized that I needed to take a moment to breathe and re-strategize. That if I already knew I was burned out now, it’s only going to be worse if I force myself.

Here’s What I’ve Learned. And What I Suggest When Facing Burnout.

Take your necessary breaks. Play (like a child if you have to) – really great remedy. And then get back to work – because we want to accomplish our goals, right?

Here’s the sizzling, non-secret tip:

Dan Brown’s MasterClass (highly recommend!) taught me a simple yet powerful message (that he admitted he got from someone else and has stuck with him while he’s writing): “Be tough on the process, easy on the results.”

(AKA: Show up. Do your work. Put your best stuff out there but don’t expect perfection.)

Humans are unique and imperfect. So I should learn that what I produce will have imperfections that make it unique. Can you tell I’m not an influencer? I still got heart and soul.

Here’s a crappy joke for you:

What organs can’t an influencer donate? Their heart and brain – because that was donated to the devil a long time ago to make them famous. (I kid, but it’s true.)

“You can take some pressure off the gas pedal but don’t hit the brakes because then your vehicle of progress stops moving.”

My Philosophy (Because I Got a Crap-Ton of These)

I might as well take advantage of my flexible – do whatever the hell I want on my blog – aspect and do what suits me to provide content I believe represents my values best.

I’m only one person. I get overwhelmed (easily, might I add).

When I read my book selections and write the reviews, I strive to write an honest review of my experience and opinion of the book. That’s my brand and I stand by it. If someone took time to craft this lovely piece, then I will take my time to experience it as fully as I can. To immerse myself in the process so that I give it the attention it deserves.

These stories, these characters all touch my heart deeply. Live in my memory for years. Teach me invaluable lessons that sometimes the world doesn’t. Stories mean the world to me. And I am deeply grateful for the writers who wrote them. So I will treat every book with the respect and attention it deserves. I want to honor an author’s work because I know (from my own novel writing process) all the emotions, time, and hard work gone into producing a piece.

I’m not someone who chases after quantity. Who half-asses or bullshit my work (I want to full-ass my work!). Hellooo, that’s why I started this blog. To have a place where I can express my creativity and myself freely whenever the hell I want. This blog represents me and my world so I want it to embody my values. I want to look back at all my posts in the future and be reminded of the heart, soul, thought and care put into each detail throughout my website and social media stuff.

I don’t want my blogging journey to end up becoming a negative, horrible, grudging experience because I’m so damn adamant to keep up with a rigid posting schedule. This blog is a place for my creative expression and appreciation. And I’d rather take longer to post than to post up work that I don’t believe reflects the quality that I wanted to show in my work – the quality work I’m proud to present to others.

This is basically a long-ass apology note. I made a commitment this year to post each week in 2021 and dammit, I’m not about to break that streak so close to the finish line of 2021. So I’m going to post non-book related things in between reviews so I can have necessary breaks but still meet my goals. Others told me to just take a break from things all together – I’m extremely stubborn and want to complete my goal so no way in hell am I quitting this close to reaching that goal.

Stay well everyone. Hope that reading this touch your heart and soul in some way. Hope you can relate to this and know you’re certainly not alone in feeling burned out. As a creative, it’s our worst nightmare. Because creating is our passion and we don’t want to sour our passion and make it feel like a burden.