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The Golden Girl

Chicago Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

September 29, 2016

Burnt out and unmotivated? Try this.

burnt-out

Original outfit post here 

Last week I had a mini melt down. (Neal might tell you it was a regular sized meltdown.)

It went kind of like this: we were out shooting blog photos, and it wasn’t going well. They weren’t turning out how I’d hoped, and no matter how hard we tried we just couldn’t capture the shots I was going for.

I just lost it.



I stomped up the stairs back up to our condo, feeling so defeated and so mad, and went straight to the fridge and took out the wine. (Never mind that it was like 4:30 in the afternoon.) 

I opened the cupboard to find no wine glasses (?!?!?!?) and then almost had another meltdown all over again. (Hint: They were all dirty, in the sink.) I angrily began hand washing them, then lost track of how many I was washing, and then ended up pouring wine in ALL of them just because I wasn’t paying attention. (WOAHHH. HEY PSYCHO. WAKE UP.) 

Okay, it was a regular sized meltdown for me, as I’m not much of a crier, but I don’t want to make it sound like it was THAT big  of a deal. Because, it was, you know–just one of the “life” moments. 

You know how sometimes life just hits you and flips you upside down for a bit? That happened a few weeks ago, and it put me so far behind in everything work-related that it felt like I was standing at the deep end of the pool on my tippy-toes. 

That wasn’t the first time I’ve felt burnt out with blogging. There are lot’s of times over the past year where I’ve wondered if I really want to continue making this my “job.” More times than one, I’ve dreamed about finding a new means of income and going back to making this my hobby again. (But who am I kidding? Why would I go back to the corporate life I hated SO much?) 

I came to the realization (days after this meltdown episode, of course) that I had spent the last few weeks operating in fight or flight mode–so no wonder I was feeling burned out. 

Know what I did this week? I sat down, and mapped out a very organized, structured way to approach my work days and work weeks. I identified the problem areas, and came up with ideas on how to fix them. Hell, I even spent an hour today laying out different outfits to shoot and snapping photos of them for future reference. 

I forgot how much fun blogging was! 

Take this lesson from me: If you’re feeling burnt out, just take a time out, sit down, and create a plan to get out of your rut.

That’s all it takes, seriously. I can’t stress it enough! 

What can you do today to lesson your overwhelm? 

Filed Under: Advice

Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    September 29, 2016 at 6:50 am

    Good for you girl! To-do lists and checklists are my life saver.

    Reply
  2. Cat says

    September 29, 2016 at 7:29 am

    Thank you so much for this!! I love how authentic you are and how you share your personal struggles with your readers. I too, have been feeling very burned out lately. I’m struggling to grow my blog and social media followings and it feels as though I’ve utilized every resource to do so.

    Reply
  3. Stephanie says

    September 29, 2016 at 7:36 am

    This post is so relatable! It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes that I found on the inside of a Dove chocolate wrapper: “You don’t need an excuse, you just need a moment.”

    Reply
  4. Jess Zimlich says

    September 29, 2016 at 8:19 am

    Jess, I love you even more for this. I could write a novel here about how much I can relate to this right now, but I’ll spare you. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Megan says

    September 29, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Jess, you rock! Thank you for being so honest and I think we all can relate. Last year I went through a long period of burn out and it’s not fun. I love how you’re tackling it out and can’t wait to try!

    // http://lifeplusbe.com/

    Reply
  6. Catherine Marks says

    September 29, 2016 at 11:58 am

    I feel you! The productivity planner you recommended is the only thing that gets me through the workday. I’m on one of my five minute breaks right now! 🙂
    xoxo,
    Catherine
    http://www.classiccatherine.com

    Reply
  7. Polly says

    September 29, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    Blogging can be so overwhelming! I normally do all of my planning on my laptop but finally decided to get a paper notebook to jot down things for my blog. I usually hate hand writing things but it helps me be more relaxed and focused. I also make sure I take time do things I enjoy, such as spend time with my family and not think about my blog. It’s hard to take a break when bloggers often work around the clock!

    Polly
    http://gemsandjoy.com

    Reply
  8. Jackie-York Avenue says

    September 29, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Feeling this EXACT same way right now, except instead of making a plan I just want to give up. Which is terrible. Thanks for sharing this, it really helps!

    Reply
  9. Ronny Cheung says

    September 29, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    I know how you feel like. I have the same meltdown every now and then. I usually catch myself in a stressed frenzy and then force myself to stop and CALM DOWN. Feeling burnout is especially rough in the fall. There are sooooo much work that we can only react but not work.Therefore I agree that take a break, plan/write everything out and get organized is a good way to reset myself from the chaos.

    Reply
  10. Rachel Spross says

    September 30, 2016 at 9:15 am

    I have had days like this so many times. I blog and go to school so sometimes life just gets to be too overwhelming! In my opinion, I feel like having meltdowns can be healthy. We vent, then like you said, we come up with new solutions. Great post! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad to know I am not alone!

    xoxo
    Rachel
    http://thetrendytomboy.com/floral-bell-sleeves/

    Reply
  11. Jodi Elliott says

    October 1, 2016 at 5:04 am

    Thanks for sharing this. I would be quite curious to know the approach that you mapped out, if you’re willing to share. I’ve fallen into this rhythm of just sitting at my desk all day, every day, working on my blog — the creative stuff, the technical stuff, the social stuff — and this approach has taken the life out my work. I need to uncover some ideas about how to bring more joy to my every day work, find better rhythms for getting everything done, etc.

    http://www.mydearsabrina.com

    Reply

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