If you’re a blogger, you know that on some days you just don’t feel inspired. You may read a hundred difficult interesting articles, scan another hundred recent Tweets, or ask yourself ‘What would I want to read?” And yet… nothing.
So what do you do on those days? Bloggers owe their audience 3 major things: consistency, relevant content, and authenticity. Therefore, you can’t simply not post. You can’t post on an unrelated topic like how you’re pretty sure your dog is allergic to Sharpie (although that’s a true story.) And you can’t constantly repost other bloggers content.
Here are some tips from personal experience on what to do when the blogging words just won’t come.
Find something new.
Quit checking all of the blogs you usually check for inspiration if it’s clearly not working. Get on Google or Bing, and search for something new. There are millions of blogs out on countless numbers of subjects. Try to find a new blogger in your area of expertise that offers a fresh take on that subject. Sometimes that’s enough to get those creative juices flowing.
Take a break.
Great ideas often come when you aren’t trying to think of them. The more you stress about trying to think about something, the harder it becomes. Before you know it you’re thinking less about the topic you need to write about and more about what happens if you can’t think of anything. That chain of events breeds a defeatist attitude that gets you nowhere. Find another task to work on for a while, and the perfect blog topic may suddenly appear in the forefront of your mind.
Now, quit taking breaks.
If you’ve been working on something else for an hour, it’s time to start thinking about your blog again. So stand up, stretch, sit down, and get started. If you truly can’t think of anything new, revisit an old topic and supplement it with new information. Technology has impacted most industries, and it’s constantly changing. Chances are those blog posts you did 6 months ago are at least slightly outdated now.
Write about something else.
Are you struggling to think about the topic your blog is based on because something else is taking up all your brain power? Give yourself a quick 5 minute break to write about that something else and clear some room in your head. Don’t get too involved in this though. Limit yourself to 5 minutes only, or you might find yourself with 10 pages on a completely unrelated topic and not a paragraph closer to your blog post.
Just write.
If all else fails, you’ve just gotta do it. Put your fingers to the keys, and go. Even if it starts out terrible, chances are somewhere in the second or third paragraph, you’ll get into a groove. It may not be the best post of your life, but you’ll feel good that you at least got it done, and you’ll be more determined to do better tomorrow.
