5 Signs Your Blog is Stressing You Out Too Much

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Remember when you first started your blog? You were all excited and thought your stress-free life was about to begin in this new wonderful world of posting all of your ideas to the world. But most of us know that blogs are a lot of work to maintain, and coming up with new and relevant content on a regular basis is no easy task. You might not even realize how stressed out you are, but here are 5 signs that you might need to take a chill pill.

1. In spite of all your ideas for blog posts you have writer’s block.

   You might have a list of 50 blog post titles for which you want to develop blog posts, but when you sit down to write… Nothing. An idea for a post is great, but unless you can turn it into a mind-blowing piece of content that people will want to read and link to, it won’t do you a lot of good. The best way to get over writer’s block I have found is to read. Don’t just read what other bloggers are saying. Read a book on your niche and take notes as you go. And don’t feel you need to write a post right away.

2. You constantly check where your blog is ranked in the search engines.

   Yes, getting traffic from Google, Bing, and Yahoo is important, but when you start obsessing over it, it can start to effect your stress levels. Algorithms will change all the time. You might rank on page 1 for your keywords one day and the next be buried on page 5. Especially with new posts these rankings will fluctuate. Focus on getting good content on your site and leave the rankings to the search engines. You can build links for more traffic but in the end you have no solid control over where you rank, so why worry about it?

3. You are starting to grind your teeth at night.

   One of the biggest signs of stress for many people is teeth grinding. This will usually happen at night while you are sleeping and your jaw will tighten as you clench your teeth and grind them back and forth in your subconscious state. Teeth grinding mouth guards are one of the best ways you can help stop your teeth from wearing away at each other, and it will always help with your headaches that develop from this condition as well.

4. You start snacking a lot at your desk.

   Eating a few snacks while you are working is not a bad thing, but when you are really stressed out about your blog you will tend to eat a lot more at your desk while you are trying to work. This can be counter-productive as well because the more stressed you are the more you will eat and the less work you will be able to get done. Only allow yourself so many snacks at a time and use those foods to reward yourself when you accomplish a task. Getting things accomplished is proven to help relieve stress because it gives you a sense of worth.

5. You worry every time you lose a subscriber or follower.

   There are so many blogs out there, and it’s easier than ever to subscribe to their lists or follow them on Twitter. But since it’s just as easy to unsubscribe and unfollow you shouldn’t worry about these figures too much. Only if there is a mass exodus of subscribers after you sent out a certain email should you consider why this might have happened. Followers will come and go all the time. Just focus on sending out great content and leave the rest up to them.