Blogging burnout

When I started blogging last year, I thought it was the greatest creative outlet for me that I could imagine. I love to write, and I've always had a lot to say, and to be honest, sometimes my family gets a little tired of hearing me say it. I envisioned myself at age 80, jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to blog when inspiration struck.

But a year later, I'm in a blogging rut. I used to stay up nights thinking about what I'd post the next day. I had lists taped to my computer of potential topics, and half-written drafts of insights on my daily life saved on my desktop. Every time something really interesting (or even marginally eyebrow-raising) happened, I'd think, "I really need to blog about this!" I'd eagerly reload my own blog at least 10 times a day to look for new comments and my "me time" every afternoon came in the form of sitting down with a piece of chocolate cake or whatever other goodie we had on hand and reading my long, long list of other mommy blogs.

But, to be honest, I'm not feeling that enthusiastic about blogging anymore. Maybe I've exhausted my repertoire of original stories (I mean, anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows that I'm a mental case when I'm pregnant, and my kids are cute, quirky, and too smart for their own good). Maybe it's just too hard to be original and funny every day. Maybe it's because that afternoon "me time" has disappeared with the demise of my two-year-old's nap. Maybe gestating a fetus takes all my extra brain power. Maybe I'm going through a lazy spell. Maybe I worry about being too "braggy." But whatever the reason, blogging lately feels more like something on my too long to-do list than a satisfying creative outlet.

I get around to reading the blogs on my bloglines, I've noticed that the numbers of posts available for me to read each week are slowly but steadily decreasing. So, my blogging buddies, are you feeling burnout too? Is this slump just a temporary thing, or like New Kids on the Block and jelly bracelets, is it just the latest fad coming to an end for we who are children of the 80s and moms of the new milennium?

--originally published 10/24/06