Nov 08 2007
I Think I’m Getting Burnt Out
I’ve been spending a stupid amount of time on getting my new working holidays site up and running and I’m nearing the end. Problem is that I’m also nearing the end of my patience with it. I’m so sick of looking at it that I wouldn’t mind if the site spontaneously deleted itself into oblivion. Ok maybe that’s a bit hasty but you get the idea - I’m fed up.
I’ve done all the fun bits and now I need to tweak a few annoying things, write a lot of annoying articles, research some annoying information and install an annoying forum. The whole thing is, you guessed it, annoying the hell out of me at this point. I had all kinds of good ideas for the site but it seems to have sucked the life out of me and all I want to do at the moment is get it out of my face.
This is the first time I’ve felt this way since I started doing this website development thing. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve been working full time in my regular job, building sites for hours each night and have a lot of other things going on making life pretty busy. It probably won’t be the last time I feel a bit burnt out so I’ve come up with a little list of how I might deal with the problem.
- Launch the site, ready or not - When I find myself a bit sick of a project and start to neglect it, one thing that usually brings me back on board is landing a few Adsense clicks or affiliate sales. I expect this site to do well with Adsense so if I put it out there and start to see it earning well then that will be good motivation to keep working on it.
- Work on another site - I’m pretty scatty when it comes to building sites and I normally tend to jump between them doing little bits at a time. This is probably the first time I’ve sat down and worked on a single site from start to (near) finish without also working on my other sites from time to time. I’ve found myself thinking up ideas for my other sites but haven’t had the time to work on them so maybe mixing it up a bit would be a good idea.
- Take a break from building sites - There are plenty of other things I have to do before I head off on my travels like setting up a server on my PC (whatever that means), downloading some tunes, backing up my computer, burning my photos to CD, catching up on emails, typing clever things into Facebook etc etc etc. Plus there things I can do with my sites that have nothing to do with their construction like looking at new affiliate programs, approaching potential advertisers for private link sales, researching keywords, learning new skills yadda yadda yadda. All this stuff needs to get done at one point or another so now is as good a time as any.
- Take a break from the online world completely - I have 100,000 things to do in the offline world and I could probably stand to take a break from the computer for a few days. I find when I’m not able to work on my sites for an extended period of time I usually come up with some good ideas and am really eager to get back to work. A bit of time away while I organise my life might result in some stupendously amazing ideas. Of course I might just veg out, watch lots of TV and eat ice cream but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
I think working hard initially is a major key to success down the road but I also think that working too hard might turn out to be negative if it saps all my energy and makes me want to assassinate my website.
I’m going to opt for a combo of options one and two. I’ll launch my new site and hope it starts to pay off and spend the next week or so after that working on my living in London site. If that doesn’t bring me back to life then I’ll start doing some non-building things and if all is lost then I’ll have a break from the internet for a few days and see how it goes.
I just need to keep my eye on the prize… more work now means less work while I’m sitting on the beach!
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I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
Yeah, take a couple days away from cyberspace and come back to it refreshed
Your site looks great, btw!
How about outsourcing those annoying tasks, i.e., article writing.
LOL! Definitely been in that place you’re in right now. Go suck in some fresh (cold) air.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say
Take a couple of days off! Usually whenever I take the pressure off myself I do better work (as what i’ve been like recently).
How long till you quite the “real” job - I found the combination of the last month at work - when they finally noticed I was leaving and was busy for the first and ony time in a year, and the hassel of packing,storing , renting the house etc - was just crazy. Get the site out there and plan on not doing a whole lot of online work for your last month in London - anyway soon it will be Christmas!
I feel your pain Kirsty…even if mine is a tiny spec in comparison, it feels insurmountable. You’re so much ahead, but I guess each to his own (struggle?). Take a break…you definitely wouldn’t want to reach your breaking point. Let the chips fall where they may!
Hi Kirsty,
Thanks for your comments regarding my kiteboard-europe-byvan.co.uk site. I tried to email you back but my server seems to be having email issues. I didn’t initially think about word of mouth, its all about the search engines for me. I plan on choosing a better name for my next project though.
Those offline things need to get done at some point so you might as well do them now and give yourself a few days off the computer. I try to alternate between online work, offline stuff and drinking wine.
Whatever I plan it’s my girlfriend that’s a bad influence. She wants to eat, watch the TV, drink wine and now she even wants me to take her on a night out at the weekend! Whatever next?
Kirsty dont be so hard on your self 40 hrs at work is a full week then trying to do a crap load more at night is not easy, luckily for you the 40hr work week will soon be disapearing for you. Then you can focus on your sites. If you go back & read webby’s progress from the start you will see he was earning around $800 when he first got on the rd & that climbed to about $4,000 in his first year traveling due simply to the fact he didnt have a 40hr job no more you will be just fine. do what you need to do in london & enjoy your last few weeks the extra few bucks can be got back quickly later.
Take a break. I get the same exact way. Even when on the break I keep thinking about all the work I’m not getting done. Fight it though and stay away for a bit. you will be better for it.
I’ve been looking to take up the GTD system, named after the book “Getting Things Done”, I’ve implemented parts of it with good result. What GTD does to prevent getting burned out is by having a file folder for every project, then when you’re working on one thing and get an idea for another, in stead of trying to carry the idea in ones head, trying to remember it, one writes it down immediatly and places it in the appropriate folder to forget for now, knowing that it will be reviewed according to a trusted system. By doing this for all things and by doing only one thing at a time, the next action needed to move a project forward, one can create what the author calls Effortless Flow of Productivity. Anyway, though I’ve mostly used it for school I can recommend it as a general life management tool. Check it out, there is lots of info on GTD and David Allen, the author, online.
Thanks Brooke!
I actually like writing but the things that I’m avoiding writing are topics I know a lot about but are a bit dry. I’m not sure outsourcing would work since I have all the info in my head and just need to put it to paper.
Simon I still think that is a terrible domain name. I’m all about keyword stacked domains but that one is sort of unruly. Change it man! Trust me.
Great site idea though.
Ya Neale I often look at Webby’s early earnings and realise that I’m making more than he was when he left which is encouraging. I guess there’s always that doubt that I’ll be able to take earnings to the next level but so far I’ve been able to so hopefully it continues.
WJM that’s an interesting concept, I might look into it.
I’ve launched the site and will work on it in little bits. I’m off to the gym now and I think I’ll spend the rest of the day cleaning my room, sorting out what I’m going to give away or take with me, put ads up for the stuff I want to sell and try to organise all my electronics to see exactly how much of it I’ll be carting around with me. Then I’m going to the pub! Then maybe tomorrow I’ll dive back in. Thanks for the advice!!
You have some dead links to your website on these blogs posts. Thought you should know. I think they are to the new design.