What To Do When You're Sick of Social Media and Content Creation

Let's talk about burn out, frustration, and having 100 drafts in a folder

This will be a very run on essay. I do get to some fantastic points and I’ve even taken the time to bullet some great stuff, so do stay with me. I’m writing this because I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately - what to do when you’re sick of social media and you feel like you have no new tricks as a content creator or business owner? What do you do when you feel invisible, bored, when social media doesn’t excite you? When social media feels like it’s so far beyond the honeymoon stage, you can’t even imagine showing up in sexy lingerie doing a little shimmy by the bed. Your feathered heels were pushed back so deep into the closet there is no chance of recovery, and forget finding the thigh-highs, nowadays they’d only pull up to your knees anyway. That’s how the once sexy social world online felt to so many of us - alluring, hot, ready.

How do we light the spark again? Can we?

I wrote my first blog post 19 years ago, which makes be feel kinda boss and kinda old at the same time. It’s like a meme of Cher I watched recently - I think it was from some commercial she was in, where someone saw her and yelled, “She’s both old and young at the same time!”. That’s blogger me.

I’m an original blogger and have been around long enough now to see all iterations of apps, content, marketing and the never-ending quest to be liked, loved, adorrrrrred, shared, and followed.

I’ve grown my entire career from my blog - including books, courses, products, a magazine, podcasts, so I can’t complain or say these 19 years were a big waste of time. Quite the contrary, I reached my dreams to relocate permanently to Europe, have a child, and write books for a living and become a designer. I freaking did it all because of having decor8 back in the day, a blog that earned enough revenue on blog ads alone for me to reach these dreams - not including what I earned on everything else I was up to.

And sure, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but the ups far exceeded the downs and I’ve pressed on regardless.

Yet, the pressure to constantly produce, innovate, and engage with mostly strangers every single day (and hour of the day) can leave creators feeling all sorts of things - and many of them negative.

I’ve seen a lot of you saying that you’re burnt out, drained, overwhelmed and exhausted.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to feel any of those things if you don’t wish to - you can control your mind (unless you suffer from depression or mental illness, then that’s not possible without intervention) but for most of us, we can tell ourselves a better story, practice resilience, re-frame how things look for us currently.

Your creative journey online doesn’t have to become something that you dread.

Burnout actually occurs in most careers, but I’ve seen it especially on the rise in online careers since most people online are hustling and building brands alone. Many have no clue how to really run a business, they jump in and just do things, watch videos on YouTube, listen to a few business podcasts, try to copy someone else’s model, and think that this formula will magically work.

To be successful online you have to understand business, marketing, branding, strategy, the importance of showing up, having focus and commitment, and so many other things but one of the biggest that lots of people struggle with is emotional intelligence and sensitivity. There are huge amounts of people online doing business who lack empathy and have zero people skills. They don’t hear their audience, they are unable to pick up on vibes and trends, they only care about money, fame, and more money.

There is a lot to being a content creator for instance whether to create content as your business or as part of your business. What do I mean? Well, a content creator can be a person who focuses on a topic like interior design and they produce content only about interiors with a focus on their home - renovation projects, DIY stories, organization tips, etc.

A content creator is also a person who runs a business - for instance, they have a small local shop in a busy city. They are looking to target more customers locally and have an Instagram account and a newsletter with a website for that purpose. They seek to engage with others through these channels and create content for this purpose - to show what’s new in their shop, to share trending items that their customers love, etc. They may take photos or videos, or even go live on Instagram to share new things from their shop - such as unboxing new products that just came in. This is how they are also content creator’s.

Content can also be teaching online courses - and content is needed to develop a Substack that is profitable or even a newsletter. Most people think it’s easy - “They can do it, so can I”, but the truth is there is nothing easy about running your own business online either creating content for it, or being a content creator as a profession. It’s challenging, frustrating, rewarding, hard, overwhelming, but never would I say, “easy”.

In a traditional job - law, medicine, etc., you practice what you studied and mastered in school or some form of that (for the most part). Unless you have a private practice, you don’t have to hustle for new clients or do your invoicing (if you’re a small practice, you do - but if you have a blossoming practice then you have staff who does this for you, and others who help with attracting new clients, social media marketing, etc.). My dentist is a partner in his business and I never see him hustling for business. He shows up everyday, does his job, and leaves.

My point is that you can become the best doctor and focus on your field of study and go all in and that’s great. Or a lawyer, engineer, pilot… Sure, you hustle inside of the job to get promoted, or eventually make partner, but still - you don’t have to go out and hunt amongst strangers for clients.

With content creation, influencer work, online teaching, online coaches, small business owners, etc. - it’s not that way - you have to do every part of your business alone at first until you have the cash to invest in hiring help.

Often, we’ll recruit our partners temporarily to help, but eventually we either hire our partners and they quit their day job like the husband’s of Bonnie Christine, Jenna Kutchner and Shea McGee - they brought in their husband to develop the brand alongside of them. Either we recruit our better half or we hire from the outside to do all the stuff we don’t have the talent or interest in managing.

THING IS a lot of us rarely get to the point of being able to hire out. An online personal assistant can go for around $30-50 an hour. Some charge in the hundreds, I recently was quoted $150/hr from a woman who works under a palm tree in the Caribbean building marketing funnels - she had a retainer fee, too.

Graphic designers can charge 5-30k for a blog or website. A branding designer can charge 20k+ for a brand redesign and logo. There is no end to the amount of money you’ll need to pay people to help you when you run a small online brand. It’s possible to hire out work from countries like Singapore - you can get logos and an assistant for a fraction of western prices - but usually English fluency is a problem or the time difference is too extreme to work through.

Please know though that lack of staff doesn’t mean you can’t be awesome online - it’s not the end of your creative journey online just because you can’t hire out. Having to rely on yourself to build a smart system, a marketing engine, a way of doing things, is powerful and a very smart thing for you to do anyway. Also, if you build a smart enough system, you have more time to discover your true passions, realign with your purpose, and develop a sustainable career that nourishes you, not drains you. And with free things like mailing lists, Canva, Google docs, and AI, there are many budget-friendly ways to work around your lack of staff. You don’t have to do it all alone, you don’t have to burn out.

Understanding Content Creator Burnout

Frustration and burn out is not just about feeling tired or on days when you’re ready to throw your smartphone against the wall. It’s about mental and emotional exhaustion, loss of motivation, and a sense of being disconnected from your passion. Content creators often experience burnout due to a combination of factors such as:

• The pressure to be constantly "on": In an age of social media and real-time engagement, it can feel like you have to be available 24/7.

• Creative exhaustion: The need to constantly come up with fresh ideas, produce high-quality content, and keep up with trends can deplete your creative energy.

• Overwhelm from balancing multiple roles: As a content creator, you may be managing everything from content creation and editing to marketing, email lists, and community engagement. It’s a lot!

• Lack of boundaries: It’s easy to let work spill over into your personal life when you’re passionate about what you do. But without clear boundaries, you risk burning out.

• Unsure where to put your energy. This is a big one. Do I keep my Substack? Do I stay on Insta? Do I try YouTube or TikTok? Do I go back to my blog? This is one of the topics I hear the most lately with Meta and X aligning so closely with the current administration in the USA and how so many people feel that support Meta is supporting things they are absolutely against - so where does that leave those who built their entire career on a Meta platform like Instagram?

Recognizing the signs of burnout early is key to preventing it from taking over. Whether it’s feelings of apathy toward your content, a constant sense of exhaustion or dread, or struggling to find inspiration, knowing when to pause and reset is vital but after the pause - knowing how to get back on track without all of the overwhelm and stress is key to developing a sustainable, profitable business.

Tap Into Your Way and Your Why (and other strategies)

Prevention is always better than cure, and the best way to manage burnout from social media is to take proactive steps. Here are some that I’ve personally found helpful, especially the first one:

1. Tap into the way and why. I learned in the coaching program I was part of last year with Mel Robbins that research shows you need two things to achieve a goal - the way and the why. The way is the HOW of behavioral change. It involves a plan, a timeline. The why is the motivational and emotional aspects of behavioral change - the why is the activation energy, the dopamine reward.

2. Set Realistic Expectations: You don’t have to post every day or engage with every comment. Be honest about what’s achievable for you and communicate those boundaries with your audience. Quality over quantity is essential. It’s better to be consistent 3x a week than to show up 5 days in a row and then disappear for a few months.

3. Create with Intention: Get back to the "why" behind your content. What are you passionate about? What brings you joy? Aligning your work with your values will help reignite that spark.

4. Take Breaks: It might sound counterintuitive nowadays, but rest is key. Take regular breaks to recharge—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Stepping away from your work can lead to greater creativity and productivity when you return.

5. Delegate and Automate: You don’t have to do everything yourself. Outsourcing tasks like editing, social media management, or graphic design can free up your time to focus on what truly matters—creating. If you don’t have a budget for support, try paying for ChatGPT and turn it into your personal assistant. There are so many things that an AI can do to help a small business owner, don’t stay under a rock or hide in fear of AI. Use it to your advantage, responsibility, ethically, and with balance.

6. Engage in Self-Care: Nurturing your mental and emotional health is just as important as producing content. Make time for activities that relax and inspire you, whether it’s meditation, journaling, exercise, or spending time with loved ones. I always told my blogging students years back to use your blog as a catalyst to live your very best life. I believe that. Good editors are living good. They go out and meet interesting people, attend press events, fly to interesting locations, attend local events. They visit the places that they write about. Think creatively - how cold you both nurture yourself and find content in the experience? Then, your calmly and simply accomplishing something wonderful - you’re “working” and you’re engaging in a self-care experience like painting, pottery, yoga, or a sound bath.

If You’re Already Burning Out…

If you’re already in burnout mode, don’t worry—recovery is possible, and it starts with small, manageable steps:

• Give yourself grace: Stop being so hard on yourself. I recently heard this from a friend of mine, to “give yourself grace”, and I thought it sounded silly at first but then I realized that’s exactly what I don’t give myself! I can sometimes be my own enemy. Recovering from burnout takes time, and you deserve to be kind to yourself through the process.

• Redefine success: Let go of expectations of what it means to "make it" as a content creator. Success can look different for everyone. Focus on creating work that feels authentic and fulfilling to you. Maybe success to you is being able to work part-time at your day job and make some money on the side online to put into your vacation account or to save up for a new home or for your retirement. Maybe success to you is being able to work from anywhere in the world from your laptop and enjoy the life of a digital nomad, spending a few months in exotic locations, exploring culture. Maybe success to you is earning enough to pay all of your bills and have some extra to live your life without constant money worry. Success can also be a very big wow that you wish to create in your life - a wow career with huge amounts of fame and money. Thing is, not everyone can attain those huge money goals so this is where you may need to stop, get real, and redefine your definition of success to fit a more reasonable expectation.

• Rebuild your routine: Start slow and ease back into your content creation process. Focus on small, attainable goals rather than overwhelming yourself with too many tasks.

• Seek support: Whether it’s talking to fellow creators, seeking professional help, or simply confiding in a friend, join a club, taking a course, support can make a world of difference when you’re recovering from burnout.

I’d love to see more people out there excited and energized by the creative process, I feel a lot of that has changed since the OG days of blogging when content creation was fun and felt very special. A lot of people want those days back, not because they miss the clunky tech or the lack of smartphones, but it’s more of a feeling - a vibe - that we miss. That fresh energy is missed, that “anything is possible” curiosity, the way success was defined - it was exciting to have 15,000 daily readers as a blogger - nowadays it’s nothing - people feel like they’ve not made it until their Instagram tops 1 million+. Thriving is about balance—figuring out what success looks like to you and then ignoring what society things and working towards your own success story while maintaining your health and happiness, also while bringing light and joy to the people whom you touch with your content.

With a tweaked approach, you can continue to grow your business, engage with your community, and do what you love without burning out. You can have a little OG magic in your work online today - it’s really up to you, how you frame it, what success looks like in your eyes, and the systems that you build to create the magic you’re looking for.

Love,

Holly