#25: content fatigue is real, and here’s how to deal with it

Welcome to contentfolksā€”a fortnightly newsletter with short lessons & ideas about content that makes a difference, sparks action, and truly serves its audience. Thank you for being here!


Hey šŸ‘‹

The term ā€˜content fatigueā€™ generally describes the exhaustion we get from being surrounded by new! content! at! all! times! and struggling to keep up with it.

ā€¦but have you ever experienced ā€˜content fatigueā€™ as a creator?

Itā€™s an unpleasant feeling that shows up when you spend weeks, months, or even years thinking/talking/writing about the same topic. If left unaddressed, it can morph into burnoutā€”and you might eventually even want, or need, to quit jobs or clients over it. Been there.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to avoid content fatigue and/or deal with it productively. Iā€™ve got you. Keep reading šŸ˜‰


Is content fatigue even a thing? (Yes.)

Back in June, as I considered my next career steps, I made a list of what had kept me happy vs. caused unhappiness in previous roles.

Itā€™s a useful exercise I recommend you do every once in a while, even if youā€™re not actively thinking about changing jobs. At the very least, it helps clarify what you love (and hate) doing, and what you should do more (and less) of.

The feeling I described above as ā€˜content fatigueā€™ came up in my top three causes of past unhappiness; but I had never heard anyone else complain about it, so I thought maybeā€¦ it was just me?

I figured Iā€™d ask around:

As you probably guess from the number of replies I got, ā€˜content fatigueā€™ (and its close cousin, ā€˜topic fatigueā€™) definitely affect a lot of content folks out there.
Iā€™ll be honest, it felt reassuring to know I was not alone.


šŸ’” A practical example šŸ’”

Okay, so: the feeling is real. How do you deal with it?
I put together all the recommendations I got and found the following patterns:

talk to customers

Some of these may be easier said than done (not everybody has the budget to bring on new writers or can afford to move on from a current job), but a few solutions here apply to pretty much anyone:

  1. Talking to customersĀ isĀ alwaysĀ a source of fresh insight and will often make you see a topic in a completely new light. Also, a customerā€™s enthusiasm for your product/service may help reignite yours. Hereā€™sĀ some practical adviceĀ to get started.
  2. Focusing on the goals your content achievesĀ can work wonders on motivationā€”especially when youā€™re so caught in a plan-write-publish cycle that you temporarily forgetĀ why youā€™re even doing it in the first place.
  3. Finding unique angles to keep it freshĀ is valuable advice, but not specific enough. Tip: look for aĀ playfulĀ angle*** and run with it for a bit, even if it never makes it past the draft stage.

    ***I once got so tired of writing about heat maps that I spent an evening mocking up a page aboutĀ wheat maps instead. Obviously it never went anywhere, but it made for a good mental break:
wheatmaps

If you have some time, I recommendĀ checking out the entire LinkedIn thread: itā€™s full of additional advice and pro tips from great folks, and itā€™s generally good for the soul.


One final thoughtā€¦

Look:
I donā€™t really see contentfolks as a news-letter, because I donā€™t tend to share news, updates, or timely links. I think of it more like a letter-letter I send out to my content pals, wherever you may be.

So if you know content fatigue and have some good tips to deal with it, or youā€™re right in the middle of it and just want somebody to vent to today, send me a letter-letter back. My inbox is open šŸ˜Š

fio

šŸ‡®šŸ‡¹ PS: Iā€™m taking a break in the next few weeks that will involve copious amounts of pizza, pasta, and gelato. Iā€™ll be back on Sept 29! šŸ‡®šŸ‡¹