<center>![Job 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXWE1HUbcam8huCyhPBAMNRSxR1W6oCvVASoEx3zbKgTu/Job%201.jpg)</center>

<center>*"Office Space" is more relevant each day.*</center>

Quite a few people tracked me down on Discord to ask me where I was during my recent posting hiatuses^ (and thank you for it, too!) The truth is pretty much what I told everyone that asked - I was very busy with other things, and getting a bit frustrated with the attitudes and actions of certain parties on Steemit, so rather than get thoroughly annoyed I simply stepped back. That seemed to beat the alternative of getting my articles opinion-flagged and actually losing money on them after "promoting" them with bidbots.

(^I prefer hiatii, but it's not getting any traction in my focus groups.)

The truth is, if you manage to achieve a measure of success on Steemit it's easy to let it start feeling like a job. That's a normal result of anything that rewards you financially. However, it's important to remember that we are only human and we can only operate at peak efficiency if we take breaks. Professional athletes often sleep outrageous amounts of time per day (12+ hours), learn from their example.

Personally, Steemit has allowed me to quit my job with more confidence. I was already planning to do so, as it had really outlived its usefulness, but Steemit gave me that extra bit of mental security. I realized that my blog, which I had worked hard on for some time, had tangible value based on the followers I had, connections I had made, and rewards I had given out. I knew I could fall back on some sort of back-up income from Steemit, if I needed to (although my hope is that a broader crypto-market recovery will render that need moot.)

<center>![Job 2.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNNivbRfk8i7ZdsbKYTfD34FrYs6ueTx6mKkE3uH2djV6/Job%202.png)</center>

<center>*That about sums it up.*</center>

The bottom line is, creating content on Steemit is work. Even silly memes are far easier to simply consume than bother to create and post. If you allow the rewards to force you into a "schedule" of posting, it's going to feel like work. If you don't take a vacation, you will get increasingly frustrated and eventually burn out. Simply human nature.

One bit of feedback I did hear regularly was to write shorter posts, and having forced myself to truncate since, I have to agree. More readers are going to finish your content if you keep it to a few paragraphs (in most cases.) It's also less taxing on you, the author. If you normally only post memes, try writing something; get out of your comfort zone. Experiment with lengths that you aren't used to and see what happens - just be sure not to abuse the benevolence of any auto-voters you have accumulated.

I don't have much to sell you on the wisdom of avoiding burnout. It's the kind of advice that tends to get ignored, as I have also done in the past. Whether it be music, activities, people - you can get too much of almost any "good" thing.

However, I can link you to some posts that'll show you what will happen if you don't take the occasional mental health break from content creation. Consider it a cautionary tale:

[Well, this is really the easiest way.](https://www.google.com/search?q=stellabelle+steemicide&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS780US780&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjArv6DocDZAhVJC6wKHcvWCHkQ_AUICSgA&biw=1707&bih=617&dpr=1.5)

<center>![Job 3.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRJZpGDUmgpRVjB3dJyS21cMsa3rC9LQz73bppThDyNQF/Job%203.png)</center>

<center>*The above screenshot not reflective of my usual purchasing patterns.*</center>

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*Copyright: Google, Steemit, Office Space*