How to handle an overwhelming blog roll

When I have the time, I really love checking out my reader's blogs. If you've left me a comment in the past, chances are I've been to your blog and read a few things and hopefully left a comment (though I'm really bad at leaving comments for some reason?). Anyways, I got a comment yesterday from a new reader and was poking around her blog when I stumbled upon a post called "How NOT to have a heart attack when your google reader reaches 600 unread posts". First of all, I died laughing. I'm sure ALL of you have been there at one point or another. You have a busy week or go out of town without your computer for a few days and when you come back there's like a million unread posts and you panic just thinking about how you're supposed to catch up.

I thought I'd throw in my two cents as well because I frequently struggle with this! When my life gets really busy and I don't have much time to read the blogs I follow then I log on and see that I have 400 unread posts I literally panic a little bit. I don't want to miss out on content or unfollow blogs that I've been reading for years, but sometimes you need to take inventory and make some changes in life!!



Inspired by the list over at J.Mill's blog, I decided to give you my own list of how I deal with an overwhelming Blog Lovin' (since I don't use google reader!).

1) Frequently ask yourself if you're reading a blog because you like the content. If you don't like the content on a blog, you really don't need to follow it! Content can be anything from the pictures to occasional DIYs to really great design tips. There are blogs that I follow solely because I really like the photography on them. I kind of skim over the text and just enjoy the pictures that they post.

2) Don't feel guilty for unfollowing people. I have a huge problem with this because when you read someone's blog for years, it almost feels like you're breaking up with them by unfollowing them! Peoples lives change (marriage, babies, career changes, etc.) and these huge life changes will definitely be reflected in the blog. If the content of a blog no longer applies to you or interests you, you shouldn't feel guilty about removing this person from your blog roll.

3) Pay attention to your reading habits. If you find yourself skipping over someone's posts regularly, then you probably shouldn't follow them anymore!

My final tip is for bloggers...

4) Don't feel obligated to follow someone because they follow you. There are simply not enough hours in the day to actively follow everyone who blogs that reads your blog. Let yourself off the hook! If they are only active on your blog because they want you to read your blog, then they might not be the kind of reader you're looking for anyways. If someone truly enjoys your content, they'll stick around whether or not you're able to follow their posts!


How do you keep your blog roll under control? Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of posts? What are your tips for trying not to feel overwhelmed by crazy posts stacking up!? I'd love to hear your advice :)

xoxo
Mal