Ups and Downs of Your Contest Hobby
With any hobby comes ups and downs, and that happens a lot with entering contests and winning prizes.
You can go months winning tons of prizes and entering hundreds of contests everyday to just not feeling it, and being on a losing streak. The most important thing to remember is this is okay and you are not the only one.
With my own contest hobby I have learned to really enjoy the lows! Now that could be because when I am entering full force I am winning tons and tons of prizes, so the lows don't hurt so much. I personally don't like the term burn-out, so I refer to the feeling of not wanting to enter as the lows.
When you stop winning consistently
The best advice I can give you actually goes against lots of advice I have read online from other contesters! If you have been winning a ton of prizes and then you go a month or two without winning a single prize it's time to step back!
What do I mean by stepping back? I mean literally walk away from the hobby. Take a complete brain break and stop entering all contests. Your lows could be a week, a month or sometimes if lifes hectic a solid year. But trust me when I say that when you come back to the hobby you will be on fire and rejuvenated and ready to start winning again.
If you keep entering while you are in a funk, you will not win. I repeat you will not win prizes. If your mood and mind set is in the negative you are just repelling prizes not drawing them to you.
How to get out of the lows of contest entering
1) Get outside
Often times contesting can make us become home bodies and stuck in front of our computers or on our phones. Getting back to real life and getting outdoors for a daily walk can really re-center your brain and your mood.
2) Ignore everything contests
Pick a set amount of time for example a week, two weeks or whatever works for you that you won't do anything that has to do with entering contests. Don't enter them, don't discuss them, just give yourself a break. Every summer I take a solid month of zero contests that I enter. It's the best brain break ever, and I come back to winning prizes like crazy. My prize spreadsheet actually helps me see when I should take a break.
3) Spruce up your social media accounts
When we are busy entering contests everyday we often let our social media accounts slide. Take a few days to remove bot followers on Instagram, add new fresh photos from your everyday life, and find new accounts that interest you to follow. Also make sure to un-follow the many accounts you followed for one giveaway way back when on Instagram but have no interest in. It will open your feed up for the content you really want to see.