Book Blogger Hop: At the end of a hard day, how do you get yourself psyched about writing a book review?

At the end of a hard day, how do you get yourself psyched about writing a book review?

Simple answer this one: I don't.

At the end of a hard day, I can't psyche myself up to do anything blog related. Somedays, I can't even bring myself to read so I turn to something mindless on Netflix to lose myself in.

This is why I have so many issues now with blog tours, book blitzes and cover reveals and why the quantity featured on my blog has significantly dropped.

I've had it with promo materials being sent in the day before (which for me in the UK usually means the night before) and having to try and muster the energy to prep a post and get it scheduled to go live on time.
I used to bust my ass to meet the commitments before I came to the conclusion that the PR people I'd signed up with weren't always meeting what I felt was their commitment to their hosts (like sending stuff through in a timely fashion!) so I just started saying no.
If I'd signed up for something and the material wasn't sent through in a timely manner (aka at least a full day in advance) then I wasn't busting a gut to meet their deadlines.
After all, we're not paid to do this.
We do this because we want to share our love of books and to help support authors/stories we care about in a 'crowded' market.
We receive nothing for our participation except for personal satisfaction and the occasional thank you.

I'm the same for review books.
I've had them sent through the day before a review was due. On multiple occasions and I'm not joking.
This is just completely taking the mick out of those giving up their time to review so I drew the line there too.
I only sign up for reviews in moderation and if someone thinks they can give me any less than a week to review, it ain't happening.
Honestly, even a week can be a problem as I'm a mood reader and if the book doesn't fit the current mood, I have to force myself to read it... Which never ends well.

It's taken me a long time to realize that running my blog should be fun.
It should not be another source of stress.
If something makes running my blog a repeated stress then that thing needs to be eliminated from my blog.
Simples.
I no longer care about doing what the 'cool kids' are doing.
I, maybe surprisingly, no longer feel bad about not signing up for more release blitzes, tours and arcs from both authors I love and authors just starting out, because I just don't have the time and sometimes you just have to prioritise yourself and your own well-being over the bookish juggernaut.