I think this is the most “stretttttttcccccchedddd” I’ve felt as a creator and blogger is probably right now. Disclaimer: This is one of those “ranting but still relevant” blog posts and I just need to talk/write about it.
If you’re subscribed to my blog; you’ll know I’ve been participating in a blogging challenge to blog 5 times a week every week for the month of July. Whew, I didn’t know what I was getting into but I had hit the deepest of ruts and I needed to do SOMETHING. You know when you let food sit for too long and it goes bad – ok that might be a bad analogy – but for me I definitely let my passion for blogging just get so very stagnant. So, I needed a push and I want to share what I’ve learned since I started.
CAPABLE
I love blogging so naturally I follow and admire a lot of bloggers and mainly because this is what I want to do. And honestly, I would look at these blogs and wonder how they managed to blog so consistently with the great photos and just put out quality work every time. This challenge taught me that anyone (including me) is capable; I just have to want it enough.
There were timesssss hunnnnnnnyyyyy that I swore ya’ll wasnt gonna get 2 blog posts out of me in a week …. but only by the grace of God, I pushed through- especially now with this pandemic going on. I’m even quite surprised I made it this far to be frank; the push to being consistent showed me that I am absolutely more than capable.
CONSISTENCY IS CONTAGIOUS
So even while being stretttchedddddd in this arena of content creation, I realized being consistent is contagious. I’m not even talking about other people; I’m talking about MYSELF. I made sure photos were taken, I made sure that I had “ample” enough time to go through the multiple steps to optimize photos/videos etc. to make sure that the blog posts had some kind of value for me and the reader. I even started promoting my content more (which honestly is a struggle for me). But , for real though… WTF am I doing all this work for – for nobody to see it??? And even in being consistent across the blog and social media and YouTube – I noticed my numbers started to get consistently better too in terms of impressions, reach, converstions etc. and that satisfied me so much. Not because I was growing but because I was actually witnessing other people enjoy my content and share it- which is such a satisfying feeling for me.
TIME AND ENERGY IS EXPENSIVE
So, with a full time job and other content obligations including my own blog and brand – all I gotta say is TIME MANAGEMENT baby. Let me tell youuuuu! I struggled; I still struggle with effectively timing everything so that I balance my responsibilities. Priorities and boundaries had to be established and thank God I have some friends and family that know all is love even though I may disappear for a bit to get what I need done. This challenge taught me the value of planning ahead and batching content and also writing ideas when they come to you. It’s also taught me how flexible I am as a writer/content creator. It’s also taught me that I do not need to be on social media every waking moment. And most importantly that TIME is a currency that you cannot get back. I value it more than money, honestly.
That’s all. I literally feel stretched by this challenge; physically and mentally and I’d like to add it’s also taught me clarity regarding my passions, reignited my love for writing and self-expression (grateful!) and that I can actually live what I love doing.
Til the next post,
