I often forget why I started blogging in the first place. Now that my life is a lot busier & I can't devote the time and energy that I did when I was unemployed putting my full efforts into blogging, I feel like I'm separated from my blog & what my blog could be. There's something that I realized I'm forgetting about: time. I spend 8+ hours of my day at a full time job, this leaves very little time to devote 8+ hours a day to a blog/shop/etc that I'd done before. There are other things in my life happening right now & while I'd love to be able to do this full time like I was before, because of this limited time I can't be as focused on this blog as I was before. Why am I sounding like I'm about to peace out from the blogging world all together? Well, rest assured I'm not - but I am starting new.
I read this post on Campfire Chic about stepping back & starting new. (Seriously, Campfire Chic is an awesome blog about life & about blogging. Kam is a rad gal. If you need a boost to your blogging mojo, go there. I'll wait) She asks the questions why start new, you've gotten this far and that really hit me. I've gotten pretty far in my blog but I'm feeling separated from it. Maybe it is time to start fresh. I also went back through some posts to put together our two year aniversary post & the tone of my blog was really different when I was just writting to share my life & not writing for followers, for sponsors, for promotion. When I was writing for the shear joy of sharing my life.
So today I want to be a better blogger for me, and I want to encourage you to be a better blogger for yourself as well. I'm going back (way back) to the reasons I blog in the first place. I mean the very first reasons, the very basic reasons I blog.
To create a visual diary for myself - I've been blogging for a long time. I consider my myspace days to be part of my blogging days as well. I've also kept a diary before but find that blogging really gives me a reason to keep a diary. I love having a visual time line to look back on. The biggest thing I've looked back on recently is mine & Zach's relationship. Having a visual diary really showed me how much we've grown together after moving in (and across 800 miles) together when we'd only known each other for 10 months! In living my life I often forget things, but with this sort of diary I am instantly taken back to my mind set a year ago. It also shows me what I was into - what did I wear during the summer of 2011, the fall of 2012, etc. I love the personal growth aspect of blogging even if your blog posts are too personal. It also shows what was important to me at a certain time in my life.
To share my life with my family - Like I mentioned above, I moved 800 miles from my friends & family so blogging is a way to connect and share with my family. I know that a lot of my family members read my blog so it's a way to share what I'm up to. I've always been close with my family so I want them involved in my life!
To share with others that might be going through the same things that they aren't alone - I've always searched to identify with others & to meet others who are like me. So I want to share any and all struggles, triumphs, decisions, etc on here because I want others to know that they aren't alone & if they are going through something, someone else has too. This goes back to my artist statement - to discover how we are more alike than we are different.
To meet others who are like me - With the reason above, I want to meet people who are like me. To meet people who have the same interests, are at the same sort of spot in their lives, who are just plain rad. I've met a lot of cool people through blogging & hope to meet a few more in person soon. It just makes me feel less alone knowing there are others out there with similar interests.
So these are reasons I'm keeping in mind as I move forward in blogging. I'd love to have a zillion followers, be popular enough for awesome sponsors, be able to maintain all my shops - but the truth is that priorities have changed. And it's ok. It's ok to change, it's ok to start fresh, it's ok to be a better blogger for yourself & go back to basics. It's ok to do this because it's your blog, it should reflect you. I've often felt overwhelmed with the popularity of my blog/shops - even though there is such a small fan base - when I'm not able to devote all my time to it. So when priorities change, other things change as well.
So if you're feeling overwhelmed or that your blog has turned into something you either can't control or can't relate with, maybe starting fresh is good for you. Again, check out Campfire Chic's post on this topic. It seriously sparked a change in me!
What are the basic reasons you blog? Why did you start blogging in the first place?
First of all, I'm so happy to have met you through our blogs!
ReplyDeleteAnd secondly, I totally know what you mean about not having the time to dedicate to blogging since starting work (especially since we were on the same boat with unemployment around the same time). I was just thinking of this today on the way to work actually. When I wasn't working, focusing on my blog gave me something to do and look forward to but now that I'm working again I really don't feel so inspired to blog as much or as in much detail into it as I did before. But I'm sure it will all work itself out. :)