Why I Will Be Blogging Less In The Future

I’ve decided to cut back on blogging. I could never give it up completely, and I don’t want to take an extended break either. Which is why for now at least, I plan to publish less often.

There isn’t just one reason why. It’s a combination of many factors.

To be honest, I haven’t been as excited about my content lately, and I hate the idea of forcing myself to put out posts I’m not proud of.

When I first started blogging, I made it my goal to publish every day. Right now however, this blog isn’t my biggest priority.

I like to believe I’m embarking on a different chapter of my journey. Hopefully, I’ll be a better blogger in the months to come.

I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be here, just not as often. I’ve lost my way, so I need some time to find myself again. Maybe down the line, I’ll look back and think this was the best decision I ever made.

These days, I feel pulled in every direction. I have conflicting voices in my head that contradict each other.

Blogging is hard. I’ve had fun, but it isn’t easy.

I still love blogging with my whole heart. Besides, I wouldn’t be who I am today without all of you. So thanks for putting up with me.

The Evolution Of This Blog

In 2013, I was a naive fifteen year old on WordPress.

Today, I’m so happy I went out on a limb one evening and started this blog.

Becoming a blogger has made me more keen to learn. As a result, I now have more interests than ever before.

Along the way, I’ve felt the need to stick with the status-quo. But I want to push the envelope, challenge myself, and improve. I can’t improve if I don’t move. That’s my motto literally and figuratively.

I read tons of advice about how to blog. But to be honest, I like learning what works and what doesn’t on my own.

This blog will continue to evolve as I grow and change. It may not always seem like it, but I’m doing my best. I know you are too.

There are so many posts I want to write, projects I want to tackle. I’m a little limited in terms of time, money, etc. That being said, I try to take baby steps every day.

More than anything, I hope the next five years will bring more progress.

I’m not perfect. I never will be. My goal isn’t perfection. It’s consistent practice.

As always, thank you for being part of my evolution as a blogger and as a human being.

Get To Know The Blogger

You get to know a certain blogger a little bit better.

Why did you start blogging?

Because the yearbook team at my high school rejected me. So I had a lot of free time after school. Lo and behold, one day I was bored and started a blog.

What do you blog about?

Anything and everything I want. Blogging is something I started doing for myself. And I don’t want that to ever change. I’m going to keep writing about the things I’m passionate about. The answer I usually give people when they ask is something along the lines of I blog about blogging and writing and reading. Boring, right?

When do you like to blog?

I tend to blog at night when my brain isn’t as critical and cynical. In the morning, I’m not the easiest person to be around to say the least. My inner critic rears her ugly head all the time. But she isn’t as annoying later in the day. I think she gets tired and heads to bed.

Where do you prefer to blog?

My bed. Somewhere comfortable is ideal. Unfortunately, I don’t live in a perfect world, so I can’t have the luxury of blogging in my pajamas all the time. Guess you really can’t have everything in life.

Why are you still blogging?

If I didn’t, I’d have a gaping hole in my heart.

How do you keep blogging?

I write. I edit drafts. I publish posts. All because I need my heart to be somewhat intact.

What’s your blogging routine like?

I think about blogging almost every hour of every day. On any given day, I probably blog for a lot less than sixty minutes. I just make myself type words. Delete them. Type more. Delete a little. And when I’m done, I publish the mess I’ve created for everyone to read. Not many people do.

Did you enjoy getting to know me a bit better as a blogger? Either way, I have more blogging questions I want to answer. Maybe I’ll get around to them some day.

Publishing 1,458 Posts

April 2, 2013: I published my first blog post.

April 2, 2017: I’m publishing my one thousand four hundred fifty eighth post.

That’s a lot of posts.

I know many of them are bad, imperfect, etc.

They’re short.

They aren’t life-changing or mind-blowing.

But that’s okay.

I still remember the days I had zero posts to my name. At one point, I had no followers and no views on this blog. Even though numbers don’t matter, I still can’t wrap my head around any of this.

It feels like I just started blogging yesterday but also like I’ve been blogging ever since I was born.

It’s insane to think I’ve had so many ideas. What’s even more insane is the fact that I’ve published a great number of them.

As for those 500+ drafts I have lying around, some will never see the light of day. Others, with a lot of tinkering, just might.

I can’t say it enough—thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing. I hope you continue to.

Forgetting How To Write Essays

I’ve forgotten how to write essays.

I only know how to write blog posts. And I can’t even do that well.

I’m supposed to have a thesis? With topic sentences to support my thesis? Then have a conclusion summarizing what I just spent several paragraphs stating?

All the while I have to write clearly, concisely, coherently?

That’s too much to ask from me.

To Edit Or Not To Edit?

Should we, as bloggers, edit our older posts?

Or should we preserve what we wrote in the past? That way we are able to reflect on who we were back then?

I’m not huge on editing former posts I’ve written and published for a few reasons:

1. I like going through my archives. I can track how I wrote then and how I write now. It’s a way for me to gauge how much my writing has improved (or hasn’t improved). I can see how much I’ve grown in two weeks, two months, etc.
2. I don’t have time to rewrite previous posts. Sure, it’s nice to revisit them. But rewriting an entire post or twenty isn’t exactly what I signed up for.
3. I learn from previous mistakes and lapses of judgement. In life, I can’t rewrite the past. I can’t erase everything and start over again. With blogging, you can. But I don’t want to. Because if I can delete what I don’t like, I’ll probably hurt myself more than help me out.

Blogging Tips, Tricks, And “Life Hacks”

I’m a hypocrite, I know. I don’t like the term “life hack” and I don’t think you can truly “hack” anything in life. Nothing replaces hard work. Nothing. But there are some things I’ve picked up over the years that have made my life easier. And more efficient.

I’ll all about managing my time well. Never waste a minute you don’t have to.

Bookmark certain sites you’ll use often. I personally bookmark the WordPress editor, my blog’s home page, and the Reader. It’s quicker to click a button. Besides, I’m not about the navigating through multiple sites or typing in a URL life.

Use templates. They are your best friend. You can use the template of a previous post for new posts. For my writing contests posts, I don’t write out all the informational categories such as Type of Entry or Fee (if any) for every competition. I don’t even rewrite it for new posts. I have a template saved as a draft so I can copy, paste, and fill out accordingly. How much time have I saved using templates? A lot.

Schedule (or backdate) your posts. When I first started out I didn’t know you could do this. I didn’t know anything really. You can schedule them in advance obviously. But if for whatever reason you want to backdate your post, you can set the time and day to be in the past. Then your post will appear to be published on that date even if it wasn’t. 

Now you know. And if you knew already, I just wasted your time, didn’t I?

The Bane Of One Blogger’s Existence

School is the bane of a blogger’s existence.

Below are some sad but true things that will probably happen once the curse starts tomorrow.

I’ll take even longer to reply to comments.

I apologize in advance. I’m going to be without WiFi during my commute. Then I have lectures that will stretch on for a few hours. At least I have everyone here to keep me sane.

The quality of my posts are going to decline.

As if they’re any good now. I still want to blog, even if I won’t have nearly as much time as I’d like.

I will be a bad blogging buddy to have.

So ditch me now. Unfollow me already.