So there are only a few sleeps left until Christmas… and then only a a handful more days until the end of the year. If you have a moment to breathe in between the busyness of the season you might be thinking about what you’ve achieved this year and what lies ahead. I’ve been thinking about my professional writing and also this blog. Blogging is time-consuming and it’s hard to find the time when we are already so busy. Then it just becomes yet another thing you are not doing. Something else to feel bad about.
So do I want to spend my time blogging? If you don’t have an audience of thousands, it’s easy to think what’s the point? Well, after some thought, I’ve decided I’m going to keep blogging: and this is why I think you should too.
Blogging means writing – and if it’s just for you, that’s okay
I love words. I love to read and I love to write. There is something meditative about forming the thoughts, ordering them, getting them down.
I’m a health writer in my day job and have loved getting back to that work this year. But it’s also nice to write for me. Yes, even if those words are never read.
I’m not going to lie. I do get a thrill when someone reads what I’ve written. I love seeing my byline – I’m a reporter, after all! But in this space, I have resolved not to worry about finding my niche, about growing an audience, about whether anyone is reading at all. As creativity champion and novelist Elizabeth Gilbert would say: it’s about the process, not the end product. If you love to write, you should just do it too.
Blogging encourages reflection & focus
Gosh, I’m distracted and distractible these days. Aren’t we all? I’m watching television, while scrolling Instagram, and half having a conversation with my husband. It makes my head hurt and yet it’s a habit now. A horrible habit.
I want to start a new habit – a writing habit – and doing it publicly makes me a little bit more accountable (yes, even if no-one is reading!). Planning blog posts and writing them regularly will allow me to reflect on what’s going on in my world, and make me focus on a thought or an idea for more than a couple of seconds. I really need that and if you are anything like me, I suspect you do too.
Blogging pushes us to improve
I remember sitting in my editor’s office being interviewed for my first proper reporter’s job. It was 2000, and he wanted to know how I thought the internet would affect newspapers. I had bought a mobile phone the year before, but it was for phone calls. Only phone calls. Then, if I wanted to call a contact I looked up their number in my little black book, or I got out the Yellow Pages. The actual book. Can you imagine if we’d known what was waiting for us?
I am agog at how much has changed in newsrooms, in the media as a whole, even in the last five years. Working from home and spending a lot of time focusing on my family, it’s easy to feel out of it. Blogging is another way to keep a finger – even if it’s just my little finger – on what’s happening in that world.
Plus it’s fun to learn new things – social media, photography and SEO. You all know I love an online course. I love mastering something. (WordPress, I will master you too eventually.) Blogging forces us to learn new things and get out of our comfort zones.
Blogging connects
For someone who spends a lot of time with a toddler or alone with my keyboard, reading other blogs remind me I’m not the only one going through these things. They encourage and inspire me and they often make me laugh. I have made friends with life-minded people who I have never met: my online pen pals. It’s totally bizarre and totally wonderful.
You can of course write without sharing or publishing. Sharing is often uncomfortable. Sharing makes you second-guess yourself. It is much easier to keep your words under lock and key. But you never know, your writing might encourage someone, might inspire someone, might make them feel less alone. And that would be a great thing.
So with all those things in mind, I’m going to keep on writing and keep on sharing and keep on learning.
(And a big thank you to my sweet friends who do read this blog. It means a lot and I hope we will keep on sharing and encouraging each other into the new year. x)
Do you blog? Have you thought about why? Would you still blog if no-one was reading? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for your honesty, Bex!
I always enjoy reading your words, so I am happy you decided to keep on blogging. I must admit that I, too, struggle with blogging. Sometimes, it feels like a waste of time, like talking to myself. I love writing, photographing and designing a blog post, but I dó want my work to be seen and appreciated. Everyone needs a pat on the shoulder now and again, I’m no exception 😉
But I do love blogging! I have learned so much this past year. It is challenging sometimes, especially when things don’t do what you want them to do, but in the end, I think it is worth it.
Pauline recently posted…Christmas birds DIY
Thank you so much, as always, for reading and taking the time to leave a comment, Pauline.
It’s very hard to keep writing when you feel it is just going out into the ether. It’s hard not to be discouraged. But when I look back on the posts I have managed to write, I’m really pleased that I did. They are a little record of our life and what I was interested in at the time. Plus, I have learnt so much in the last year.
Please keep blogging too with a very big pat on the shoulder from me, anytime you need it 🙂
Hello Bex,
This is my favourite post and I just love reading your blog cause it sounds so sincere and motivating. I have just started with my blog but I stopped writing cause no one really reads my blog posts… but now I feel I shouldn’t give up on writing just because I don’t have any audience… I will write more just for myself. Thank you so much for encouraging me to chase my dreams 🙂
Hi Rayma
I’m so happy to read this post was helpful to you. It’s so hard to keep writing, especially when no-one is reading. But it’s so satisfying to look back and see what you’ve created. I have fallen off the blogging wagon already this year. Your comment has encouraged me to get back on the horse.
Thank you!
Bex
I also appreciated this post. My blog is what call a “diary” – stuff I write for me because it’s on my heart, and then share with others. However, sharing does make you second guess. It does make things uncomfortable. But I think not sharing makes me more uncomfortable, because then everything stays bottled up inside – or bottled up in a notebook in my dresser drawer! So here’s to being open – because you never know who is reading and who really needed to connect with your thoughts… Like how I randomly stumbled across these words here this evening. So thank you for sharing – I needed this encouragement and reminder to persevere this evening. God bless!
Hi Kaitlyn
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’m so happy to hear that this post has helped you.
I agree that sharing can be uncomfortable, but it can also bring you peace of mind and a greater sense of connection. I do hope you will keep on blogging and sharing. Thanks again for commenting – it means a lot.
Bex x
Funny too. You never know when a long forgotten post will suddenly get some traction.
So true! Maybe it will happen for me!
Keep it up yo
Thank you Jane!
I just read this and it really hit home right now i am relatively a new blogger at
http://s611227944.onlinehome.us/ I do like other people to read my blog post but it is actually a great outlet for my to get out my thoughts and feelings out.
Thank Christina. Best of luck with your blog. It’s hard work to keep going but as you say it’s a great outlet.
Just discovered you today, and having started my blog very recently it’s extremely timely! Thanks for your lovely work, and keep writing. I will too!
Thanks so much, Victoria. I have been very useless at updating the blog! We’ve moved from Sydney back to the UK and I’m pregnant with our second child. I hope I’ll get back into it soon though. Good luck with your blog. It’s a lot of fun 🙂