Lifestyle | Why You Should Blog When You Want, Not When You Have To


Hello Lovelies! I can honestly say that for the first time in a while of my nearly three years of blogging it has started to really stress me out. You can probably blame that on final year uni, which I have been a lot. But I realised that I absolutely love doing videos at the moment, and Instagram which both need a lot of time and effort, and yet blogging somehow is something I've stopped looking forward to. Nowadays it's a case of 'Oh god I need to blog' rather than happily sitting down with a cup of tea, and tapping away like a caffeinated chipmunk. 

Not much has changed, for one thing my blog is hardly a business. Let's be transparent here, I've only ever been paid once for blogging, and that was £40.00 which whatever way you look at it will never pay the bills. I've also invested far more in my blog than I have ever earned, so money hasn't changed anything in that sense. And whilst I've been gifted and had a lot of amazing opportunities, I've never really felt like money has got in the way of things. My blog is still very much a hobby, and not a business by any means. 

That said, perhaps my attitude to blogging has changed. Maybe it's different for newer bloggers but when I started I really had no concept of the blogging world at all. I had no clue at all just how many blogs were out there, or that anyone who was 'smaller' could have the opportunities to work with brands or go to events. I didn't even join Twitter till shamelessly late, so had no real clue of the scope or the high bars being set in blogging. Because let's be real the expectations out there now for what a blog should be are sky high. The majority don't want products with just one lipstick anymore, or anything less than glossy perfect pictures and the pressure to live up to these expectations is really there whether you want to succumb to it or not. 

There's also the concept of 'making it' as a blogger, which often makes people feel like a failure. In such a close knit community it's definitely hard not to compare, or feel like you're blog is nothing when someone gets opportunities that you don't. The reality is that only a few bloggers out of the many that are absolutely killing it will be able to go full time, or get to a point where they're regularly making money out of blogging and that's ok. So if you don't ever get to that point, like most won't it's no measure of your success at all. 

For me I've found that the underlying problem is a mixture of self doubt, and forcing myself to blog. As with anything in life, you'll always be able to do blogging faster, and better when you're inspired and want to write. I've fallen into the trap of not treating it like a hobby. I get tired and want to binge watch tv shows, rather than blog, when before blogging was my procrastination. I did it because I wanted to, not because I felt like I had to do my 3 posts at least a week. However this week I've found myself writing posts in my revision breaks, and looking forward to getting my words down on (digital) paper. Of course if you're a perfectionist like me and are obsessed with weekly posts, you'll most likely be thinking that's all well and good but how will I keep up with my schedule? But to be honest if we all spent less time getting annoyed or stressed out that we haven't written posts, we'd probably write a lot more. So my new resolution is to write when I want to, not when I have to and we'll see where things go from here...

Thanks for reading lovelies! I hope you have a great week!

7 comments

  1. I found myself agreeing with everything you said! Although I wish there wasn't, there is an underlying to have a picture perfect, quality aesthetic blog. Rather than it being a hobby, like you said it can sometimes feel like a chore. I hope you're able to find a way to enjoy your blogging a little more <3

    Carolyn x
    Faithfully Carolyn

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  2. This is really relatable especially as I too am on my final year at uni and I feel so sensitive to anything that is remotely stressful.Everything youve put is exactly how i've felt or feel haha. I think there is alot of pressure we put on ourselves so that we aren't considered a 'failure' but it really is important to remember why you started in the first place.:)

    http://www.thewhimsicalwildling.com/

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  3. Girl, this was the most perfect time for me to read this! I often go from feeling inspired to blog and where I feel like is it pointless?! I think just writing for YOURSELF and not for everyone else, is the best thing xx

    www.natalieleanne.com

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  4. I couldn't not relate to this more than now! You've probably seen I'm posting less than I used to, and when I don't post I feel so guilty for no reason at all! :/

    franalibi.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. I was on a perfect schedule of 3x a week for the first 2 years of my blog. Then it all got too much so I took a month off and realised that my schedule doesnt even matter! Especially at the moment with life being so busy, I just blog when I have the time!

    Jasmin Charlotte

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  6. I know what you mean, blogging had been stressful to me as well, feeling less inspired to come up with posts

    Beauty Candy Loves

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  7. I've really struggled when it comes to writing posts on a schedule! I love having weekly posts however I pressure myself far too much which then causes me to not want to write at all which really does suck! I'm finally back full of motivation but I 100% agree with you when you say 'only write when you want to', this is some thing I follow now too. If I can upload my two posts a week then great but if I don't it's not a crime. I really enjoyed reading this post girl!

    Tab x
    http://whattabithaloves.blogspot.co.uk/

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Thanks for your comments, I love reading them and will be sure to visit your blog soon :) have a lovely day!