Distractions and decisions

Hello!

So I’ve got my new site Words by gemm up and running but I’m deflated with it already. I miss you all here in the WordPress community. I miss my regular readers who would like and comment on my blog posts. Things have been pretty slow in terms of growth and my efforts seem to be fruitless. I’ve actually thought about coming back to WordPress but I don’t know whether that would just be me quitting before I’ve given myself a real chance or the best thing for me to do.

Anyway I guess I’d love some advice or inspiration for what to do when you try something new and it seems to be failing. Or maybe what keeps you going when it feels like you’re just running into walls.

I’ve also been thinking about taking time away from instagram and twitter, deleting the apps for a while and focusing my time elsewhere. By elsewhere I mean on my blog. I wonder if maybe I’m just trying way too hard to love blogging the way I used to at 16 and 17 but things have changed to much to ever get back to the way things once were.

I created twitter and instagram as a way to reach more potential readers for my blog but now I spend more time on them than I do on blogging. If I’m completely honest neither of them have ever really benefited me much in terms of gaining new readers. They’ve both just become distractions.

I want to put that time into reading, writing and creating for my online space. Maybe I need a challenge like ‘x amount of blog posts before the year is over’. I’m not 100% on my plan going forward but I’ll keep you updated and if you haven’t seen my new site wordsbygemm.com let me know what you think of it.

Feel free to leave my any advice but also the links to your blogs too!

What distracts you?

Moving forward

Hey!

I know I haven’t written for a long time (3  months to be precise) but I’m back and I have news.

I’ve finally created a self-hosted site called Words by gemm. I published my first post yesterday and I’m really looking forward to continuing my blogging journey on a new site. If you enjoy reading this blog then head on over to my new site and subscribe so you don’t miss out. If you check out my first post be sure to let me know what you think. I’ll be blogging about similar topics that you’ve read on this site but they’ll be a little more polished and I’ll also be sharing a little bit of beauty and fashion too.

Starting afresh is pretty daunting. But I’m learning that sometimes you have to be willing to try something that might not work.

When is the last time you tried something new?

p.s. I might still post here occasionally but for the most part I’ll be on my new site as well as Twitter and Instagram, so join me!

Day 30

I’ve reached the end of my daily blogging challenge and I’m proud that I was able to complete it. Posting everyday in April has taught me an array of lessons. I’ve learnt things about staying committed, understanding that not everything will be perfect and the importance of a routine.

When I decided to post daily in April I had done no preparation. I had no idea that most of my posts would just be life musings. I had no idea that daily blogging for a month would teach me so much the second time around. I won’t be continuing on with daily blogging and I’ll explain about that further in an upcoming post.

To end I’d like to share 3 quotes:

if I’d have been truly willing I’d have found a way

be willing to give your self a point of view

lost in the process of creativity

Lastly, thank you for reading.

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Something to gain

You can’t always predict what the outcome will be.

Not everything has to be planned.

It’s okay to leave some things unknown.

“Last night I lost the world, and gained the universe.”
― C. JoyBell C.

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The anonymity I once had

Today I envisioned where I’d like to take my blog in the future. When I began blogging it was all very anonymous and I never showed my face or used my real name. But as time went on that changed. Over the past few years I’ve included pictures of myself all over my blog and I use my name on social media instead of a nickname.

But as I’m getting older and I’m figuring out the sort of content I want to write about I’m realising that I don’t want to use pictures of myself as much. Firstly because I kind of miss the anonymity I once had and secondly because I don’t actually need people to see an array of images of me. When writing about The myth of not knowing or Expectations and disappointment a photo of me isn’t really necessary.

I think it’s pretty interesting because I decided to start showing what I looked like as a way to share more of myself with my readers and because I felt as though I was hiding away. I’m now at a point where my readers know me (or can get to know me) through my writing style and I don’t feel the need to be seen as much.

So you can expect less of my face in the future, you may have noticed I’ve already started implementing this.

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The smallest decisions

Words by people I admire or am inspired by mean so much to me. Today I’m sharing a quote by one of my favorite characters.

Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can pretty much change your life forever.

Felicity Porter

When you want to change your life it can be easy to try and go for gold, to go for the big thing but it isn’t always necessary. Sometimes its the smallest decisions -like choosing to take a walk, talking to a stranger instead of ignoring them, saying yes instead of no or choosing to go with your gut instinct instead of thinking things over (and over and over)- that make the biggest difference.

So don’t hold out for something big, embrace the little things and change your life!

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Intentional alone time

Today I had a mini revelation about spending time by myself. After a day of classes I stopped off at a park on my way home. I walked down the path and sat on a bench, then proceeded to listen to a podcast and gaze at the pool of water before me.

I hadn’t had a particularly stressful day but I just felt compelled to have some intentional alone time. I spend time by myself on a regular basis but the majority of the time I’m completing some sort of task like doing food shopping or running errands. However, I’m  learning that there is great significance in spending time alone without an agenda. Sat on that park bench, I  felt relaxed and at peace. It gave me time to reflect on my day. When I left the park I felt refreshed as though I’d just finished meditating. When I looked up at the sky I saw a rainbow and immediately felt a sense of bliss, as though it was a sign that I was exactly I was meant to be.

Sometimes it’s the little things that do you a world of good.

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Something worth talking about

Talking about what is going on in my life is something I completely underestimated, until I did it. The whole thing of being vulnerable isn’t something that comes easy to me to I’ve often been reluctant to open up.

As I got older and I faced certain challenges and life difficulties I realised that I had to put down the burden I’d been carrying round with me for much too long. I had to open up. It started with strangers and was followed by friends. My friends were kind and supportive.

Being open and honest, being vulnerable didn’t feel as bad as I had assumed it would. It made my life so much easier.

So, if you’re going through something and keeping it to yourself, don’t. Talking might seem too simple or difficult but if you open up to the right person it will definitely be worth it.

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Comments and numbers

Everyday this month I’ve checked my blog stats. Sometimes I do it multiple times a day. But this morning I realised that views aren’t as important as comments.

For someone that blogs for business the views will be an indication of what’s popular. Then they may focus more on what the readers like best.
But my blog is just my hobby. More people means higher numbers. More comments or interactions means that I’m able to connect with people and that what I create is worth responding to.

Seth Godin once said in an interview that it’s not about getting more people but more of the right people. I totally agree.

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Content variation

My blog has always been a space for me to use my voice to talk about life, things that interest me and the things that I care about. Over time I’ve focused more and more on writing about life. The majority of my content is musings on daily life, sharing things I’ve learnt or am currently learning. As much as I enjoy writing about all that life stuff, there is a part of me that wants write about other things too. I also want to write about books, personal style, being creative, places and occasionally products.

I’ve always struggled with creating niche content because I like to blog about the things that mean something too me. That can vary from a self-help book on confidence to a cleanser that makes me feel amazing every time I use it. I understand that the variation in my content probably doesn’t help in terms of growth but I’m not yet ready to make a choice.

I guess creating a separate blog where I can share more lifestyle based content is something that I need to consider. For now I’m going to experiment a little here and see how it goes implementing a little more variation into the content of this blog.

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