At the end of 2020, I decided to quit my job and backpack for the next 6 months on a journey of self-discovery. Fast-forward to April 2021, I had to stop traveling and go back home due to the second wave of the pandemic in India . The journey changed me a lot, and I decided to make small changes in my daily routine for a fulfilled life with happiness and financial freedom. Among the daily habits I decided to follow, reading was one of them.
I have always loved reading, but somewhere in the past few years, I lost the habit. I decided to take up the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge in 2021 and was constantly searching for books to read. That’s when I stumbled upon the book, ‘Show Your Work!’ by Austin Kleon , shared by the productivity YouTuber Ali Abdaal , whom I have been following for a while.
I read the book and was surprised by how much I connected with its ideas. In the book , Austin describes your work as a never-ending process and explains how you can build an audience around it with goal-accountability. The idea struck me so well that I decided to document my personal transformation journey through this blog. Below are the 5 reasons that eventually led me to start this blog.
1. Goal Accountability
Putting your ideas or projects into the public makes you more accountable than having a mental note. As the famous scientist Richard Feynman said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.” Having my projects or goals documented in a blog makes me more accountable than if they were just in my head. I can no longer procrastinate or forget about my goals because I’m now accountable to my readers.
2. Documenting Life
I no longer remember the books I have read or the projects I have worked on in the past. I do not have any notes or photos of those. Blogging helps me document my journey, and later I can reflect on myself to see where I can improve. In fact, the early days of blogging were indeed about documenting your life and writing about everyday happenings.
3. Writing as a Skill
I have always struggled with writing. I remember my postgraduate days when I struggled with writing 3,000-word assignments. Blogging can improve your writing skills and change your perspective. It also improves your ability to convey thoughts or ideas into words. Writing is one skill I aim to improve by the end of this year.
4. Building a Community
One of my dreams is to build a community of people with whom I share the same values and perceptions of life. The ideal community would work on solutions for the sustainability of this planet. Through this blog, I can connect with like-minded people who share similar interests (My current interests are mentioned on this page ). The ‘10+1 Things’ newsletter, which I publish on Substack, is my first step toward building that community.
5. One Step towards Financial Freedom
Like many people, achieving financial freedom is one of my life goals. This blog is one of the first steps toward it. I plan to document some projects I have been working on for a while on this blog. As my audience grows, blogging will help me increase the reach of those projects. I also use affiliate networks, especially Amazon , on this blog for passive income.
Goals for Blogging in 2021
I’m targeting a traffic of 5,000 visitors per month for this blog by the end of 2021. I also aim to grow my ‘10+1 Things’ newsletter by 1,000 subscribers and my Twitter / Instagram followers by 1,000 followers.
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No pressure, but I'd love to have you along for the ride!
Nice article. Im curious to see your results by end of this year. All the best!
Thanks Robin! Yes I'll update this by end of this year. Please subscribe to my newsletter so that you're informed about it as soon as it goes live.
Interesting blog just updated one I created a while ago. Good luck with your travels. Maybe create a YT channel for your tours?
Thanks a lot! I was thinking, but I don't really like the world of YouTube!
Documenting your life will be so insightful. I have been using journaling and photography as a way of documenting my life. It's been interesting to see my handwriting change as well as what I deemed important to write about. My collection of photographs tell a different part of that same story. I hope you gain the insight you are looking for through writing!