Six Months Into This Blogging Experiment – How Ya Feeling?

Hello there, my loyal readers and happy Sunday. 

Last month I came across – well no, that’s not what happened at all – literally an Outlook reminder popped up on my work calendar and said verbatim, “Do a blog reflection piece after six months.” 

Hahahahah… I had forgotten I ever programmed it.  And six months as a FI blogger makes me a sage in the FI world, right?  I might as well toss up some advertising and affiliate links and retire on the spot – I’ve made it to the promised land.  C’mon now, I’m just joshing.  Don’t get your panties in a bunch and get all sour because you think your blog is going to change the world and rake in millions of dollars of side hustle dough.  You got this…. because you’re a fucking online rock star.  Fuck, do I digress… 

Alright, back to my main topic.  This reminder was in March and now we are in April.  Yes, I am late.  That little high-pitched yappy dog procrastination has bitten my ankle.  And although I have never admitted it before on this blog, I, Q-FI, am human.  Ta da! 

So why am I so late on writing this?  Honestly, because I never felt like writing it until now.  I’m not one of those writers that has a certain schedule to write every day and hone their craft.  I write for fun and I need to be in a certain mood to do it (which causes its own challenges). 

But lucky for you, today happens to be that day.  It’s 6:30pm and I’m staring out my open window while a fragrant breeze, cloaked in fresh blooms and buds whispers through the screen.  Mottled shades of emerald and vibrant hues of lime-green leaves are dancing in the sunlight like fairies in an enchanted forest just urging me to create.  It’s Spring.  The dreary clouds and rainy deluge of the last week has left us in Southern California and although the virus is always a downer, my mood is up.  I’m happy to type.  I’m happy to be alive.  And today was another life worth living. 

So, at a little more than six months into this blogging thing, here are my thoughts… 

First and foremost, writing has been fun. 

If I wasn’t having a blast doing this, then this blog wouldn’t exist.  It’s as simple as that.  What a great hobby this writing thing has been so far and I’m glad I’ve finally scratched this itch and hopefully there are only more great things to come. 

Then throw in meeting some great bloggers, finding that FI niche you relate to and keeping up with how other people are progressing in their lives becomes addicting.  Because you’ve found your online community.  You’ve become attached to your crew and start rooting for them – just as you want to succeed you want the same for them as well. 

Second, writing has been a cathartic release. 

I’ve been craving a creative outlet in my life for a long time now, and this blog has been able to fill the void.  It’s kind a funny how you start with one thing and then it evolves into another.  The topic that originally inspired me to write was FI and my own endeavors with personal finance, and quickly it evolved into being more of a diary of my thoughts.  I write about how I am feeling and what interests me.  If people like it cool, if they don’t then I don’t give a fuck.  Ha!  But the actual medium of writing has had a therapeutic quality for me that has helped me revisit deeper and more emotional experiences I otherwise probably never would have acknowledged. 

Third, pressure has been a good thing. 

I went into this blog promising myself that it was all or nothing.  If I was going to do this writing experiment, then I was going to dive in head-first and commit to it.  And that’s what I did.  I said I’d post twice a week for one year and then re-evaluate my time after that.  And so far, more than halfway in, I have delivered like clockwork.  Now, I could have played it safe and written only once a week, 52 posts a year total and took some stress off my plate.  And when I started, I even had one blogger flat out tell me not to write twice a week, that I wouldn’t be able to keep it up.  But if you’ve read this blog before then you know what I thought about that right away – Fuck you!  Hahaha.  You don’t know who you’re talking to here?  Tell me that, and it’s as good as done that I’ll prove you wrong!  

Yet it hasn’t been easy, I’d be lying if I told you otherwise.  Mix in a 60-hour work week, travel and family and it’s hard to find the time to really sit back and reflect.  It seems to come in waves for me.  I’ll have one month where I’m in the zone with writing and I’ll get a few posts ahead, then the next I’m struggling – it will take longer to digest and write good posts and sometimes I’m even finishing them up the day of, because posting twice a week is no joke. 

And sure, sometimes I’d like more time to flush out an idea or revise an article, but that’s life.  I’ve committed to this schedule and that’s how it’s going to be.  You gotta deliver for the fans, right?  It’s always about the fans and never the money?  Hahaha.  Unfortunately, what you see is what you get. 

Fourth, as a writer, I’m starting to pay attention to more of the details. 

Prior to writing, I would just read a blog.  That was it, simple.  No more observation was needed than that. 

But now, I pay attention to the details.  How does that person structure their article, what is the flow of their style, how developed is their voice, are the topics consistent or do they vary, who is this CEO of their online identity staring back at me?  And the more questions I ask, the more fascinating the answers become.  Because the irony of it is that my style could not be more simplistic. 

If you read any “how to start a blog” post, it will be the opposite of what I’m doing.  And I’m cool with that.  I’ve found my technique and what I’m comfortable with.  But I do find it hilarious that the two biggest recommendations for bloggers – use many eye-catching photos throughout the article and structure paragraphs with headlines so that it is NOT essay style – happens to be the exact antithesis of my own style.  Hahaha.  But like I said before, I need to keep it simple.  I need to stay the course with what works.  Time isn’t on my side to construct, edit and beautify that perfect post.  I pick one picture of nature that probably 99% of the time has nothing to do with the topic and then I write.  

When you read a Q-FI post, you know what you’re going to get with me, a photo and a story.  Nothing more and nothing less.  But it works… at least for me.  And more importantly… it’s brought me happiness that I would never have imagined. 

So, here’s to at least six more months of fun and I’m glad you’ve come along for the ride! 

-Q-FI 

P.S. Have you started a blog recently or been writing for a while?  Or have you ever been thinking of starting a blog and writing?  Tell me about it.