Muse and Mischief

I have been writing for this blog for three months. While I have tried blogging in the past, those attempts didn’t have this longevity. This got me thinking, what is different about this time from the ones before?

The obvious answer is of course, me. I’m not the same person I was the last time I tried blogging. I think my mindset is a major factor too. The last time I tried blogging I went into it with a financial focus. It was a means to an end. I intended it to be another arm of building my online brand to promote my writing. It lost its luster rather quickly. 

No, for this blog I had a different approach. I wanted this to be a space where I could just talk about what I wanted to talk about, a sort of stream of consciousness. The only goal was to let my mind wander and wax on things like life, creativity, and what drives me to create. I think this mindset has made writing posts for this not only easier, but a lot more enjoyable.

The consistency of it has also been a boon to my creative rhythm. It is a nice weekly reset where I can collect my thoughts and then just let them be without the need to feel like they have to be productive. That is one thing I learned while working on this blog. I suffer from what my therapist calls “toxic productivity”. I basically feel that every moment of my day needs to be working towards something, some goal or milestone. Blame it on it being a gifted child I guess. 

Setting time aside each week for twelve weeks has helped me make time for myself and conditioned me to accept that not everything needs to be working towards something. I get to just play with words and muse through what tickles my particular fancy that day. Sure I do spend time each month brainstorming topics for the blog, but I place them into a backlog that I select from when the time comes. 

I guess what this reminds me of the most is when I journal. Now, of course, journaling is far more private and I wouldn’t be placing those thoughts out for the world to see. Though, in a way I can see how the two acts are similar. This space is my own fortress of solitude in a way that I open up to you all to share in my musings and hopefully bring you some peace or insight. 

I think on some deeper level that is what I hope for with this blog. To give insight into a creative mind in the hope that it either helps someone on their own journey or brings them a bit of respite in an otherwise chaotic world. 

How do you make time for yourself?