Tag: writer

Minimalism, Self Growth

What Happens When You Make Everything Important

mindbeautysimplicity

A full calendar, a to-do list that doesn’t have an end, invitations coming from all directions & RSVPing YES to all of them because you want to be a proper social butterfly. But at the same time you are working hours on end, getting no sleep & not eating as well because you just don’t have time!

I feel overwhelmed just reading that back. I used to feel this way with my daily life constantly. On one hand I love feeling busy & having a routine. There’s a sense of structure with this mindset & I thrive from it.But at the same time, there were days I would wake up feeling so burnt out because I had no time for myself. I’ve learned there needs to be a balance.

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

If you don’t want to feel overwhelmed, you can’t say yes to everything. With there only being 24 hours in a day, it would be insane if you could say yes to every function you were invited to or agree to every task presented. Now, that’s a superpower I want to have.

The reason we tend to say yes to things (besides genuinely wanting to go) is hurting someone’s feelings or letting them down for saying no. We risk our own feelings for the sake of others. People pleasing never truly gets you anywhere. As hard as it may sound, there will always be a time where someone is disappointed, sad or hurt by your decision.

You Might Also Like: How I Take Care Of My Own Mental Health

You have to be a little bit selfish with your time. Sometimes you have to prioritize yourself & that’s ok. This doesn’t mean you don’t care about other people or you are only about your own happiness. I think, when you make some time for yourself, you actually come back refreshed & more receptive to others.

This is why I find self care so important. Once a week (at least) set a day that’s just for you & do something you love. I myself love evening bubble baths & getting lost in a good book, or singing in the car. Having something to look forward to that’s all your own can really make a difference. I guarantee you won’t feel burnt out after this ritual.

I consider myself to be an extrovert introvert. I love a good party with the right group of people. But I also love my “me time”. I call it my time to recharge for the next outing. Haha! I thrive on having balance. Too much of anything is a bad thing. So it’s important to have this give & take.

I’ve learned in life, if you make everything have importance, then nothing truly is. It’s ok to to say no. Actually, say no more often & feel liberated about it. It will free up your schedule & make space for things that matter more to you or what you had no idea was attainable.

Be wary on who gets your attention & energy. They say you become the five people you spend the most time with. So pick your friends wisely. If there are people in your life who suck the life out of you & create a toxic environment, it’s important to let them go. Toxicity transforms a well obtained life to a chaotic nightmare. Don’t let that kind of energy in.

I’m proud to say I’m not a procrastinator but unfortunately I can be its evil cousin,hastily but careless. I always think I need to finish something that second or within a very short period of time.

Don’t ask me why I think this way, but I’m working on it. Having this mind set & thinking everything had to have some form of importance made for some shitty days, let me tell ya.

Overtime I’ve had to learn to take a minute to just breathe. The whole saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day”…blah blah blah…really should be my mantra.

The reason why I would have this negative mindset was because I placed everything on a petistal. Once you discover what you truly love & aspire to be can you then weed out the unnecessary facets. I for one, love feeling less swamped in my daily life. I feel lighter & more at ease.

Luckily, I no longer have that pull your hair out, scream into a pillow type of feeling.

With these aspects in mind, you can successfully take each day with stride & not let your schedule overwhelm your psyche.

have you read yesterday’s blogtober post? – – > how i take care of my own mental health

-B

advice, blogging

How To Be More Intentional As a Blogger

mindbeautysimplicity

As a blogger, it’s incredibly easy to be on the grind 24 hours a day & 7 days a week. Especially when it starts out as a passion, sometimes that energy causes you to be a bit obsessive about it. Or maybe I’m just projecting. Recently, I wanted to be more intentional with my time when it came to blogging. I’ve managed to be this way with the rest of my life, but when it came to blogging, I didn’t know how to step back, create a schedule & breathe. So, today I wanted to share with you some things I’ve learned to become more present in my blogging career & I figured other bloggers could relate.

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YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR TIME

Chances are if you are a blogger with your own site, you are your own boss. You make your schedule, your to-do list & your overall routine. It’s both a blessing & a curse when the only one you need to answer to is yourself. And with that, you need to be responsible with how you conduct your time. From my personal experience , I can really work myself to the bone. Especially when I’m doing something that doesn’t necessarily feel like work, I forget to take breaks. When I’m passionate about something I can almost become obsessive. And I feel like a lot of creative souls have this same mentality. On good days, this is what drives our success. But we need to work smarter instead of harder. No amount of success is truly worth it if your mental wellbeing is in jeopardy. So, be sure to set some time where you put away the laptop, go charge your phone & spend quality time with others or even with yourself unplugged. I recently decided to follow suit of another blogger, Restless I Roam who does #SocialmediadetoxSundays & be completely off socials one day a week. This time away can actually better fuel your creativity & inspiration.

LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA USE

Like I was saying, being on social media all day everyday isn’t healthy. And as much of a obvious statement that is, I’m sure we’ve all had days where all we do is scroll, like & follow. And we finally check the time & our entire day is lost. As a blogger, social media is how we succeed. We can’t just write a blog post & let it sit in hopes the world will find it. A huge part of blogging is promoting your work. My saving grace was learning you can actually schedule out your content, tweets & posts. The thought of having my social media platforms act as a ghost & promote my work while I’m out doing other things is magic to my ears. Ever since I started scheduling my tweets, I felt like a superhero of multitasking. And personally, I find social media to be a waste of time if you let it. Granted, the blogging community is a wonderful group of people & interacting with you all especially during such isolating times has been a gift. But with everything in life, you need to have balance. And I felt like I personally needed to make room for other priorities. Not to mention, taking breaks from the digital world is quite freeing & eye opening. Sometimes you just need to leave the desk & get outside.

RETURNING ALL COMMENTS ISN’T REALISTIC

I think the biggest task in blogging that not a lot of people talk about is the process of replying to comments. I thought replying to the five comments I received in my first month was tough. But when it started jumping to 50+ comments, mentions & DM’s on all platforms, it was quite overwhelming. And I’m not trying to sound like I’m complaining because believe me, the fact that anyone cares to read & let alone comment on my work is amazing to me. So, please keep doing it. But I did realize it’s ok not to reply back right away. I would seriously feel bad if someone’s comment ended up in spam or I simply forgot. But now, I give myself more time & eventually I will get back to most of you. But know, even if I don’t reply, I appreciate all your words & support.

LOOK UP FROM THE LAPTOP ONCE IN A WHILE

I get it, blogging is a lot of fun & I love spending my time writing, planning & creating. But you NEED to step away from your passion a few hours each day & focus on quality time. Whether it’s watching a specific show in the evening with my boyfriend, cooking together or even just reading a book ; it’s so important to have other priorities. As much as I love what I do, I need to not let it consume me either. Success doesn’t happen in a night, unless you are a viral internet video. I digress. But usually things take time. I plan to write & blog for a long time. So, there’s no need to overwhelm myself by writing constantly. Quality over quantity is my motto. And part of being a great writer is living & taking in this moments so then later you can come back & tell your story.

REFOCUS YOUR INTENTIONS

It’s so easy to get caught up in the statistics & lose track of your initial purpose. Don’t let yourself be too critical. As a minimalist, I have learned the benefits of setting goals & embodying better habits. It can be so easy to loss your luster when you are overwhelmed with social media & all the behind the scenes tasks that revolve around your blog / brand. It’s important to ask yourself what you want your readers to get out of your content & if you are being true to yourself in the process.

HAVE FUN

Whether your blog is monetized or not, you started on this journey because it brought you happiness. Don’t lose that passion. I was upset I was headed in that toxic direction with numbers so early on but I’m glad I caught it when I did. I want to write about things I enjoy. The readers that stay are the loyal ones. And I’m understanding it’s ok when there are people who may not enjoy what I write about. That’s life. I’m just here because I love writing & inspiring others. Everything else is a bonus.

I hope these tips help you in your own blogging journey. I think we all need that reality check sometimes. I have a question for you all, what made you start blogging?