Until now, I hadn’t given much thought to setting content directions for my personal website. I simply wrote about topics that I felt interested in or were relevant to my job when I received questions. However, this approach has revealed two significant flaws.
First, without a defined theme or content calendar, and by simply following my mood (which fluctuates a lot—thank you, ADHD), I’ve struggled to maintain any consistency in my writing. I’ve had this blog since 2016, changed its appearance at least three times, deleted posts, wrote new ones, switched between French and English, only to end up with 12 published posts and 28 drafts. Maybe the next Pulitzer is hidden in one of those drafts, but I guess I’ll never know. I’m too lazy and ashamed to review them.
Second, writing about work-related topics is boring. I already have a full-time job, and spending my personal time writing about work makes it feel like…more work. It sucks! Besides, that’s what LinkedIn is for. Why should I use the personal space I’ve created for myself to write about work?
If I do write about work again—and I probably will, because now everyone is all about #personalbranding and #contentcreation, and “your résumé is not enough, be an influencer” to find their next job—it will be on LinkedIn and only during work hours. At least that way, I know I’m getting paid to write posts that get 15 likes from my friends and my dad’s fake LinkedIn profile.
Now that I’ve said that, what’s next? I know I want to keep this website alive—I’ve already spent so many hours building it and paying OVH. I know I want to maintain a personal project of mine. Because, you know, spending hours learning Japanese, playing chess, training in Thai boxing and CrossFit, loving my boyfriend, cleaning, cooking, and reading just don’t seem like enough activities I can procrastinate on.
I know I intend to keep writing. I love reading people’s blogs. I’ve followed the writings of Nat Eliason, Anne-Laure LeCunff, Cal Newport, Scott Young and Steph Smith for years, even before they were cool. Writing sucks, and I feel like I’m bad at it, but it’s a challenge I’m willing to keep trying.
“Writing sucks”
said every single writer, author, poet, blogger, or person whose ever tried to get their thoughts down on paper.
I guess now that I’ve set the objective of pursuing writing and maintaining this personal website, the next flaw to tackle is figuring out what to write about. Or, as Steph Smith said, finding my “idea ikigai”. So I thought about it for a very long time. What can I write about? Should my website be about tech, since there is so much to write about? Should it be personal stuff? But not too personal, since recruiters might read it. What should be the main topics? I enjoy learning about tech, neuroscience, sports performance, longevity stuff… I am learning different kinds of embroidery techniques. I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction to learn new stuff. Should it be about this very cool topic I learned about from YouTube? I take so many courses—where would I find the time to write if I took one more online course?! Where will I fit writing between my Japanese classes and chess lessons? Shouldn’t I rather learn how to coder rather than writing? And there goes the spiral of thoughts leading me to more procrastination.
“The myth is that there isn’t enough time. There is plenty of time. There isn’t enough focus with the time you have. You win by directing your attention toward better things.” James Clear.
And that it struck me, the main recurring topic is learning. I love to learn stuff. I am an online course addict. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no structure, no methodology and a goldfish memory. I could be learning something cool, join a conversation about this cool topic, just to forget everything I learned and look stupid.
My idea of ikigai could be learning. I’ve already mentioned how much I enjoy reading Scott Young’s blog and his learning challenges. So yes, it doesn’t exactly match the second criterion of Steph Smith’s idea ikigai definition: “doesn’t exist in exact form.” But maybe, with practice and finding my voice, that could change.
Furthermore, did I mention I’m a course-weirdo-addict? I spend so much of my personal budget and time on courses, even on professional, expensive trainings that I could ask my company to pay for. What a dork. Who has two thumbs and starts a new course when she already has five unfinished ones? This girl! And I know, I’ve been told so many times that taking courses is not the best way to learn. I should practice, learn by making stuff, and get real experience. So this will be another goal for this website: making side projects.
To summarize, in an ideal world where my resolutions beat my procrastination, this website will be about:
- Finding a system to learn effectively. It probably won’t happen on the first try, but I’ll keep experimenting.
- Tracking my progress in the open, so I can look dumb on the internet.
- Sharing the methodology and resources I pick up. Maybe you’ll learn new stuff too.
- Building side projects related to the topic I’m learning about. LOL
“In many cases, what you hope to learn by reading books or listening to podcasts can only be learned by attempting what you fear. Some knowledge is only revealed through action.” James Clear.
Because a good blog post cannot end without a James Clear’s quote.
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