4 Years and Counting: A Reflection on Blogging -

Three hundred and sixty five days ago, I didn’t know that what I wished for that day would come true today.

It didn’t cross my mind at that time that I would get my resignation in less than nine months. What I knew, this dream is always there. Sometimes it is a bit vague, sometimes it feels stronger.

I can’t help but think how powerful these kinds of notes, like blogs, are for someone. It safeguards a person’s deepest desire until years in the future. It reminds someone of its goals, urging the person for a deep reflection.

This blogpost is another reflection of my blogging journey, written to celebrate the Indonesian Blogger’s Day 2023.

How Far Have I Gone?

My record

Unfortunately, I was not as vigilant as I wished I was. I targeted 4 posts a month, which means 48 blog posts a year. My record? 15 posts a year since October 2022 from this site and another site. Not a number I can be proud of if I would like to call myself a blogger. But these last several months, I really tried my best to make 4 blog posts a month. Wish me luck to keep going.

Blogging Class

I still wish to be able to join more blogging classes. I joined several short webinar series about SEO, but I don’t think it makes any big impact on my way of writing. I can’t directly put it to practice. What I need is something that trains my durability, my grit. Maybe something rigorous that spans at least one month. If you have any blogging class recommendations, please write it down in the comment. I would be very pleased, as well as other readers, I believe.

Competition

Since I resigned from the school, I am trying to take blogging more seriously as a part of my income source. I joined several competitions. I won one, and failed the rest. But, I give myself time to grow, to write better, to do more research.

As I look back to what Kak Jihan Mawaddah said about the 10,000 hour rules, I would need to be consistent and patient. 10,000 hours is a long time. If I spent 2 hours a day writing, I would need approximately 14 years to be a master. If I spend 4 hours a day, I would need about 7 years. But If I don't write everyday, what bad luck I make myself, it will take longer and longer to succeed.

However, I put my high hope in God’s mercy. I hope He would make it faster. I hope in the incoming years, I wish to make blogging a full time job that can sustain my life and my future.

Time Management

Being busy at school used to be my black sheep for not having enough time to write. Being a full time homemaker, however, does not guarantee that I can now write many articles I did not have the time to write. Of course, there is a significant difference in the pressure. However, as I reflect over the last three months, if I didn’t push myself to write, then I would never have completed those four articles each month.

As my Google Calendar has become less occupied than in the days I was still teaching at school, I should have been able to make more time writing. I did sit down and write drafts everyday. But at the end of the month I would only end up with 4 articles in total from the two blogs I managed.

Reading again the sharing summary from Kak Jihan Mawaddah, I found the solution to this problem. What she did was to limit the ‘lifetime’ of a draft. It must not exceed three days. Whatever you have after those three days, you MUST publish it. This way, not only you post more frequently, but also it trains your speed in writing.

A Roadmap for a Blogging Career

One thing I realized after making myself unemployed, I no longer have this clear career path like a normal 9-to-5 job. This can be very dangerous if I lose sight of the goal.

For this reason, I developed my own roadmap as my career path as a blogger.

1. Starting with skill

I would like to begin this professionally. There are many skills I need to learn and upgrade. As a blogger, you need to be able to write very well and quickly. You also need to understand SEO and web building. You need to know how to design infographics or take product picture. You need to make sure that your article is 100% worth-reading.

2. Building reader community

I would like to share my knowledge to as much reader as I could. I would learned how to optimize social media and develop reader community. When readers are discussing a topic to each other, I think the topic can become very deep. I don't want knowledge to flow only from writer to readers, but I want a greater discussion table between readers to writers and readers to readers.

3. Earning from different channels

My goal is to reach financial freedom before the age of 40. I doesn't mean I won't be working after that. Just that I will not be worrying about money after that age. Starting from that age, I can focus more on family, worship, and making social impact.

4. Giving impact to others

I am always fascinated by the people who can give great positive impact to others. How they can open employment opportunities for people, give scholarships to students, give trainings to people, etc. I want to be like those people. I don't want to go to the Hereafter empty handed without bringing any good deeds.

This roadmap is only my wish, my prayer. I am certain God will give me either this or something better. See you again, if God permits, in the National Bloggers Day 2024 post. We will give you some updates.

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