5 Reasons Why You Should Start Blogging

At the end of 2020, I decided to quit my job and backpack for the next 6 months on a journey towards self-discovery. Fast-forward to April 2020, I had to stop traveling and go back home due to the second wave of the pandemic in India. The journey had changed me a lot and I decided to make small changes in my daily routine for a fulfilled life with happiness and financial freedom. Among the daily habits which I decided to follow, reading was one of them.

I have always loved reading but somewhere in the past few years, I had lost the habit of reading. I decided to take up 52 books in 52 weeks challenge in 2021 and was in constant search of finding books to read. That's when I stumbled upon the book, ''Show your Work!' by Austin Kleon, shared by the productivity Youtuber Ali Abdaal whom I have been following for a while.

I read the book and was surprised by the gist of it. I could connect a lot with the ideas mentioned. In the book, Austin describes your work as a never-ending process and how you can build an audience around it with more goal-accountability. The idea struck me so well that I decided to document my personal transformation journey through this blog. I have summarized the 5 reasons which eventually led me to start this blog below.

1. Goal Accountability

Putting your ideas or projects into the public makes you more accountable than having a mental note. As the famous scientist Richard Feynman said, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." Having my projects or goals documented in a blog makes me more accountable than it is in my head. I no longer can procrastinate or forget about my goals as I'm now accountable to my readers.

2. Documenting Life

I no longer remember the books I have read or the projects I have worked on in the past. I do not have any notes or photos of those. Blogging actually helps me to document my journey of life and later I can even reflect on myself to see the areas where I can improve upon. In fact, the early days of blogging were indeed to document your life and write about the happenings in everyday life.

3. Writing as a Skill

I have always struggled to write. I remember my Post-Graduate days when I used to struggle writing my 3000 words assignments. Blogging can improve your writing skills and it changes your perception. It also improves your skill of conveying thoughts or ideas into words. Writing is one skill that I aim to improve by the end of this year.

4. Building a Community

One of my dreams is to build a community of people with whom I share the same values and perceptions of life. The ideal community would work on the solutions for the sustainability of this planet. Through this blog, I can connect with people who are like-minded and share similar interests (My current interests are mentioned on this page). The '10+1 Things' newsletter which I publish on Substack is actually my first step towards it.

5. One Step towards Financial Freedom

Like many people, achieving financial freedom is one of the goals in my life. This blog would be one of the first steps towards it. . I plan to document some projects which I have been working for a while on this blog. Once the audience grows, blogging will help me to increase the reach of those projects. I also use some affiliate networks, especially Amazon on this blog for passive income.

Goals for blogging in 2021

I'm targeting to have a traffic of 5000 visitors per month for my blog by the end of 2021. I also aim to grow my '10+1 things' Newsletter by 1000 subscribers and my Twitter/Instagram followers by 1000 followers.

Previously published at https://rishikeshs.com/5-reasons-why-i-decided-to-start-a-blog/