Blogging my life changed my story; it can change yours too
Who would’ve thought that one impulse decision would lead to something beautiful?
That writing blog posts would be a good idea, and that it would change someone’s story.
Certainly not me, until I started blogging my life.
I didn’t realise how much it would change me, my lifestyle and even the people around me.
Would you believe that sharing your personal life experiences can change your life in big ways you never expected?
That’s true…
Well, at least for me.
I never thought that documenting my personal experiences would help me become more focused, and intentional in almost everything I do.
Blogging can turn your intentional living into a journey of discovering about yourself more, growing as a person, and finding creativity you thought you never had.
Keep reading, because there’s so much learnings and insights here.
And…
You don’t have to be a blogger to implement those learnings.
Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire you to find your own passion, and even make some extra cash along the way.
A quick disclosure, before you continue.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains Affiliate links which means I earn commissions at no cost to you, if you use those links to make purchases. See Full Disclaimer here
The genesis of blogging my life
Blogging my life started when I was casually chatting with a dear friend in 2020.
As always, our casual chat turned into serious topics such as life goals, home management, and parenting.
I’ve always been obsessed with managing households, organising, and being a dedicated mumma and wife.
My kids are my greatest teachers, and I learned by sharing with them what I know about productivity and money mindfulness.
So now, I have a 14-year-old who’s sometimes more productive than me and an 8-year-old who’s super creative.
Anyways…
Out of the blue, my dear friend asked if I would consider setting up my own blog.
My first thought was, N-o-p-e.
I could not possibly create a website – I’m not a tech person, I even struggle to operate a TV remote control.
Yes, I love reading blogs, and that is one thing. But having my own blog is totally a different ball game.
Besides, I’ve always been an analog person.
Side note: This is why I’ve been using Bullet Journal since 2015. I made my own system on how to get tasks done and complete different projects. Then it became a hybrid system when I discovered Notion in 2019.
The decision to blog
I moved on from that conversation, and then, I spoke with my Japanese bestie. She was more excited than me when I mentioned about the blog idea.
Because it would be easier for her to just read my blog posts when she wanted the tips or ideas instead of going through my messages. And suddenly the distance from Australia and Japan wouldn’t matter with us anymore.
My decision to blog was an impulse decision.
Right after chatting with my 2 closest friends, I bought a domain and hosting the next day.
I didn’t know anything about blogging, but the idea of learning new skills made me excited.
Plus, I love writing. Writing love letters is one of my favourite things to do in real life. So I got the writing part already. I could figure out the rest.
And so, in the first week of September 2020. I started my own blog.
My intention was to experiment if my life would improve by documenting my life experiences every week.
I wanted to find peace between chaos and order. Yeah, this thing really exists. There can be an order amidst the chaos.
I was organised in most areas of my life but I could feel the chaos within.
Not sleeping well. Always busy but got nothing to show for it in the end. I was constantly busy but unhappy.
Even though it looked like I had everything together, deep inside I was a big mess. My head was restless and I was stressed. Probably burn out but I didn’t even know it.
I wanted something better.
And so I thought, maybe some intentionality could do some magic.
Being an amateur blogger
Like other new bloggers, I started with zero knowledge about blogging.
In the beginning, there were more challenges than breakthroughs. I made a lot of wrong decisions. Lots and lots of sleepless nights (working through the nights).
Learning and building a WordPress website at the same time was so stressful.
Imagine that awful feeling of spending 2 nights (with little sleep) building a blog, only to crash it after one day.
This happened not just once.
It happened twice.
I wish Blogging without fear was around when I started Blogging. Find more about this course here and get 35% off using my link. Use the special code: INTENTIONALWP
And for some reason, no matter how stressful it was, quitting never crossed my mind. I’m so grateful for the growth mindset I always have.
I started the blog project and I wanted to finish it.
In the first 3 weeks, I’ve spent so much money already, so I thought: “this blogging thing better work”.
So I pushed and pushed and pushed.
I’m incredibly grateful I have a supportive husband and wonderful kids. They were only 11 and 5 years old at that time, and both understood how important it was for me to make this “new thing” work.
It didn’t take long until it became a team project. The husband helped by taking the kids out on weekends, and the kids helped by doing their best to be self-sufficient while I was head down with blog tasks after my day job.
I made some sacrifices too. For several months, I stopped going out on weekends except to see in-laws.
I only focused on a few things.
- My core family (husband and kids)
- The blog.
- And my day job
The blogging benefits
Fast forward to this time ( 3+ years), I’m in so much better space now.
The blog has improved my mental health, boosted my productivity, and it pushed my self-confidence.
Blogging is a lot of work, but it made me realised that I am capable of making things happen.
That I have something I can offer to the world. I have found my unique voice and I can also write for both humans and search engines.
Most importantly, I became a better wife and mum and a better human being.
And that’s because I am intentional now.
All my life, I’ve always wanted to nurture 3 pillars of my being. Money, Productivity, and Lifestyle. I’ve got the money side before the blog, but intentional productivity and intentional lifestyle – they were both non existent.
Because of the blog, I’ve got these 3 pillars nurtured. Collectively, they have become the core of my version of intentional living.
Blogging and intentional living
Choosing an intentional living lifestyle doesn’t make me a perfect person. It doesn’t help me keep it together at all times (I drop the balls occasionally). I still make a lot of mistakes and make wrong decisions.
And it certainly doesn’t make me better than anyone else.
But it made me find peace between chaos and order. Life is still not perfect and I don’t want it to be, but I’m certainly happier.
Every day is a new experience.
I set an intention, do my best to align my thoughts and actions with that intention, and end the day with contentment, regardless of how the day turned out.
Happy and grateful for what I have…
- people in my life
- material things I enjoy
- money in the bank
- knowledge that only keeps growing
And do you know the best part?
I get to share my experience, learnings and insights about intentional living with someone like you.
I’m probably just one or two steps ahead of you if you’re a new(ish blogger), but I think it still serves my purpose.
The purpose of helping someone who’s one or two steps behind me.
If you’re a new(ish) blogger
If you’re a new or new(ish) blogger, I want you to know that it will get better.
The early days are uncomfortable and painful even. You may be feeling you’re working forever but not getting anything out of it. (I still feel that sometimes.)
But hang in there.
There will always be a lot to do, and a lot to learn.
Whenever you feel frustrated, pause and give yourself a break, then continue.
Blogging about my life really changed how I experience each day. It made me think more about the little things and enjoy small moments more.
Writing about life challenges helped me deal with them instead of ignoring them.
Also, celebrating even the smallest successes made me feel really good. My blog helped me stay focused and live my life with more purpose.
You’ve got as far at this point. I would love for you to continue, because the blogging lessons I’m going to share are not only for bloggers, they can also help you immensely even if you’re not a blogger.
If you’re a blogger, here are some resources that will help you:
- How to grow an idea Garden
- Ultimate WordPress Dashboard Cheat Sheet
- Email List Secrets: 9 Ways to add Value
- Email Swipes
- Mini Course: Freebies that Sell
- How to write a Blog Post that Rank
Beyond blogging: intentional living behind the keyboard
While I won’t be sharing with you my whole life story or my life journey before blogging my life, I think you’re still going to get a lot from this collection of blogging lessons.
I hope that by sharing them with you, I’m able to inspire you to implement what you’ll discover and improve your life too, even in the smallest way possible.
My website started as a personal blog and as I grow and reach a wider audience, it’s becoming more than just a personal blog.
It’s evolving into a platform for empowerment and growth. With each post, I strive to share insights, lessons, and experiences that resonate with both bloggers and non-bloggers.
Through this journey, I’ve come to realise the power of community, connection, and collective learning.
So as you go through the list, absorb the knowledge from where you are – as. blogger or a non-blogger.
This is the list of blogging lessons that improved my life. If you’re not a blogger they’ll help you too.
- Invest in Essentials
- Be Consistent
- Embrace Growth and Learning
- Be selective with People you Engage with
- Celebrate Small Wins
Invest in Essentials
Blogging my life helped me appreciate the value of investing in essentials.
This is not only a blogging lesson but also a lesson in everyday life.
Investing in essentials is a core foundation of a fulfilling and meaningful life. This could be good health, education, relationships and whatever else that truly matters to you.
As for blogging, you need to invest in essentials too. Getting them right the first time has a big impact on your blogging journey.
Here are my top 3 top blogging essentials, especially at the beginning stage of blogging.
- An excellent hosting company such as Lyrical Host
- Legal Statements for your blog and your digital products such as the Contract Club
- A reliable free platform such as WordPress. I’m not so sure about Squarespace though. Medium is another platform, I haven’t used but I’m planning to at one point.
With hosting, I didn’t get it right the first time.
I signed up for popular recommendations of some successful bloggers. I wouldn’t say the name of the hosting in here because I don’t want anyone to have the horrible experience I had with them.
Now that I’m with Lyrical Host, which is a million times better than the first one, I’m happy. They’re so good sometimes I feel I don’t pay them enough.
As for the blog legal statement, I wouldn’t say it was a mistake but I could’ve been wiser. I paid more than 15 times for legal statement templates before I discovered the Contract Club. Oh well, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
With the platform, I was lucky enough to start a WordPress blog. I never had to switch because I liked it so, I saved money, time and energy there.
Be consistent
Looking at my own life, before blogging and now, as I write this post, I’m realising how important it is to be consistent in life.
Blogging improved my life because it helped me become consistent with my habits and routines.
I’ve made consistency as part of my daily life.
I write every day (well, almost every day) and I review my week every Friday.
Not every day is a good day, but showing up consistently in my blog is a big part of my blogging success. Blogging isn’t giving me a full-time income yet, but the non-monetary benefits are amazing.
- blogging as a creative outlet
- meaningful relationships with fellow bloggers
- meeting my personal and blogging goals through blogging. And I’ve reached a lot of personal goals already particularly self-care, by doing the 12 Week Year.
So the lesson here, whether you’re a blogger or not is this: Keep showing up for your goals.
Show up consistently.
Even when you don’t feel like it.
Do a little bit every day that will move you closer to your goals.
Blogging is hard work but it’s a great way to keep your mind sharp and engaged.
Through the process of researching, writing, and expressing your thoughts, you’re constantly stimulating your brain and expanding your knowledge base.
The more you share what you learn, the better you learn. The Protege Effect explains why. As Seneca said, ” While we teach, we learn”.
So if you haven’t focused yet on consistency, today is the best time to start.
If you can’t blog full-time, then do it part-time.
And you don’t have to blog really. Think of something else you’ve always wanted to complete.
Start your day one now and be consistent from here on. You’ll get there and complete that thing.
Ideas that’ll help you stay consistent
- Have a Mentor or a Coach: I’ve got the best: Dr. Fran Whitaker
- Create a Weekly Planning Routine
- Have an Accountability Partner: I’ve got an awesome one – Lindsay
Embrace growth and learning
When it comes to growth and learning. I learned a few things through blogging.
To grow you have to learn. And to learn, sometimes you have to make mistakes first. These mistakes are your stepping stones to reach your next milestones.
The first step for growth is to embrace discomfort.
I know it doesn’t sound fun but I promise you, the discomfort is only temporary. You just need to be open to new experiences and challenges.
From 3 years of blogging, I learned to embrace the discomfort of learning something new, especially the technical side of blogging.
I learned how to use tools and software that seemed too daunting and intimidating like Notion.
Now that I know Notion well, I have an organised Home Management Space in Notion as well as a Business Space.
Having spaces or containers like these helps me manage my life and business better.
The best part?
They don’t have to compete against each other. I treat them as an extension of each other.
I also learned that you do not need to learn everything at the same time.
As you go through different seasons of your life, what’s required in each season is different from each other.
You can learn from online courses but don’t discount the value of learning through your connection to a lot of people who share the same values as yours.
Being selective of the people I follow
Ahhh!
This part is going to be…
A little touchy.
Even in the early days, I’ve always been selective with the people I follow or engaged with.
Not to be a snub but to avoid confusion.
People think differently and their teachings are different from each other.
Naturally, I only want to follow or engage with people I like to learn from and it’s always based on what and how they teach. Bonus if they have awesomeness in them.
That way, I don’t need to manage conflicting teachings.
There are a lot of wonderful lifestyle bloggers, content creators and mentors out there.
And at the moment I have 5 beautiful people on the top of my list. I discovered most of them in my second year of blogging and I’m so grateful for them.
My top favourites
- Dr Fran Whitaker- creator of The Happy Journals PLR Club
- Jenni Brown – co-founder of Lyrical Host
- Cindy Bidar- creator of the Six Figure Systems and Tiny Course Planning Workshop
- Christina Peterson – creator of Passive Income Journeys
And of course, there’s always one or two (or more) who take a spacial space in my blogging life. Being with like-minded people has a huge impact not just with blogging but in life in general.
I’ve grown closer to Lindsay Kelly and I’m incredibly grateful for her friendship. If you’re a blogger or a business owner you need her. Look at the Workflows and SOPs she created. This a must if you want to optimise your business and save time, energy and money.
One of the good things about joining a community is meeting somebody who you clicked with. It’s a great opportunity to be connected.
Blogging can often feel isolating because not everyone understands the nuances of the online world. But having Lindsay to chat with, exchange blogging tips, and share a laugh with, has been an invaluable source of support. She’s my accountability partner in Passive Income Adventure and connecting with her just makes things better and more fun.
Celebrating the small wins
I’m including this because it’s important for maintaining motivation and momentum.
It’s easy to get bogged down by big goals, so recognising the little wins along the way keeps you going.
Started a new task?
Completed one small task?
Celebrate it.
Take a moment to soak in that sense of achievement.
Completing even the smallest task or step is a big deal. Because each task you do today is one step closer to completing your project. (A project or set of projects help you reach your goals).
Wrapping it up
I hope there’s at least one lesson that resonated with you – doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger or not.
So, what would you implement?
is it investing in essentials?
Being consistent?
Or being selective with people you engage with?
Whatever choice you make is the best choice.
And before you go, if you haven’t already, have a look at the freebies here. One or more of them can help you prioritise the essentials in your life, be consistent and celebrate small wins.
