Newsletter
So, first of all, a blog update: I finally have a newsletter. After 2 years of blogging, it was about time, right?
Here’s what you can expect if you subscribe:
+ New posts delivered straight to your inbox – with some newsletter-exclusive content. I’ll include a couple of extra resources, useful links, some practical tips or behind-the-scenes stories, all related to that new blog post.
+ Seasonal intentional living guides. For me, new seasons are always about new beginnings. I like taking some time to refresh, reorganize, set new goals, and make new priorities. I’m also constantly looking for ways to lead a more intentional life and be healthier, more mindful, more focused, more sustainable, more compassionate. Every couple of months, I’ll share these seasonal guides – things I focus on, things I currently love, new habits I’m practicing, new areas I’m trying to improve, and practical tips on how to make the most out of each season.
I hope you find this newsletter useful and valuable – as always, I’d love to hear what you think or what you’d like to read about.
You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Books lately
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The 2019 book challenge is on. My main goal this year is to make reading a part of my (currently nonexistent) evening routine. I read a lot on the weekends and reading is an important part of my morning routine, but my evenings are a mess currently. I have some difficulties with staying away from my computer, work, and my side projects and my evenings are currently far from the mindful affairs I’d ideally like them to be. It’s a work in progress.
This year, I won’t share reviews of all the books I read like I did last year (read part I. and part II. of my 2018 book challenge), but I will share the most interesting or fun books I’ve read. Here are a couple of ones I’ve enjoyed lately.
Madeline Miller: Circe
Loved this book. I read a lot of Greek mythology books as a kid, so the setting was familiar, but I still wasn’t prepared for such a creative retelling of the classic myth of Circe, a lesser goddess and a witch who’s probably most known from the story of Odysseus. It’s a very engaging and well-written book, and I don’t think you have to know the story beforehand or be a Greek mythology fan to enjoy it.
Elizabeth Kolbert: The Sixth Extinction
There have been five great die-offs in history so far, the book argues that we’re living in the sixth extinction era, and it’s mostly caused by human activity. It also puts this into historical context, showing how we (very slowly) came to understand the concept of extinction, how the Earth is naturally changing, and how there’s nothing natural about what’s happening now. I found the book incredibly interesting and thought-provoking (and frankly, quite depressing). The science was neatly woven into storytelling, so, apart from some geology terms that are definitely not part of my active English vocabulary, it was quite easy to read as well.
Manal al-Sharif: Daring to Drive
The powerful memoir of a Saudi woman who was one of the leaders of the Women to Drive movement seeking to overturn the ban on women driving. It also provides a look into how Saudi Arabia truly works and what it means to be a woman in that society.
Patti Smith: Just Kids
Another awesome memoir. This time it’s artist, poet, and rock legend, Patti Smith telling the story of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, what art and creativity meant for them, and what it was like being an artist in New York in the late 60s and 70s.
Andi Zeigler: We Were Feminists Once
It’s a great and very enlightening book on how brands, marketing, and ads (aided by pop culture) jumped on the feminist bandwagon, how they hijacked a movement about equality, social justice, and very tangible human rights and repackaged it as basically just another consumer choice. It definitely made me more aware of the problematic nature of marketplace feminism.
Dealing with blogger burnout
I think in the last couple of months I’ve had a slight blogger burnout. After 2 years of creating content once or twice a week, I think it was bound to happen at one point, even if I’m really keeping myself to my slow blogging rules.
It also coincided with my general lack of productivity, so it’s safe to say it wasn’t my best period creatively. As opposed to my productivity issue tough, I didn’t take this to heart.
Sure, it sucks when inspiration seems to abandon you. It sucks when writing is much more difficult, when you struggle with the words, when things that came easily previously, suddenly seem challenging.
I’m a fighter usually. I don’t give up on things. I’m willing to put in the effort, the energy, the time to do what I want.
But sometimes, you just gotta let it go for a while. We just simply cannot beat ourselves up over every single failure or shortcoming. Especially, when it comes to creative things and to hobbies.
Because this blog is ultimately a passion project. It’s not my life, not my job, not my main business. It’s something that’s supposed to be a source of happiness. Happiness because I can create and happiness because I feel I can provide something valuable to others. If you blog for the same reasons, never ever forget this. If you need time, take it. If you need to stop for a while, stop. Don’t let outside pressure take away that happiness. Because ultimately, if your heart is not in it, it’ll show in your work as well.
I think all of us question ourselves sometimes. Why am I doing this? Is it really worth my time? Am I actually creating something good?
I could list a couple of tips I use whenever I feel I’m in a writer’s rut. I could advise you to talk to people, gain inspiration from podcasts, books, blogs, quotes, art, or just everyday life. I could tell you to think about what interests you and write about that or try to find out what problems others may have and offer answers.
These are practical things and most of the time, they work. But if you ever experience a more fundamental burnout, or start having doubts about the whole thing (be it blogging or another hobby or passion project), just ask yourself one fundamental question:
How would you feel if you stopped? Just imagine not doing it anymore. Would you miss it? Can you imagine your life without it?
If you ask this question and you feel sad at the thought of letting it go, you have your answer – it’s definitely worth doing it.
How do you deal with blogger burnout?
