It’s been a while since I last posted. In fact, It was before Christmas. I had a lot of blog posts planned but I simply couldn’t bring myself to write them. Not because I didn’t have time or because of writer’s block, nope; I just don’t find blogging fun anymore.

Blogging is not what it used to be.

I started my first blog around 10 years ago. It was about fashion and hell, I even made money off of it! I closed it down after a few years because it didn’t reflect me anymore but you know what? Back then, you could post just about anything. Blogging was about sharing the things you enjoy and it was fun. It was the same on Instagram. Today? You can forget the fun.

Numbers, numbers, numbers!

Blogging and posting on social media has become incredibly strategic. You still want to be creative and produce great content but you have to focus on SEO, fighting algorithms and using the right keywords just as much, if not more. And this is just to make sure your content gets seen. As a result most blogs lack authenticity and that includes mine. You want to get personal but not too much. That doesn’t rank well. Instead, we end up writing the same guides and the same informational posts about the same things within our respective niches.

Actually, don’t even get me started on blogging niches.

I can’t count how many times I wanted to write about something I did, saw or learned, but I didn’t because it wasn’t related to sustainability or to veganism. But like, dude, I moved to Norway 2 years ago and there is so much I could show you! And I have so many hobbies.

It gets frustrating!

Sometimes, when I’m blogging, I’m doing something I would normally do, but it somehow feels fake. It becomes staged. I’m not sure how to explain this but it’s as if I wasn’t really living in the moment. I could be on the most amazing hike or at a super fun party and at some point I would want to snap a photo… not because I want to, but because I have to and then I will start thinking about how the light doesn’t hit well or that the table isn’t pretty enough. Things like that. But why would I even care? That’s how real life is.

Blogging takes a lot of time.

Again, as it is now. Let’s look at how food blogs work. Have you ever wondered why you have to read the entire life story of a food blogger before getting to the actual recipe? It’s because of SEO, they do this so you’re forced to spend more time on their page and it ranks better in search results. Writing such novels takes time. Then they have to take a bunch of pictures… that they stage and edit. Everything has to look professional. On top of that, you can add time spent on self marketing, content strategy, social media and optimisation. It has become a full time job. I already have a full time job so, in my free time, I want to enjoy life… not work more.

I hear you, I’m complaining but nobody forced me to do those things.

Exactly. Nobody is forcing me to blog and I don’t depend on it to make a living. So what’s stopping me from doing what I want? The answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing stops me from adopting a diary-like approach and write from my heart. Things might get random but does it really matter? I’m doing this for fun and I want my blog to reflect who I am. It’s named after me after all!