For some time now, I have been trying to balance a few things, while realizing that the number of balls and their speed is getting out of hand. One hint was when for the Personal Growth section, I almost wrote a post about how important it is for us to give ourselves a break every now and then. Later, I trashed it because it seemed to come from too deep a place and not the usual optimistic writing I endeavor to publish in my corner on the internet. But, gradually I have come to acknowledge some need to back off and tone down this maniacal pace that I have been trying to adhere to. Before I jump the gun or keep going round in circles, let me backtrack.
The role of Elementum Money in my life
Regular readers of the blog might know that when I started this journey, it was a passion project. I was a marketer, who wasn’t sure of what role her work was playing in the larger scheme of things in the world. On the other hand, as I started my own path of financial adulting, it became clear that money is probably the frontier where most adults also lose to emotions choosing to go with the easy way out. Thus began my quest to understand what works better when it comes to money, be it emotionally or rationally, and how I could use it to help people. Born of this quest was the urge to use whatever nascent writing prowess I was told by some well wishers that I possessed, to put the message forth.
Like most of my projects, I started with a vengeance. I was researching, writing, posting and publishing at a break neck speed of three posts a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while at my marketing job with a bank. Within 8 months, I kept going strong and steady, chalking out 100 fairly good quality posts.
But, the strain of those three posts started showing on me. Almost every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would rush out of the house after publishing the post, muttering like the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, “I am late”, “I am late”, “I am late”. After much deliberation, I decided to cut down my pace from 3 to 2 posts a week, Mondays and Fridays. Being someone who is not much into repetition, I realized I could talk only so much about Personal Finance and added another passion of mine to the mix, Personal Growth.
So much has happened in my life after the 100th post thanks to my blog, that I now see Elementum Money as a core inseparable part of my life. I now have a freelance writing side hustle (a term I would have had no clue of without being a part of the Personal Finance blogging community) writing for two wonderful partners. My writing has been acknowledged and complimented on by some amazing accomplished people, which just makes the praise stand out so much more. With the writing discipline that I adopted at Elementum Money, in my head I have finally cemented my identity as a good writer.
Probably the biggest change in my life that Elementum Money has helped me bring is the transition from being a marketer to being an Investment Counsellor or Wealth Specialist for HNI (High Net Worth Individual) clients at a large Indian private bank.
In my quest for self discovery while being a marketer, it was my dream to be able to talk to people and help them make long term beneficial choices when it comes to their money. Becoming a Certified Financial Planner and expressing myself on Elementum Money helped make it a reality.
Then what is wrong?
When you start out by loving something and seeing it as a purpose of your life, it hurts almost physically to start dreading and almost rebelling against the same thing and the self-implicated discipline it requires.
It is a proof of the fact that I have lost some steam in my blogging efforts, that in the last 13 months I have notched up only 82 posts. So, my average posts per month has come down from 12.5 for the first 100 posts in 8 months to 6.31 thereafter in the last 13 months. If you are wondering why the statistical observation, my work life these days pretty much revolves around numbers and then they end up finding a way in other parts of my life, including my writing.
Since the time I have taken over the new role of being an Investment Counsellor, it’s been quite a shift. The joy of meeting and talking to clients and the feeling of making a difference has come at the cost of longer commutes, alternate 6 day work weeks, more physical exertion (I swear I feel older with this job) and tougher logistics in terms of no convenient in-office gym or the option of a quiet space to write in free time.
I have now been battling a dilemma for the past few months. At any time that I felt the frustration of my inability to publish on schedule, I was racked with guilt at not appreciating my good fortune at getting this career shift very few are fortunate to experience. On the other hand, Elementum Money is an independent part of my identity that I have built with quite a bit of effort over the last 21 months. How could I be unfaithful to that?
Finally, I realized that there were two ways this could go down. I could either keep pushing myself to this punishing schedule and end up hating everything I have done with Elementum Money so far. Or, wait for it, I could bring it to a saner schedule of 1 post a week. For new readers to the blog, there is still enough good content to keep them engaged for some time and then they can always swing to the rhythm of one a week. As I discussed this path with my husband and a close friend who has been the biggest champion for Elementum Money among quite a few I have been fortunate to be surrounded by (in the interest of anonymity, you anyway know who you are PM / PG), I knew this was the right call with a long term view. The love would be retained and so would future work on Elementum Money.
Why the rant?
While my monthly views remain pretty low at 2,500 – 3500 considering marketing efforts were the first thing out of the window as a sacrifice to the more time intensive role, I like to believe that my voice is being heard, appreciated and making a difference. Sometimes when things look bleak and you look for a sign, hey presto you do get one.
As I took the decision to tone down on my writing frequency, I noticed that I crossed a milestone of 100 followers on Wordpress. Yes, I did!!
So, this heart felt post here is in an attempt to give a short glimpse into my life and explain to all you wonderful readers the reason for Elementum Money now changing tracks to publishing once a week, alternating between Personal Finance and Personal Growth.
Any thoughts are always welcome. Do let me know in the comments below. Till next week, adios.
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