7 (good) things I discovered that have happened to me after blogging for 5 years

As time goes by, one of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs is, "you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards"; and I say "as time goes by" because I didn't see sense in my case at the time.

I understand what the quote means for others, but I didn't understand it or see its practical application.

That happened to me with the birth of this blog.

At first, I did not know why I wanted a blog, but something in me encouraged me to try and create articles.

So on January 15th, 5 years ago, in a charming hotel in London came out the first post I wrote.

With this coffee and this freshly baked croissant was born in a little hotel on Oxford street the blog yolocalizo.com🥳

That post was the most typical content you can imagine. It was about goals, New Year resolutions, what a horror ... can you imagine a less original topic than that? And in January? Oh my! I'm ashamed to even think about it 😝

Anyways, I decided to give it a chance, I committed to writing articles and see what happens in the future ... and what happened is that after a year and a bit, I started to see the benefits of writing regularly. And 5 years later, I have been able to connect those dots that Steve Jobs mentioned.

So in this palindrome post number 202, I want to give you below the 7 benefits I have found by writing regularly. Here we go!

1.- I have learned to have self-discipline and build habits.

Every Sunday, I put out a new post. Period.

Creating content regularly has taught me to build a habit and teach my lizard (and lazy) brain that I have to write, so unless something unexpected comes up every week, I show up. No matter what. Habit building takes time, it has its up&downs, but in the long run, it's worth it. When I browse my blog and see so much content, I can't help but be thankful that this has happened thanks to having built a habit that has provided me with consistency and resilience in my life.

2.- Clarity of thinking

Facing a blank page every week is a bit dizzying. Writing is not easy; writing clearly even less, and writing in a language that is not your mother tongue often is a nightmare. But with time, I have noticed that I am expressing my ideas better. And I think my English is getting better too! Writing a post helps me think, forces me to clarify my thoughts, and forces me to do research. Besides, you know what they say; try explaining it to someone if you want to get a good handle on a topic. Sometimes Localization concepts are clear in my head, but I struggle to present them clearly and simply. Practicing every week for several years is helping me to clarify the way I think.

3.- Document my life

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will see that my style is not very academic 🤓. I like to tell personal anecdotes and explore the connection of things that happen in my life and connect them to the Localization industry. This means that sometimes when I review or update old posts, I see photos, anecdotes and it's like reliving those moments again. It's like having the benefits of journaling but applied to blogging.

4.- Bounce ideas

The blog has been beneficial to me in gathering feedback on Globalization strategies and Localization processes in general. Not once, not twice, but on several occasions, I have launched ideas through my posts have started interesting threads, comments, and emails that have helped me consider different perspectives. Gathering that feedback has helped me determine if my ideas could work.

5.-Personal branding/Networking opportunities

In the end, whether you like it or not, when you create content for years, there are many opportunities to be in the spotlight. There are many opportunities to interact with the people who read me. All these interactions have allowed me to find my place in the Localization industry, and I have also developed quite an extensive contacts network in the last few years. I've always said that I find (most) people working in our industry to be very nice. And that's why I decided to stay in the industry when about 10 years ago I had the opportunity to change jobs (and industry)... But I chose to stay in the Localization world. I like the culture, the languages, the technology and the people who work in it. And thanks to my blog, I met a lot more people than I did before.

6.-Confront my fears

Creating content and making it public is scary.

What if no one reads my posts, what if my blog readers start trolling me, what if the content I create is not good, not useful, what if they don’t like it, what if I make mistakes, what if I run out of ideas of topics to write about .... What if, what if ..... when you start a blog our imposter syndrome runs rampant. But the fact that I face those fears every week makes my confidence level go up.

7.-Learn new tech skills

Creating my blog has been a boost to my tech skills in general.

I have learned about hosting.

I have learned about SEO.

I have learned about WordPress.

I have learned about social media.

I have learned to create infographics

I have learned to create videos ... thanks to my blog I have learned certain skills that in this global hyperconnected world that we live in are being very useful to me.

Conclusion

Many people ask me if I recommend them to create a blog. I usually ask them the reason.

On many occasions, the topic "to monetize" "to create an extra source of income" usually appears among the reasons to create a blog.

In my list of reasons given above, I have not made any reference to making money with the blog.

Starting a blog with the hope of making a living from it can put a lot of pressure on any blogger.

Monetizing a blog is arduous.

You may be writing for a whole year and not make much money out of it, and that on the days when you don't feel like writing (which there are, and there are many) is going to be a huge burden.

Fighting with the resistance to create content is difficult. There is a lot of friction to sit down and start writing, but if you do it because you want to make money and this money does not come, then the situation is practically unsustainable.

Now, if any of the benefits I summarized above you think might be useful to you, then yes, then I recommend that you start writing regularly. The adrenaline rush that comes from getting ideas out of your head and into articles is well worth it.

See you next week! and, should I write the next "blogging lessons learned" when I reach post number 505? 😅

@yolocalizo