Some Little Changes Around Here

It's been a couple months since I last reflected about what this blog is going to become.   In the time since then, I've kept my plans and intentions that I laid out for myself.

• Keep my Gratitude Project 2014 going 
• Keep my Happy Tuesday link party going
• Keep visiting lots of different blogs
• Allow my posts to occur naturally out of my daily life, rather than forcing content just for content's sake
• Relax about "marketing" my blog to increase readership

For the most part, I've really enjoyed having this blog.  But I'm feeling a little unsettled about the content that I'm generating.   I'm feeling a little forced, a little unnatural, and so it's not yet a good fit.

First and foremost, I love the Gratitude Project, and will definitely keep it going!  No changes there.

I find that like to show things that I'm doing around the house, but the pressure I'm putting on myself to have great photos is getting in the way of enjoyment of the projects themselves.   Because I still visit a lot of blogs every day, I know what good blog photography is, and what it's not.  Mine is not!  But I've been feeling like it "should" be better than I'm doing.  Should?  Who says?   Well, "they" say your photos "should" be awesome.  But if it's causing stress, it's not a good idea for me.   So Change #1: I'm going to go minimalist on photos from here forward (except for a couple posts I've got in the works where the photos are already ready to go).

The other big thing that's been bothering me is that by allowing myself to not get hyped up about marketing the blog, I've not been able to grow the Happy Tuesday link party like I had originally envisioned.   I've had a few folks who have joined the party each week - Thank You! - but it's not become the gathering place of Happiness that I'd like it to be.   And the commitment to have a post available every Monday night has been more of a "requirement" than I've wanted this blog to be.  So Change #2:   I'm going to cancel the Happy Tuesday Link Party, and replace it with a regular series of posts about happiness on Tuesdays without the link party aspect.   You're still welcome to help me celebrate Happy Tuesdays with me, please do put your happy thoughts in comments!

I've had the pleasure of writing on a few topics that interest me, like my favorite charity and the definition of beauty.  Sometimes I write about my feelings.  And while the statistics don't show these posts to be widely read, they do satisfy an urge within me to share my thoughts.  So Change #3: I'll be writing more reflective pieces.  I hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Thank you all for reading, and sticking with me as I continue to figure out what kind of blogger I am. I truly appreciate every reader! I would love to hear your thoughts on "pressure for content" as a hobbyist blogger.   How do you build readership without feeling forced?   How do you manage your blogging time and topics?  Leave a comment to share your thoughts!