Have you ever spent so much time trying to make your blog perfect that you forgot why you started blogging in the first place?

I think it’s very easy to do.

You start thinking about the perfect layout, the perfect photographs, the perfect blog post, the perfect schedule and the perfect plan for what your blog is going to become.

And before you know it, you’re putting so much pressure on yourself that blogging doesn’t feel quite as much fun anymore.

But here’s the thing.

Your blog doesn’t have to be perfect.

And actually, I think that’s something we could all remind ourselves of from time to time.

The pressure to have the perfect blog

Trying to create the perfect blog is a little bit like trying to have the perfect day.

You can make a plan from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. You can decide exactly what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it and how you’re going to do it.

And then real life happens. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You wake up later than you planned. Something unexpected comes up. You change your mind. Your priorities change. You suddenly don’t feel like doing what you’d planned to do.

Sometimes you might have no choice but to change your plans.

And sometimes you simply think, “Actually, I don’t want to do that today.”

And that’s okay.

In fact, sometimes the days when you don’t follow the plan at all can turn out to be the best days.

So why should blogging be any different?

We can make all the plans we like for our blogs, but that doesn’t mean everything will always go exactly according to them.

And perhaps it doesn’t need to.

Your blog is allowed to change

I think there’s sometimes an idea that once you’ve started a blog, you have to decide exactly what it is and then stick to it forever.

But we’re not the same people we were when we started.

Our interests change.

Our lives change.

Our priorities change.

Things we loved writing about six months ago might not be the things we want to write about now.

And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Your blog is allowed to change as you change.

Maybe you start writing about one subject and discover that you actually enjoy writing about something completely different.

Maybe you try something and realise that you don’t enjoy it at all.

Maybe you decide you don’t want to post as often.

Maybe you want to simplify things.

Or maybe you wake up one morning with a completely different idea and think, “You know what? I want to write about that instead.”

Why shouldn’t you?

It’s your blog.

You don’t have to keep doing something simply because you decided to do it six months ago.

Sometimes you need a plan, and sometimes you don’t

I’m not saying plans are a bad thing.

I actually like having a plan. It can be really useful, especially when you have no idea what you’re going to write about.

But I don’t think a plan should become a rule that you have to follow no matter what.

You can plan to write something on Tuesday and end up writing something completely different on Thursday.

You can have an idea that wasn’t anywhere near your original blogging plan and decide that it’s the thing you really want to write.

You can change your mind.

You can take a break.

You can try something new.

And if it doesn’t work, you can change it again.

Sometimes you need a plan. Sometimes you need to change the plan. And sometimes you just need to go with the flow.

I think that’s true in blogging just as much as it is in everyday life.

Perfectionism can take the fun out of blogging

There’s nothing wrong with caring about your blog.

Of course you want to be proud of what you put out there.

But there is a difference between wanting to do something well and expecting everything to be perfect.

Blogging perfectionism can creep in without you even noticing.

You start rewriting a sentence because it doesn’t sound quite right.

Then you change the photograph.

Then you change the title.

Then you wonder whether the whole post is actually good enough to publish.

And suddenly something that started as a little idea has been sitting in your drafts for weeks.

I’d much rather have an imperfect blog post that I actually publish than a supposedly perfect one that never sees the light of day.

Because what’s the point of having a blog if you’re too worried about making it perfect to actually enjoy it?

Your blog doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s

It’s also very easy to compare yourself with other bloggers.

You see a blog that looks beautiful.

Someone else seems to post constantly.

Someone has a gorgeous photography style.

Someone else seems to have their whole blogging strategy worked out.

And you start wondering whether you’re doing enough.

But their blog is theirs.

Your blog is yours.

There isn’t one correct way to blog.

You don’t have to post as often as somebody else.

You don’t have to write about the same things.

You don’t have to have the same style.

And you certainly don’t have to keep doing something just because it works for another person.

What works for you might look completely different.

And that’s okay.

Maybe going with the flow isn’t such a bad thing

We spend so much time trying to organise our lives.

We make lists.

We make plans.

We organise our weeks.

We try to be productive.

And then we’re surprised when life doesn’t follow the plan.

But sometimes the best things happen when we stop trying quite so hard to control everything.

Maybe blogging can be like that too.

Have an idea? Write it.

Want to change something? Change it.

Don’t fancy writing the post you planned? Write something else.

Want to take a break? Take one.

Want to try something completely different? Give it a go.

You can always change your mind later.

So, does a blog have to be perfect?

No.

It really doesn’t.

Your blog can be a work in progress.

It can change.

It can evolve.

You can change your mind.

You can try things that don’t work.

You can discover things that do work.

You can have a plan one week and completely ignore it the next.

And none of that means you’ve failed.

It means you’re living your life while also having a blog.

I don’t want to spend all my time trying to create the perfect blog.

I’d rather have a blog that feels like me.

A blog that can change as my life changes.

A blog where I can experiment, make mistakes, try something new and occasionally just go with the flow.

Because life isn’t perfect.

Our days aren’t perfect.

Our plans certainly aren’t perfect.

So why should our blogs be?

Maybe the aim isn’t to create the perfect blog.

Maybe the aim is simply to create a blog that you enjoy coming back to.

And if it changes along the way?

That’s okay.

It’s part of blogging.

It’s part of growing.

And really, it’s just part of life. 🤷🏻‍♀️