Here’s Why I Stopped Checking My Article Views Twice A Day
So here’s my Medium story.
I found Medium at a time when I went on a social media cleanse thanks to Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism book. Newport encouraged his readers to limit the sources of information using the internet. Fewer websites to look at, less data consumed — that’s one of his working philosophies.
After a quick research online, I decided on using Google News, Mix, and Medium as my top 3 sources of new information every morning. 2 articles each site, max.
Medium impressed me with the quality of articles on it. I found myself opening Medium even during the afternoon and before going to bed using the app and I don’t have many apps on my phone. No Facebook, Instagram nor Twitter.
As a free user, I couldn’t read all the juicy articles I wanted to read so I subscribed. The other subscription I have is Spotify. No Netflix, no cable TV, no television.
No regrets so far.
A few hours more and I found out that I can write (yey), publish my work and get paid.
A few days after, I read articles by Tim Denning and Tom Kuegler (who was in my country, Philippines, for 6 months. Whuuttt?) about making thousands of dollars on a single article. I wanted my first $10,000 from one article.
I published my first article in November and am now a writer for PS I Love You, Live Your Life on Purpose and The Ascent. I’m happy about this but I still want my first $10,000.
Here are my earnings so far:
The crickets have blessed my page, and they came with the sound of rain.
Is that frustrating? I believe so. Am I devastated? No, far from it.
Does it make me want to stop writing for Medium and other publications? Sometimes.
The monsters in my head are telling me that my first $6 is what I get for not being good enough, that my articles are not worth any reader’s attention. That the people I want to talk to — my audience — is not picking up my messages and that I’ll never earn my way up to even $1,000.
The better part of me — the one that loves Taylor Swift and self-development— is saying to me that I just need to work on my writing skills. That I need to stop whining. That I shouldn’t obsess about views and reads and what I have ‘earned’ in my first 2 months. That articles written by top writers shouldn’t be envied, but instead, plant inspiration. That I should study, strategize and write. That I or my circumstances will never be perfect but I should keep writing.
Because writing is healing. It gives space. It takes away limits and boundaries. And crossing to the other side of this island will require me to row my little boat and never stop until I get there.
I commit to continue writing for the next 12 months and see how that changes my perspective. I’ll consider myself lucky if it changes my income.
I know that no matter how much I earn from views and reads, writing will bring me a step closer to a rich life — a life that no amount of money can buy.
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Odyssa is a writer, Ashtanga yoga practitioner, and a remote worker. Follow her tweets here. Subscribe to her weekly letters to hear her thoughts on Ashtanga yoga, shifting from the office desk to remote work, writing (of course) plus bits and pieces of her personal life.
