A Week of Failures

Last week, just like a couple before it, returned zero results for my content creation efforts.

I released a couple of videos, one for each of my YouTube channels, and dropped a few articles on Medium. The videos are still on zero views (they were released about 15 hours ago at the time of writing this) and the Medium articles, about 6 of them, fetched about 3-4 reads.

This is one of the most challenging things about being a growing creator. The funny part is, I am perfectly aware that this process is slow and will take time. There are multiple variables here — script quality, topic demand, and more — and it takes time for all of them to fall in place.

However, when you are in the shoes of a driven content creator with ambitious goals (that might seem delusional to others), it’s hard to do. I am going full throttle for each piece I release, video or article, and it sucks knowing I still have a lot to learn.

The Lessons from Failures

It is quite evident that I am not producing content that people like. Although various aspects of my creative process have become more efficient, it’s still not good enough. Harsh as it may sound, I have to take it on the chin and adapt wisely.

Moreover, most creators or content entrepreneurs (which is what I want to be) go through something quite similar. It is a hard grind that gives results slowly. It’s lonely and intimidating because you are pushing every day without getting any conclusive sign of success.

Anyway, there are plenty of areas of improvement and lessons here.

First of all, it doesn’t matter if a content piece flops. There’s always the next one. Sometimes, certain topics just don’t perform. There are also phases when you don’t get any views or reads (in the case of articles) for weeks in a row.

It could happen even if you publish quality content. I have to see these losses from this perspective. 

There will be many moments in life when you will fail to win, even if you have done everything you need to and rightfully deserve to. That loss doesn’t mean that you are inadequate or being conspired against. It just means that life is like that sometimes.

You have to turn the page and keep going.

And secondly, I believe my work-life balance is getting a bit messed up. Social obligations in recent days with the pressure to deliver content every day is hard. Additionally, I think the workload has increased slightly for whatever reason.

Luckily, I invested in my physical and mental health early in my career. Consequently, I can breeze through the days that involve adequate work in both spheres. The only recent variables are the social obligations due to the marriage season.

So, I guess, this is a temporary phase and I just need to hang on for the next few weeks. After this wave of traveling and trading smiles, things should get a bit more stable. Unfortunately, this affects my plan for the winter arc.

Looking forward: Recover and Maximize

Same as always.

The past few days of eating dinner at parties for different occasions, pushing hard to meet unrealistic deadlines, and dealing with an absolute dud of a week hurt my psyche. 

The current strategy is to rest the mind, fight the mental demons to prevent the potential fallout, and bounce back. It is difficult to see forward with an unclear mind anyway.

Finally, I need to do this more often. Probably more than anything else. It’s been way too long since I penned down my thoughts and for a good reason. Glad to see that I kept the promise.

Until next time,

Tara