When you are in a rut or a low mood, your mind goes into overtime. You look at every aspect of life and start to dissect it, and then think “Why bother?”.
As I said back in March, this low mood is not “Fucked up Mike” making a reappearance. Yet! It’s just everyday life throwing a few curve balls my way. And I am just tired of trying to bat them back.
So, bit by bit, I am making changes to my life to see if they make a difference. Last month, I implemented changes to help with my professional development. As that has been going through a “Why bother?” moment for a while!
Now, I am looking at a few hobbies that I have, and I am thinking “Why bother?”, and whether it is time to bring them to an end!
The first that I am looking at is my photo-a-day project!
Photo-a-day Project
I started the ‘Today is All About‘ project in 2011, which is basically a photo diary. I’ve enjoyed doing it, but at times it feels like a chore.
And recently, I’ve felt the whole thing has become stale, repetitive and boring! This is what happens when you don’t go out anymore!
This project has had a few “why bother?” moments throughout its time, and I generally make updates to reflect that, but this just feels different!
Life has changed
I joke about not going out anymore, but that’s part of the issue now, isn’t it? If I don’t have anything to share, then why bother?
The fact is, my life is work, gym and home. I’m not angry about that. But there are only so many sweaty selfies, sofa pics or photos of the cats you can take!
If the plan was to sell an idyllic life, then I am not really succeeding at that.
Maybe there can be some change here, and not live so much like a hermit. So maybe getting out and about occasionally, even on my own, won’t hurt!
Sometimes I feel awkward
Believe it or not, I’m not as confident as people think I am. I am quite introverted, so I do get extremely self-conscious in certain scenarios.
I think my friends have probably noticed it more since I haven’t been drinking. “Drunk Mike” was the confident one out of the both of us!
So the thought of getting my phone out and taking a few snaps can make me quite nervous, so at times I don’t. This makes the whole photo diary thing a bit obsolete!
Interestingly, this has become more of an issue now, than it has been over the last 13 years! Comfort zones change.
So I need the confidence to push those boundaries again.
Engagement
However, is there any fucking point?
The main social platform where these are posted is Instagram. Then I collate them together in a monthly overview that I post here. And the fact is engagement is down!
There can be several reasons why this could be the case.
Algorithm changes
Instagram has changed its algorithms, which means the reach isn’t reaching!
I am seeing the issue on both of my Instagram accounts. Plus additional people are complaining about it too, so I know it isn’t just a me thing.
The company have said they haven’t made any changes to the algorithm, but in the same breath, they are kind of telling us that they have.
I have been struggling to understand what is happening, as the information from Adam Mosseri can be confusing.
Photo posts are a low priority for Instagram now, as they try to compete with TikyTok and concentrate on reels, so that doesn’t help with reach.
Hashtags are still important, but also kind of obsolete. I noticed that when I used them, the reach was less. I thought I was shadowbanned by Instagram at one point!
Reach is prioritised to new followers instead of current followers. But Adam has also said that when your followers react to your posts, they will push to new followers, which makes no sense to me!
My priority would be to have the people who follow me see the posts, and at the moment that isn’t happening.
Not interested
The main jist is no fucker is interested! That is what it comes to it.
The content I delivered isn’t what people want to see, and that is perfectly acceptable.
I stopped posting all photos to Facebook because I didn’t want to saturate people’s feeds. At least on Instagram, people have the option to specifically follow that account…and to also unfollow it.
While my follower count is low for my account, it’s slowly still increasing, so I must be doing something right, surely?
As I have said previously, I don’t want my photo diary to just be selfie photos, but to show other aspects too. I actually feel quite conscious of posting a selfie there sometimes. I would rather add that to my main account.
I’m aware that I am not always posting thriving content, so why should there be any interaction to that?
I am trying to mix it up a little bit, but I know there are times when I am just at my desk being a boring fucktard, it will be hard.
Thoughts
This has been a baby project that I have been doing for 13 years, so to throw in the towel just seems like a heartbreaking move. And once done, there is no going back!
So, I am going to give myself until the end of the year, to see how it goes. Can I get my mojo back and enjoy the project? Which is the main thing out of all of this.
Any ideas on how to get my mojo back?