Stumble and breakthroughs that went into making this issue.

The New Maturity is all about ways to be kind to yourself. Here are some road blocks I faced while putting this issue together. Sometimes I have a solve. Otherwise, I need advice from you as to how you’d navigate. Ultimately I want to pull the curtain back and show some of the things I struggled with. My hope is that it might inspire you to share with someone the stuff you struggle with. These problems are small and tiny speed bumps I experience. They slow me down, but they don’t stop me from making this magazine. 

Mailchimp shut me down. 

I did a mailing that got a 10% unsubscribe rate. Ouch. I try not to take these things personally. When I get an unsubscribe notice, I just figure, oh well, they are not New Maturity readers. But when Mailchimp shut down my account, it knocked the wind out of my sails. What to do? Feel sorry for myself for a few days, dust myself off, and figure out a plan. Mailchimp did send some helpful instructions for what to do. It wasn’t that hard to resolve. It just … sucked and was the last thing I wanted to spend time on. Lesson: I get knocked down, but I get up again. I’ve done it in so many other areas of my life. Why should something as silly as a mailing list slow me down? 

My engagement of New Maturity pics on Instagram is lower than my other pics. 

Comparison is the thief of joy. Did Roosevelt say this? I’ll have to get back to you on that. Point being, you can’t compare yourself to others or even how one post performed vs. another. I remind myself to stay true to my vision of what The New Maturity is all about. Luckily my ideas do not need to be compromised or watered down. That happens enough at my day job. Lesson: Post more pics of me smiling holding a baby. Just kidding! I’m constantly tweaking what and when I post. The pics and content are my vision and nobody else’s. That is exciting to me!

I’m taking a Google Analytics class. 

Sigh … I was holding off on installing Google Analytics on my site. I did not want to be swayed by what “performed” well. This whole project is kind of in beta mode. Meaning I’m just enjoying this whole process, from planning, writing, and researching, to executing and delivering an issue. But then I came across this nugget from Brené Brown, “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.” Which made a ton of sense. So I got analytics up and running, but parsing the data was overwhelming. Enter a free class from Google about how to make the most of your analytics. It might not be the most creative part of running this magazine, but it is fun to nerd out on my bounce rate or how people are finding this. 

Still with me? This one is kind of major and keeps me up at night. I have an idea for a book. Yeah, I was saving this one. I don’t like to talk about creative projects that much until there is some kind of tangible form. I’ve mentally started to come up with an outline. Now it’s just a matter of making the time to take the next step. 

These might not sound like breakthroughs, but they are to me.  These are all little steps in sharing more with my friends and family. I can sometimes be a closed-off person. When I see friends, I ask them questions because I want to hear what is going on in their lives. I’m learning to chime back. It’s not easy. But with this story I’m trying to share more and show my struggles. 

So I’m curious: Any lessons you have learned recently? What have you been struggling with? Leave a comment below and let me know how things are going on your dream project.