Sometimes, life moves in waves—an ebb and flow of emotions, changes, and creative energy. September and October have been just that for me: a phase of shifting tides, from the comfort of routines to the chaos of transitions.
This was a good chaos though because I decided to move out of my comfortable city life and start living the dream life- learning new skills/arts from new places. In fact, that’s the core of Piqued Pilgrim ideology, a curious journey.
Even transitions like this are difficult but I hoped to keep the creativity flowing. Here’s what it looked like, and how I navigated through the guilt, overwhelm, and small wins that defined this season.
September
Birthday month! A month when big changes inevitably happen because I get the itch to make them. But big changes disrupt life and routine.
September 1 – Blog Day
The month began with a sense of accomplishment as I posted the Diary of a Creator: August 2024 blog. Looking back at my journey through stats, images, and words was a powerful reminder of resilience. Even with my down days, I had managed to show up. That joy, however, was short-lived as the blog drained my energy, leaving no room for creating reels.
September 2, Monday – First time pitching
The newsletter for this week just came to me when I was putting the clothes to dry and I wrote it down immediately. PMS started to hit, so I felt quite tired after that, so I took an unusually long nap.
But I was able to get up with some motivation, posted the reel collaborating with Tiggle (an amazing hot chocolate brand) on Choosing Joy #6 – Money vs Joy, and then sent my first two collaboration pitches! It was an extremely uncomfortable experience! I’m done for the day.
September 3, Tuesday – A tiny step
I pitched to one more brand (this week’s target is to send 5). Apart from that I spent the entire day on my freelance work.
September 4, Wednesday – A small win & imposter syndrome
The brand I pitched for yesterday, actually agreed to a barter collaboration!!! OMG! That was my first pitching success. But funnily the excitement lasted only for a few seconds, I was hit by a sudden wave of self-doubt and imposter syndrome right after that. The rest of the day went in me trying not to cry because I was feeling too overwhelmed and unsure. These things always hit a little too hard during my PMS.
September 5-10 – The Emotional Break
I took the much-needed long break after 3 months of being consistent. It was a four-in-one break (consistency celebration, long-over-due trip with my brother, periods, and birthday).
Was I feeling relaxed and ready to jump back after that? Absolutely not. The break ended up being an emotional roller coaster as some realities of life hit pretty hard. The details of that are irrelevant here, but it left me very anxious and unsettled. The next one and a half months are going to be hard and full of changes. This means that my content creation goals and targets might suffer a bit and I don’t like that thought.
There were also good things. I got some gifts from my people to help me with content creation! It was so motivating because it meant they could see how serious I was and wanted to support me!
September 11, Wednesday – I just couldn’t
It was high time to bounce back into my creation routine, but I just couldn’t today. I was still very overwhelmed and exhausted. So, I focused the little energy I had on catching up on my freelance work and got myself a massage that I had promised myself as a birthday gift.
September 12, Thursday – Pushing through
Today, I woke up feeling no motivation. But enough was enough. One whole week is a long enough break and I need to build my momentum back again. So, I started with my current favourite medium – Substack. I wrote a newsletter about my break because that’s all I could think about. I didn’t like it that much but I have to get the ball rolling, so I sent it.
Same with the post on Instagram. I created a birthday post, I think it isn’t even coherent. But just so that I’m not stuck, I need to put something out. Both these pieces came from intentional work, I just didn’t try to make it better or perfect. I wrote out my heart and hit publish. Just no edits.
Proud of myself for doing that.
September 13, Friday – Out of touch
I think it’s been two full weeks since I got in front of a camera and I feel so out of it. I found a zillion reasons today to not film a reel. I just couldn’t! I did write a couple of scripts though.
September 14, Saturday – Breaking the inertia
I dragged myself to the nearby Starbucks. I wanted to make a reel out of one of my favourite ways of self-motivation and support – Open When letters. But I know it will look terrible if I shoot the video indoors. Hence, Starbucks. I felt so anxious as I was walking there. The idea of filming myself in public, omg!
Once I started doing the activity though i.e. writing these letters, I started feeling a sense of calmness and shot a few clips enough for a reel. I call this a win!
September 15, Sunday – Momentum
- A rough blog
- Outline for the next two newsletters
- Edited the Open When Letters reel
That’s a good day!
September 16, Monday – A new plan
Now that my 12-week action plan has come to an end, I was wondering what kind of plan I should set for myself. Considering that my life is going to be in a transition phase (moving out of my home, festivals, family time, friends, etc), I thought I needed something more fun than strict. So, I came up with something different.
And I started of damn well too.
- Posted a reel about Open When Letters
- Posted a blog – Harnessing Positive Words for Self-Love and Motivation – My Rituals
- Posted a note on Substack
I also scheduled a newsletter on “Word Rituals: How I Stay Sane and Joyful“ to go out on the coming Thursday.
(Spoiler alert – It didn’t help. The motivation faded as soon as the reality of moving out hit me)
Moving Out
Moving out was as hard as I expected it to be. A total emotional roller coaster. Leaving a home of one and half years and everything that came with it was not easy and I had no energy or motivation to create anything. I didn’t even bother to take account of the stats of that month.
October
October 1-6 – Settling In
October began with the hustle of moving to Chennai and setting up for Golu. It left little time for creativity. After a few days off for my monthly period, I crafted a new 12-week plan to regain control amidst the chaos.
To start off, I did manage to write a script and record it today. I hope I edit it and post it tomorrow.
October 7, Monday
Work and family time took all of my day. But today, I pushed myself in the last two hours of the day, the peaceful hours between 10 pm and 12.30 am. I managed to only edit the reel that should’ve actually been published today! Then I also managed to write a note for Substack. Not bad!
October 8, Tuesday
Today was brilliant! I was super productive and managed to post a reel – Choosing Joy #7, write notes, and even engage a little in Substack. Instagram, as expected, couldn’t care less. My reach in both stories and posts has completely gone down, but it doesn’t bother me. What bothers me a little is that I didn’t really like the quality of my content, the video, and the audio. But this is good because I want to work on it.
October 9, Wednesday
I spent the entire day talking and not feeling like doing anything! But I buckled up on the last hour of the day –
- Substack note
- A small bit for my creative project
- Post for tomorrow’s Instagram
October 10, Thursday
I sent the newsletter today and shared a note on Substack today. I rather like the newsletter I sent today – Loudest when I’m alone: Can we hear ourselves amidst all the noise?
I also shared a post about ‘What makes a home?’ and love this piece too. Not bad, right?
October 11, Friday
Managed to share a note. That’s all.
October 12 and 13 – Weekend off
Or weekend stressed. I had to recognise that I would barely have any time to create this month. If I continue to try to create pieces like before on Instagram, it’s just not gonna work. So, I need a new strategy…
I also need to stop working on my passion project for now. There is simply no time.
October 14, Monday – Trying something new
I spent time and created a strategy for myself, one that allows me to create content without spending too much time on every single piece. But I have to admit the first piece I created with this direction isn’t something I really like. It’s a start though, I suppose.
I also shared a note on Substack.
October 17, Thursday
Newsletter day! I rather love what I have created today. It’s probably one of my best pieces – The law class that changed everything.
And then I fell off the wagon again. Family commitment and preparing for the adventure ahead left me with no time to create anything at all!
A Season of Emotional Turbulence
These two months were a reflection of the messiness of transitions—from living in one place to embracing a new adventure. The emotional turbulence often left me feeling guilty for not showing up as I had before. But through this phase, I’ve realized that guilt is an unkind measure of progress.
Yes, the content wasn’t perfect, and yes, I often felt lost. But I also found clarity in chaos—a reminder that creativity, like life, thrives not in perfection but in persistence.
Here’s to leaning into the messiness of transitions and trusting that every small step counts.
