Consistency.
This word has been haunting me for the past few years consistently. Consistency is regarded as the key in the creative world, whether it’s a writer updating their blog, an Instagrammer marketing their business, or a YouTuber trying to build a following. It is absolutely necessary to be consistent in uploading your work, or else you will lose, as I am. The algorithms don’t favor inconsistent behavior. Well, that’s the truth, isn’t it?
But I am a human being, a flawed one. And I believe in being myself. So, changing my working patterns to satisfy an algorithm made by other humans is not something I am good at following.
Productivity, hustle culture, quitting 9 to 5 job, four-hour work week — these are the buzzwords that make my ears, eyes, and soul cringe. All the expert opinions and strategies to optimize productivity to touch the stars, moon and sun only mean playing by the rules set by social media algorithms. Satisfying the algorithms — that’s the ultimate goal.
That is just crazy, in my humble opinion.
I am somebody who loves technology and logic and finds incredible pleasure in coding, but I like letting the human be human.
There are a couple of YouTubers whose content I love watching, but they are not consistent. I love their simplistic content. But they prioritize their lives, instead of focusing on churning out videos consistently and dealing with a burnout. They lead by example, in my opinion. They are mere mortals like you and me, and fearless to be so.
My favorite YouTube Channels:
Simple Happy Zen
Aswathy Vishal (Malayalam)
That’s the kind of people I like having in my life. Realistic, instead of believing in external appearances and struggling to maintain upkeep at the cost of one’s sanity.
True, your absence in the online world is hardly noticeable. But the goal should be such that your presence matters more than your absence. Isn’t that better than finding workarounds to satiate the algorithm?
So I am learning to be okay with my inconsistent behavior because creativity doesn’t listen to the flowchart of algorithm. And when I am consistent, I am doing it for me, not for any algorithm’s blessings.
This piece is written in response to the one hundred and ninety ninth edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the word prompt – CONSISTENCY hosted by yours truly. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.
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Void Thoughts 
It’s very interesting what you’ve wrote. And very true. The most important ideea related to consistency from my perspective is about to discover our inner power and to discover what we like. This could be the fuel for everything else. And to remain simple is also a way for consistency… I like the links you shared…
All the best, Vinitha! Take care and do what you like! ❤️😘
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You know, Suzana, you are one of the consistent bloggers I have interacted with. I admire that. Even more, I admire that you take breaks when you need and you come back and carry on with blogging. In my opinion, that’s a role model behavior. When I think of being consistent, you are my example. ❤️❤️
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Thank you so much for sharing what you think about me. I like to write, and blogging is a way. Your game is a way. I am surprised by myself how a word or an idea triggers so many other connections. It’s like a game in a game… And I like to share what I feel it’s important, even if there are too many metaphors sometimes.
Anyway, thank you again Vinitha. All the best! ❤️😘
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One needs to examine one’s primary reason for creating content. If it’s making money, one would need to bow down to the algorithm because that’s the only way to reach a larger audience. If on the hand the primary reason is to satisfy one’s creativity, while also making meaningful connections along the way, then one can set one’s own goals.
Another thought in support of consistency – it builds excellence through practice. For me, consistency is a goal to strive for.
That said, quality will always trump quantity.
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I agree with all your points, Tulika. I am a fairly consistent writer I would say. But if I had depended on Instagram and YouTube to make my livelihood, I don’t think that would work well for me though. Because, I find it difficult to keep up with these platforms constantly changing algorithm games. It would have driven me into a burnout episode that I could never come back from.
I agree that consistency helps one sharpen their tools and excel at their craft.
When I fall sick, I find it difficult to take a break. Because I have to be consistent. This post was born out of my need to affirm myself that it’s okay to listen to my reality as I was not well last week and couldn’t write and publish according to my plan (although I did publish two or three posts). I wanted to remind myself that although consistency is the key, that’s not the only key. Accepting my reality is important as well. But when we are subjected to the constant narrative of ‘be consistent’, ‘show up’ – we tend misunderstand and lose the real message in there.
While I have you here on the topic of consistency, Tulika, I wanted to tell you that I had read your post on consistency and thought that your strategy of publishing two posts a month was brilliant. Not too many, not too little. Being consistent for ourselves matters. ❤️
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You said it, Vinitha!! I so agree with you a hundred percent, as I am sure so many others would, who also prefer working for themselves rather than satiating the algorithms just to stay in the limelight.
If only everybody understood the importance of working for their happiness and not for pleasing the algorithms, the world would be a peaceful place for millions out there who dream of making it big on the many social platforms.
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Yes, Shilpa. We can’t keep losing our peace and sleep over algorithms and their games. Do what we want to do and find happiness in that. Trying to please algorithm is a never-ending game. I am not good at that. I like doing things in my pace. 🙂
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I keep going to this thought again and again. Consistency adds more stress … atleast in my current phase of life. So I have priortised and let some things go. My accounts are growing stale. Sometimes it might reach a couple of my friends and that’s about it. Can’t let an algorithm dictate life. Honestly, I do crave engagement, but just not ready to be on social media all the time. 😄 Maybe one day when I am old I will post everyday about my grey hair and aging limbs. 😅
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I have found that the social media platforms, despite being consistent, might not always reward you with showing your posts to the people following you. Because I have many times wondered what’s happening to person x, why am I not seeing their posts. When I visit their page I see they were posting consistently and but I was not shown their posts. What’s with that? Then what’s the point in trying to please the algorithm at the expense of your sanity?
It’s a good thing that you are not losing your sleep over all these games, Raj. I, too, love engagement on my posts. But…
Let’s hope the glorious tales of grey hairs and wrinkles might get more traction. 😄
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A very insightful post. We can’t devote all of our time to blogs or Youtube videos. Better to produce a relatively few things of quality than many things that are mediocre.
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Thank you, Jake. Welcome to my blog. 🙂
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