I’m obsessed about numbers and figures. I can spend the day looking at charts, graphs and try to decipher the relationship that brings meaning to these data.
Each time I logged into the administrative panel of this blog, the first click is inevitably the stats column. It’s not comprehensive, but it’s not too shabby either. A simple breakdown on the traffic I have been getting (which, by the way, is a measly figure), which content is favoured by them and how they stumbled upon this site. It’s an interesting space to look at, for it allows me to gain an insight on who have been browsing my work and having this evidence alone propels me to produce even more work. It’s an assurance knowing I’m not just writing for myself, there’s actually someone out there that reads what I’m writing.
The obsession can sometimes be a bane. Rather than focusing on writing, I’d be more keen in digesting the numbers. It’s unhealthy. I write for many reasons, and keeping a blog to check the traffic certainly wasn’t in my thoughts at all.
So why worry and be carried away by this figure I can’t control. I blog because I want to, I write because it’s worth writing, I share something because I want the world to know. In myself, I already have an important audience. Having a sense of obligation to produce for myself and not give a second thought can be such a liberating and empowering realisation.
It’s going to be tough not to check on the stats. But each time I think about this, I reminded myself it’s nothing but a mere distraction that hiders my progress.