Blogging In the City: Simple Ideas for Creating New Inspiration

I’m currently staying with a friend in San Francisco – I’m considering relocating here. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to move to the big city. I grew up in a little cow town (well, as cow town as you can get in the Bay Area of California) and never thought I would stay there long once I got on my own.

Well, things rarely turn out the way we expect, right? School took me from Napa to Fairfield to the capitol of CA – Sacramento. So, I’ve moved around a lot, but I never ended up in the one place I’ve always dreamed of.

I don’t know why it called to me, but the city lights mesmerized me from the very first time I laid eyes on them. A place where at any hour of the day, you can find people up doing things – perfect for an insomniac :). A community where within 1 hour you can lay eyes on every hair, skin, and eye color possible – where diversity comes in every form, be it sexual, cultural, spiritual or professional. I LOVE IT!!!

I will be spending this week at coffee shops working. Turns out my friend doesn’t have her Internet hooked up yet – you can imagine how I feel about this. My entire business life is online, so thank goodness for Wi-Fi! I will be blogging from this fantastic little Starbucks I found in the Castro. This is something I would never do back home. I spend most of my time in my office, but the city is too cool to ignore. Plus, I’m actually getting some physical activity in with all of the walking – cars are more of a pain than a benefit in the city.

I feel inspired, excited, curious and comfortable. It took me an hour today to find my bank (I went around in a circle about 4 times attempting to hit the right street). I’m not used to the public transportation yet and I have yet to venture past Market and Van Ness. But, I’m getting farther out every day and I’ve found patience within myself I never knew I carried.

I’m one of about 20 other people sitting in Starbucks with a laptop, typing away. The music is great, the people are friendly and the coffee is flowing!

So, why am I writing about my little adventure? It occurred to me that many of us get into a rut with our work, be it blogging, ecommerce or affiliate marketing. We tend to work in the same space every day, see the same people, eat the same thing, and think about the same topics. How can one be expected to write/work with passion when their daily schedule is so consistent and rehearsed?

Yes, my office is set up to handle my work load and it’s more time consuming to walk to a coffee shop. Yes, my Internet is fast and reliable at home and in the city I have to locate Wi-Fi hot spots. And yes, it’s very relaxing being able to work in pj’s all day, versus getting dolled up to go into public.

But, the isolation that comes with a home office can become uninspiring. I need to be apart of this world. I want to learn from others, see new things, taste new foods and meet new people. I want to experience a brand new chapter of my life – one that will burn memories within my brain that will last a lifetime.

Has your work or blogging become boring, uninspiring or mundane? Do you find it hard to work up the same passion you once felt for it? Are you experiencing writer’s block?

You don’t have to move to a new location to stir up inspiration. Just try changing up your daily routine a little. Here are some ideas for creating new inspiration:

• Take your laptop to a local coffee shop and write from there.
• Ask a friend to join you for lunch rather than eating at home alone.
• Join a club/class/group of some sort.
• Walk around your local downtown and observe the people, shops and activities.
• When the sun comes out, set your office up outside for the day.
• Take a vacation!
• Talk to or interview someone who does what you do.
• Change the order of your daily activities.
• LISTEN!

The key to all of these ideas is listening and observing. Look at what’s happening all around you. You don’t have to talk about Internet marketing (or whatever topic it is that you write about) to get ideas for it. Some of the greatest ideas come from left field. Be open to the world around you.

So, there’s my little rant for the day. I’m super excited to be in the city this month and I can’t wait to see what the experience inspires within me!

What Recently Inspired You to Blog? Was It a Place, Person or Activity?

Topic Tags:

blogging, inspiration, san francisco, work from home