Life in March 2020
I take back all the bad things I said about January being slow. March really taught us a lesson, huh? To be blunt – what an absolute shit show of a month March was.
Like most everyone else, March brought a lot of surreal changes in life.
While I’m already used to working from home a lot, I definitely lost jobs and income already and as an empath and someone with a lot of anxiety, my mental health has just been a trainwreck as well.
March 3rd
Nashville (along with a large part of the rest of Tennessee) had a tragic and horrific tornado rip through the city in the middle of the night. While I was okay physically, the emotional toll was horrible. However, my city and state made it clear why we’re called the Volunteer State.
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March 7th (approximately)
The greater Nashville area got it’s first confirmed case of COVID19 and this became much more real here.
Aside from all of that, there were a few small positives.
I did have three pet sitting jobs. However, I don’t see that being the case in the future so I’ll miss all the babies!
My plants got new homes and moved around the apartment.
Where Was I Featured in March 2020
I’ve been trying to write more for other publications.
I shared my favorite baby Yoda memes, work from home memes, and tiger king memes for Let’s Eat Cake!
I was featured in this Business Insider article on how freelancers are handling COVID19.
I was featured in this post by Sometimes Home about appreciating home when you can’t travel.
I was featured in this open letter from travel bloggers asking people not to travel right now.
35 Before 35 Update
Well, I don’t see this happening before 35 (it wasn’t going to happen anyway haha!) I’m adding this to my monthly post for my own accountability. I made this list back when I turned 30 and I do tend to be overambitious when making these types of lists, but it’s still fun no matter if I don’t complete them all.
- Number of Items Completed: 5 of 35 – participate in a monthly book club, have a consistent brand, act more like an entrepreneur instead of a hobbyist, get my scuba certification, lead a compassionate and conscious life.
- Number of Items Started: 2 of 35 – I said I was going to focus on eating healthier (which I finally have done!) and work on learning a second language which I have finally done too!
- Updates to List: I removed Havasu Falls from my list. I actually scored a hard to get permit this year and was planning to go but I was feeling uncomfortable about the horrible abuse of pack animals and I decided it is not for me right now. If that changes in the future, I would probably go. Not sure what I want to replace it with yet. It is unfortunate because I want to support Native Americans, but I can’t be a part of animal abuse.
- List Items to Focus on in April: start vlogging and yoga.
- List Items to Focus on in 2020: hike long distance (looking to do my first multi-day hike in Isle Royale this year), be location independent, spend the night somewhere haunted, be comfortable in my skin, and visit all 56 Tennessee state parks. These are now very dependent on the coming months.
Income Report for March 2020
Income
In March 2020, I earned a total of $1589.49 from my blog or projects obtained through my blog.
Affiliate Income: $35.15
- Booking.com – $0
- Amazon – $28.16
- CJ – $0
- Skimlinks – $0
- Get Your Guide – $0
- ShareASale – $0
- Awin – $0
Ads: $66.69
- Ezoic – $66.69
Freelance Writing: $400
Freelance Projects: $0
Sponsored Posts: $1100
Sponsored Instagram Posts: $0
Expenses: $262.58
- Pinterest VA (for scheduling) – $90
- Google Suite – $13.11
- Tailwind (for Pinterest scheduling) – $14.99
- Coschedule – $30
- Impact Travel Alliance – $9.99
- Keysearch (for keyword research) – $13.60
- Adobe (for editing) – $0 – they offered 2 free months
- AWeber (for email campaigns) – $19
- Facebook Ads – $30.05
Thoughts on my expenses – I’m always looking to see where I can trim down on expenses, but I also realize at some point you have to spend money to make money.
Impact Travel Alliance is a sustainable travel network and who I traveled with to Nepal. I love the community. This network is not just for media – it’s for anyone who is interested in or believes sustainable travel is important. If you’re interested in joining, make sure to mention my name when you do so!
AWeber is a great tool but I need to actually use it more if I’m going to keep paying for it. Want to sign up for my email list and help me out?!
I canceled SmarterQueue and moved to Coschedule. I had paused my social media posts amid COVID19 and I wanted to try Coschedule again to have scheduling and editorial calendar all in one spot. Plus, it’s cheaper.
I also canceled Hashtracking. Overall, I cut $30 from regular costs.
Net Income: $1326.91
Blog Traffic for March 2020
Well, this is going to be super painful. For those that aren’t bloggers, traffic (and income) has been depressingly low. Many of my fellow bloggers have reported 80-90% loss of traffic and income just within these past few weeks.
- Monthly sessions for Wild Hearted: 14,223 (- 5,164)
- Monthly sessions for Oddities and Curiosities: 5,742 (- 755)
- Monthly page views for WH: 20,475 (- 4,914)
- Monthly page views for OC: 9,914 (- 1,085)
- Monthly users for WH: 13,136 (- 3,393)
- Monthly users for OC: 5,535 (- 772)
- Social media followers for WH: 68,735 (+ 630)
- Social media followers for OC: 667 (+33)
- Blog posts published/updated for WH: 9 (-2)
- Blog posts published/updated for OC: 5 (+2)
Blog Goals for March 2020 Recap
These were my goals for March and how I ended up doing.
- Get Mediavine approved and set up! – I heard back from my application and they said that they loved my website and that I was a perfect fit but my numbers weren’t quite there (which I knew when applying), but now I’m worried when I’ll be able to get there again.
- Write more affiliate based posts. – I didn’t get this done.
- Update 15 old posts. – I don’t think I updated any old posts – motivation has been in the dumps.
- Reach 30,000 sessions and 40,000 pageviews on Wild Hearted. – Definitely not.
- Reach 5,000 sessions and 20,000 pageviews on Oddities and Curiosities. – Hit the sessions but not the pageviews, but I’m still happy with the growth especially given everything.
- Make $1500 in blogging/freelance income. – Did this though!!
- Finish my shop and resource pages. – I’m getting there! Check out my blogging resource page!
- Write & send 2 newsletters. – I did do this!
- Update media kit/rate card. – I did this too!
- Taxes! Boo. – started but not finished.
Blog Goals for April 2020
I’m honestly not even sure as I’m winging it. However, I will be focusing less on number-related things.
- Update old posts.
- Work on non-travel related posts.
- Make $2000 in blogging/freelance income.
- Finish my shop and resource pages.
- Compare and decide on email services.
- Compare and decide on moving website hosts.
- Taxes! Boo.
- Work on my brand new (third!) website – Books Beans & Botany.
Most Popular Post
My post on the best tips I can provide on handling anxiety in these weird and surreal times was my best new post. I have anxiety (pretty bad) and am well-versed in methods to help ease the mental anguish. I hope these tips help!
Other Posts Written
Here are all the new posts I’ve written in March.
- 9 Zero Waste Podcasts to Listen to If You Want to Be More Sustainable
- The 12+ Best Podcasts for Scuba Divers (& Ocean Lovers!)
- Be More Green at Home with This Ultimate Guide to Zero Waste Swaps
- How to Reduce Your Water Footprint (& how to Celebrate World Water Day While in Quarantine!)
- Want to Kayak for the First Time? Here are the Basics!
- 17+ Nature Spots in Chicago to Escape the Hectic City Vibes
- 8+ Irresistible & Surreal Spots to Explore in St Petersburg Florida
- Monthly Recap: February 2020
Best Thing I Ate
Uhhh, I honestly don’t think anything exciting to report here. However, starting this month, I’m going to get back to my ‘global recipes’ features. I’ll be choosing a country and creating/making 1-2 recipes in which I’ll share the recipes, photos, and outcome in a post. I’m doing Nepal first and I’m making momos and Bahl Dat – arguably, the two most popular Nepalese dishes and more often than not, naturally vegan.
Most Loved Instagram Post
You can follow me on Instagram at @wild.hearted.blog.
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What I Read This Month
I made a lofty goal to read 100 books in 2020. And, I’m happy to say, I’ve finished 17 books so far. That’s technically a tad behind but I’ve been reading a lot of long books so I’ll easily make up time with some shorter books.
I’ve made a goal to read 100 books in 2020. Join me on Goodreads and on my new blog which is all about books and plants and coffee!
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek ––– read my full review of Working Stiff.
On my Bookshelf in April
- House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
- The Stand by Stephen King
- Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
Plans to read this month:
- The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
- Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
- Borne and Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
- The Book of Woe: the DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry by Gary Greenberg
- On Trails by Robert Moor
What I Watched This Month
Well, at least no one can judge me on the number of movies and shows I watch now.
The Outsider – Finished watching this amazing show!
Altered Carbon – on Season 2 of this Netflix original. It’s pretty good, but not my favorite show ever.
Prodigal Son – Started watching this show thanks to our friends Jenn & Ed and it’s great! About an FBI profiler (seriously my dream job when I was younger) and his serial killer father who he turned in when he was just a little kid.
The Masked Singer – probably the first time I’ve watched a singing show in a decade. Not as exciting as the first couple episodes but I’m committed now.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness – Like everyone else, I watched Tiger King this month. Until I get up a full blog post, check out my very lengthy Instagram post on my thoughts.
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Hannibal – Started watching this show on Amazon Prime. It was originally on NBC and ran three seasons. Pretty good but really surprised this was on a mainstream channel.
Hunters – I’m still not sure why Jordan Peele has been holding out on us for so long but happy to keep having new movies and shows from him.
A Discovery of Witches – Really disliked this book, but the show is much better. But, maybe it’s just Matthew Goode.
Little Fires Everywhere – I have not read the book yet but love the show so far.
Parasite – Finally watched this Oscar-winning foreign film and it lived up to all the hype! So good and I don’t want to give anything away.
Honey Boy – I’ve always been a Shia Labeouf fan and love how he’s turned towards Indie films in the past few years. This film was written by him and is based completely off of his life. He plays his own father in the film and it gives a raw glimpse into what child acting and a mentally abusive parent can do to a person.
Haunt – I found out about this new (to me) streaming service, Shudder. They normally have a 7-day trial but are giving a 30-day trial with current events. It’s a horror-focused streaming service.
They have original shows and movies as well and I’ve already watched three movies – all of which were surprisingly good.
Onward – Watched this new Disney movie that they released early due to everything. Pretty cute movie.
Jumanji: The Next Level – It was alright. Not as good as the first one though. And, definitely not as good as the original.
The Lighthouse – A24 back at it again! William Defoe and Robin Pattinson star in this two-person black and white film. It’s wild.
Monster Party – One of the Shudder original movies.
Ginger Snaps – And, another one!
Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 – Michael had never seen anything pas the first one and we were discussing which district we’re in because you know…apocalypse and all. So, we watched them.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot – watched the reboot. It’s like the original, but not.
Spenser Confidential – Mark Whalberg Netflix original with a special appearance by Posty (Post Malone).
Dark Phoenix – Why do all the female-focused superhero movies do the worst and are reviewed as the worst? Captain Marvel had the same issue, right? Anyway, Dark Phoenix is like the most powerful X-men so whatever.
The Wolf on Wall Street – Another one Michael had never seen and we’ve been wanting to watch for a while. Finally got to it.
You Were Never Really There – Amazon prime original starring Joaquin Phoenix. It had pretty bad reviews and I’ll admit it was different, but I didn’t hate it. I think you have to like slower, more psychological movies to enjoy it.
Anna – Apparently (according to someone I won’t mention), I’ll watch anything that has to do with Russia – fiction or not. So, this was about your typical Russian assassin. Not The Americans or anything but still good.
Heavyweights – Rewatched a classic Disney movie. Determined that Heavyweights and Dodgeball are the same universe because Tony Perkis = White Goodman.
American Assassin – A movie we watched on a whim. because it had Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) in it.
The Sinner, Season 2 – Finally got around to watching season 2. I absolutely loved Season 1, but this didn’t live up to it in my opinion.
WHEW! So, what did YOU watch this month? Because, let’s be honest, we all definitely got our money’s worth when it comes to streaming services.
What I’m Listening to This Month
I created (and am still tweaking) this ADHD playlist.
Also, been listening to Rita Hayworth’s Quartunes List.
And, started listening to podcasts again!
Coming Up in April 2020
“Guys, I’m finally going to travel in March! Whoo!”
Famous last words spoken from last month’s recap post. HA.
Anyway, I’m going absolutely nowhere anytime soon as I hope is the case for everyone.
I will be focusing on my three blogs, pitching A LOT, and diversifying my income, I hope.
I also have a new light to do indoor photography so I’m hoping for a lot more food photos in the near future.
Lots of reading, lots of enjoying the company of my boyfriend and dog, and lots of writing (hopefully!).
How are you Spending Your Time at Home?
- What To See in Rome: A Journey Through the Eternal City - September 21, 2024
- Sustainable Travel: How to Explore the World Responsibly - September 12, 2024
- Discover Hidden Gems on Your Next Cruise: Personalized Shore Excursions in Italy - August 30, 2024
I’m really excited about your Global Recipes feature! Can’t wait to follow along with that. Glad to hear you’re healthy and safe 🙂
Thanks! I need to get on this and write it up!