We think in very similar ways, so I'll just share my insights on the subject, in case they're useful.

1. I changed "write for money" to "write for followers". I don't meant it in the ego way, I mean "write to connect with an audience who will get me": and a way to measure that is the number of my followers. Life is a numbers game, whether we like it or not, and if you want your writing career to go somewhere some day (even you don't know where), it's good to have a focus on one number at least. Focusing on pennies in the beginning is silly, but followers, audiences, people, connection: that's a great thing, and it gives you more clarity as to how you're doing. I especially love it when I see familiar names clapping and commenting over and over again: those are the relationships I think of when I write.

2. I'm also looking for my niche, and while I haven't found it yet, what I;'m trying is, I narrowed things down to four general topics, and I've given myself 6 months to write one article per topic every week (so four articles per week). I'm trying to notice the topics that I run out of (I wrote a few things about money and I burned out: it's not my thing, long term); the topics that get me more excited (single women); the articles that get curated, those that make a splash etc. So I'm looking for both internal and external feedback to pin point the perfect niche. It's fine if I still write about other things when they excite me, but I'll have a clear direction and that's important for a career in writing.

Hope these help, and good luck to you! Keep writing, you're doing great!