Welcome to the Productivity Blog

This is a guest post written by Sarah Thompson.

Remember when you were little?

Anything was possible.

Everything was so magical, the big wide world was there for discovery and adventure. Step back to those days and loose yourself in my dreamlike world of art for a while.

I have loved to draw for as long as I can remember. It has always been a time where I get lost in my own imagination, a place where time passes so nicely. From hours of copying pictures of horses from books when I was small, to studying art to degree level, there has rarely been a time when I have not been creating something.

After my degree in fine art sculpture, I decided to become a primary school teacher, and art came in useful daily. It seems all children are born artists, and they inspired me alongside me inspiring them (I hope!). After a move from London to Dorset (south England) and having two, of my three, children, I stopped work as a teacher. During all this time, I was still constantly making my own drawings and paintings in my spare time, having local exhibitions and sales of my work.

My sister in law told me of a company who was always looking for new designs for their cards, so I thought I would have a go at submitting some. Unfortunately my designs were not really what they were looking for, but I really liked them, and I thought, ‘Well, if they don’t want them, I’ll turn them into cards myself!’ . So I did! That was the beginning…

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This is a guest post written by Victoria from Butterfly Crafts.

Blogging can be challenging can’t it?

Having to come up with new and creative content on a regular basis to fit whatever posting schedule you keep is hard work, and anyone who says differently quite frankly is lying!

I really enjoy blogging and am quite happy with my twice weekly schedule as that gives me time to be creative but also juggle other requirements on my time [day job and housework I’m looking right at you].

But what happens when the creativity runs out and you sit down at your desk/sofa/cafe/bath to write and there is nothing there? What is a blogger to do when the ideas run out?

This has happened to me a couple of times now and so I thought I would share my seven top tips for when the ideas stop flowing and you want to run and hide.

#1 | Get a change of scenery

You know the saying ‘a change is as good as a rest’? Well that’s just as true when you have a creative block. Take yourself for a walk or a run, go out for the day, or go somewhere you wouldn’t normally go, as you may find new scenery can help spark the ideas.

If that’s not really possible try and switch up where you work or blog from – usually work at your desk? Try the sofa. Usually work at home? Try a coffee shop.

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There’s quite a trend in the industry at the moment when it comes to making money with our blogs. And one monetising method that is usually really popular is the idea of ads.

But are they a good idea? Sometimes. For me - they’re a bad idea and I’ve never ever used them on my site.

So to help clear things up for all types of bloggers, I wanted to talk about the pros and cons for using ads on your website and also whether this is always the right fit for you. Let’s go.

How do people use ads?

I’m sure you’re familiar with what ads look like by the various different sites you visit, but I’ll quickly go through them just in case:

• On their sidebar - This is probably the type of ad you see most often - an image in someone’s sidebar.
• A blog network - Blogging networks have become even more popular recently. When you join one, you simply place an advert on your blog, which will then promote other blogs in the same network.
• Sponsorships - This is like what you see on magazine websites - someone pays you a certain amount of money to advertise on a particular part of your blog.
• EPC - This stands for earnings per click. Basically, it’s an ad you have on your blog and you earn money every time someone clicks it.

Don’t get me wrong - there are lots of other ways to use ads. But these are usually the most popular and the ones you’ll notice the most. Unfortunately, while a lot of bloggers are told using ads is a great way to start making money online, they aren’t told any of the potential negatives.

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It was around the start of 2013 when I made the commitment to be positive every single day.

Technically, I’ve always been a positive person - it’s a word people always use to describe me. But after a bad final year at university, it definitely changed me. I knew that I always felt better when I looked at everything in a positive light, but because I let the negativity take over me, I never seemed to see the full benefits.

At the end of 2014, my mum gave me the idea of writing down three things I was grateful for, and three things that had made me happy at the end of each day. I made the decision to start this and commit to including this in my routine. 

Reflecting on the past couple of years, which have been huge, in terms of both my career and personal life - with new jobs and starting to build my life together with Tom - I can say without any uncertainty that I’ve never been happier, more confident or more at peace with myself than I am right now.

Since I’ve now been keeping up this commitment for a long time, I wanted to share with you what I’ve discovered through daily positivity. It’s become such an essential part of my day that I couldn’t imagine life without it.

IT WILL HELP YOU BE MORE INTENTIONAL

When you purposefully become more positive, you’ll start to understand what you want in your life, but more importantly, what you don’t want. You’ll gain clarity on what goals you want to achieve and be able to prioritise - you’ll want to put the things that give you positivity in your life first. You’ll begin to realise that you don’t want to waste your time on things that drain you of energy or give you negative vibes. You’ll become much more mindful of how you are spending your time and what areas of your life are giving you positivity. 

Through being more intentional and positive, there have been some amazing things that have happened in my life - finding my soulmate, building wonderful relationships with my family, getting a fantastic job at a top institution, and building this blog to the success I believe it has.

YOUR ACTION: Think about what areas in your life are stopping you from being positive and plan how you can change them. If you’re unhappy in your job, start looking for another. If you’re not getting enough time to work on your graphic design portfolio, take another look at your routine. Taking a little step closer to positivity every day will add up to big changes.

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Self-care - you’ve heard of it, right? Heard about it too much? Yeah, I feel you. Recently, it seems like our whole industry is throwing this term around quite a lot, from people saying they need to start implementing self-care into their life, to others saying they’re having a self-care retreat.

Don’t get me wrong - the idea of pushing past the feeling of “busyness” and finding time for ourselves to do things we enjoy is key. Self-care is vital to being happy and fulfilled throughout our lives.

But with so many people talking about it, an area of mistaken belief has developed. There’s no point in using the word self-care in your everyday lingo (whether you’re speaking or writing), unless you know what this means for you. And if you’re thinking, ‘well I have me-time in the bath every evening when I finish work’ - you need to realise there’s so much more to it than that.

So I wanted to break down self-care into teeny little pieces and tell you exactly what’s involved. It’s all pretty fascinating - when it’s used in the right way. Plus, as you know if you’ve been a reader of this blog for X amount of time, it’ll be jam-packed full of actionable ways you can get started on self-care today.

THE DEFINITION OF SELF-CARE

I thought this would be the best place to start, right? 😉

"Self-care includes any intentional actions you take to care for your physical, mental and emotional health."

What I really want to talk about here is the word intentional. These are actions we need to schedule into our days deliberately and with a purpose. See why the bath scenario doesn’t really add up? Because although that’s something you do everyday, it’s also something you do without really thinking about it.

So ultimately, self-care is about doing actions and activities with a clear intention to make yourself feel relaxed, peaceful and also to take you away from your day-to-day life.

But the stumbling block for most people is that because there are so many different ways to practice self-care, they don’t know where to start. It’s like anything - one person’s way of doing it might not work for you and vice versa.

Don’t worry though - I’ve got something that might come in use for you at the end of this post!

I was talking to a friend via email about self-care last week and she said how much she was struggling with it. She said she’d tried getting into the typical activities like watching a new TV show or starting yoga. But for her, it was keeping a journal that worked best for her, because that was when she was completely in her own moment.

So in order to help you figure out the ways to practice self-care that will work for you, we’re going to go through five different categories that’ll cover every aspect.

If you choose to include an intentional action from each of the five groups, you’ll be ensuring that every area of your life is cared for, which will help you even more on your path to get you to where you want to be.

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Lizzie is a professional business and lifestyle writer who creates epic content for start-ups and marketing companies. She also runs Wanderful World, a blog for creative freelancers, where she creates courses, runs workshops, and writes actionable posts for budding freelancers.

DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO GO INTO YOUR CHOSEN CAREER?

At the back of my mind I always wanted to be a writer, but I was too embarrassed to admit it. Writing was the thing I loved doing the most, but I figured that I’d never be able to make a viable career out of it.
 

WHEN DID YOU START TO DEVELOP A PASSION FOR WHAT YOU CURRENTLY DO?

I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. My mum has little stories I wrote when I could first put pen to paper, and throughout school I started and scrapped about a hundred novels!

I’d always had writing as a kind of hobby, but it wasn’t until I started my blog in 2012 that I realised it could actually be a viable career choice. I had my eyes opened to a whole new online world and I absolutely loved reading about people who had gone freelance or had leveraged their blogs so they could make money. It was inspiring and I wanted some of that action!  

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Want to get more eyes on your latest blog posts?

Promoting yourself on social media isn’t easy, and finding the perfect balance is near impossible. But generating a buzz through your platforms can make a massive difference to how many people view, comment and share your content.

If you’re new to social media or you’re looking for ways to make more of an impact, this post is just for you. Today, I’m sharing 10 tactics you can use to generate the biggest buzz ever.

Ready to go?

 

#1 | Use teasers

Whenever a business launches a new product, they're always more successful when they have a teaser campaign.

Teaser campaigns are used to offer a peek of products or information that acts as a clue, which helps to build excitement. This way, when the big launch day comes, people are excited about your product and ready to buy it.

This is exactly the same when it comes to your blog posts. You can share a peek of what’s to come on your blog over the next few weeks, and that way, when you publish your latest post, people are ready to head over to your blog. 

Check out this teaser that helped to launch my #BloggingBreakthrough eBook in January. I posted the last few words that every reader would see when they finished the book. This is now my most liked photo on Instagram and built up a lot of anticipation for the eBook’s release.

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Let’s paint a picture. You’ve been blogging for a few months or even a few years. You’ve got a consistent publishing schedule and you’re being active on social media, You’re essentially doing all the things you’re pretty sure you should be doing in order to grow your online presence. But your audience isn’t growing as fast as you like.

You watch all these other bloggers whirl past you, running straight into a crowd of their devoted and excited followers and you’re thinking, what? My content is great. Why am I not seeing those results?

Believe me - I’ve been there. I know how frustrating it is. But I also know the problem - you’re not honing in on your blog topics.

What does honing in on your blog topics mean?

First of all, you need to keep in mind the goals for your blog (so where you’re heading), and your why. So why you’re even running this blog in the first place. Once you understand the purpose for why you’re creating content, it will start to make it easier to define the topics you actually want to write about.

But before you start thinking about surveys and reaching out to your audience - stop. This isn’t about them. It’s about you. It’s all about you. Why do you dedicate so much time to your blog? What’s your dream? What do you want to get out of it?

Are you hoping to earn some money through brand partnerships? Do you use your blog as your creative outlet? Are you trying to start your own business and using your blog to support this? Does getting likes, comments and interacting with your community make you feel like your work is meaningful? Are you creating products to sell alongside?

There ain’t no point in going any further until you figure this step out.

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As a blogger writing about various topics, it’s imperative to channel my creativity into what my readers need. One of the reasons I offer so much different content on ABOH is because I love how creativity can act as an outlet. I thrive on writing about my experiences to help others and combined with the power of creativity, inspiring and motivating people to get to where they want to be. 

It would be my dream to do this for a living and I love everything I do for this online space. But when you love being creative and it’s a part of who you are, it can be hard to figure out how to keep it under control and focus on the day-to-day running of things. Through my experiences recently, I’ve found some ways to really figure out how to keep things for my blog running smoothly, whilst fuelling my creativity at the same time.

Listen to your heart

I’ve been writing my whole life, ever since I was little. Writing is a huge part of my creative process, whether it’s writing for this blog or writing pages everyday in my journal. As far back as the start of high school, I remember feeling the need to get my thoughts out in the form of writing. It was one of the biggest ways I learnt to understand who I was. I would come home and just write for hours, doing what my heart wanted me to do. 

Since then I’ve thrived on fulfilling those needs which is a big reason why I started ABOH. When I experience loss or if I’m going through a difficult time with something, I don’t feel a block. I feel an overpowering urge to process my emotions with a pen and paper

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As I worked on reviewing the tasks I’d completed in June and made plans for July, I realised something. Despite the fact that I made important progress and learnt lots of new things, it didn’t really seem like I’d done anything different. And in fact, I’m not sure whether some things were done to the best of my ability.

Yes - you need to give yourself a break in order to grow and you shouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself. But it wasn’t really about that. I was working hard. Was I working smart? No. Which is what today’s post is all about - why “busyness” is a false sense of productivity.

Alright - what does this even mean?

Essentially, it’s thinking you’re being truly productive when really, you’re not. It’s busy work, multi-tasking, and just plain busyness, which leads to you not getting any real work done. I don’t think the process of being productive is something you can just switch on. It’s a whole skill in itself that you’ve got to develop. I believe that I continue to better this skill on a daily basis - productivity is something that is really important to me.

So if this is something that sounds like you, thankfully, you can start making a difference with some small changes.

In the blogging world especially, it seems like it’s “cool” to be busy. If you’re not constantly reaching one goal and moving onto the next, then are you really doing any work at all? This is obviously not true. We’re all working hard. And if you switch off at 8pm and don’t do any work on a Saturday, then I’d actually say that you’re the cool one. You’re finding the balance. You’re working efficiently. You’re not just being busy for the sake of it. You’re enjoying your life and being productive at the same time.

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When you’re applying for a job and in your interview, most of the conversation focuses on you. It’s usually all about why you want the job, what you’d bring to the role and whether your experience and qualifications tick the boxes.

But choosing to take a new job that you’re offered is as much your decision as it is the company’s. They might think you’d be the perfect fit - but do you agree? You’ve got to think about whether this path will fit into the life that you love and help you progress along your career path. You spend an awful lot of time in your day job, so you need to make sure that you make the right decision.

I’ve gone through this process many times now - some jobs I’ve accepted and some I haven’t. But every time this situation has happened, I’ve asked myself some questions. So today, I want to share these questions with you that you can now ask before you accept any job offer. Plus at the end, you'll find a free PDF so you've got them all in one place to use forever.

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It seems surreal to think that in two months, I'll be celebrating ABOH's third birthday. I've never poured this much time and energy into a project and not a day goes by where I don't do something related to this blog. It's been difficult, rewarding and so fulfilling to see how much this online space and my community have grown, especially over the past few months. I love sharing my journey with you all. Blogging has been fundamental to getting me where I am today and I can't stress the importance of it enough.

So in celebration of my 25th birthday on Saturday (whoop whoop!), today, I'm sharing 25 of the biggest things I've learnt about building an online presence. I hope that these insights might help you with your own journey and open up your mind to new possibilities too.

 

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Have you ever had a conversation with someone about something and they’ve just stared at you blankly? You’re going on and on about a subject you’re passionate about, but they just don’t seem to get it, or even be taking it in.

My point?

My point is that communication isn’t always easy. Sometimes, people get what you’re saying with no questions asked. Other times, you’re trying to explain your thoughts or visions to someone and they just don’t make sense. There’s usually a barrier, because it seems like you’re spouting jargon, which a lot of people try to avoid.

Specifically, I’m talking about building an online presence. And blogging. Over the past few years, as I’ve gained more and more experience, my strategies have developed to help improve communication.

In this post, not only will you find definitions that will really help you out, but you’ll also find questions to help you break down the strategies you have for running your blog. Plus a PDF of everything so you can keep it in an easy-to-access place. All I want to do is help you bring the party to your blog and get yourself even more organised. But we’ll talk more about that later.

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Over the past year as a blogger, I’ve been surprised that increasing members to my community and building my online presence - the things I feared the most - were growing at a pretty natural rate. Instead, the thing that nagged me the most was straight-forward: finding the motivation (and time) to do the work I needed to do.

Sounds ridiculous, right? But after chatting with enough bloggers, I can say that this is a common problem. These days, I’m able to get a hell of a lot more done (although I’m still working on it). So today, I want to share with you the lessons that I’ve learned and why you haven’t been able to get things done. After you’ve read this, you’ll have increased motivation, inspiration and productivity. Let’s go.

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You started your blog because you wanted an outlet to be creative. You wanted to share your life, share your thoughts and make something of this hobby. When you first started out as a blogger, the prospect of building an audience and creating something successful was pretty exciting, right?

What’s not as exciting, is soon realising that running a blog is more like 20% creative work and 80% working to get it out there.

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By day, Alex Hailey is a sales consultant that works with communities in California to design unique and exciting play spaces for children and families to enjoy. 

By night and weekend, she is a lifestyle blogger sharing things from all aspects of her life as a twenty-something female living in the 21st century. 

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What if I told you that if you follow this step-by-step schedule, you’ll get at least 100% more traffic from your social channels?

Big claim, right?

I was equally a bit nervous but also very excited to hit publish on this post. But I really wanted to talk to you about the recent growth of ABOH, because I know exactly what you can do to see an increase in your own blog traffic.

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If you’re even a tiny bit serious about building an online presence, then you’ve probably started to realise something big: it takes WAY more than just your blog. You’ve also probably started noticing that eBooks are popping up everywhere.

Since eBooks are becoming more and more accessible (and doable), that must mean that there’s no room or point in you creating one, right?

Actually, there is.

In a contrasting sort of way, the fact that eBooks are becoming more mainstream is a positive thing. It’s growing the amount of people who want to read or buy them in the first place.

Do you think your family or friends would really get the point of creating an eBook? When people hear that I’ve created one that’s 100+ pages and give it away for free on my site, I get some odd looks. But as more and more people learn how powerful eBooks can be, more and more people are interested in downloading and buying them, too.

Here’s the deal: if you’ve ever wanted to create an eBook to boost your online presence (or even just to add it to your CV), then now is a great time to do it. In fact, since launching my first eBook in February, my mailing list more than doubled and continues to grow on a daily basis. Because of that one eBook. MADNESS.

Now, I know the one question stopping you. The one you want to ask me. The one that stopped me moving forward.

“How do I come up with a topic that people will actually give me something for?”

It’s an important question, friend. In today’s post, I’m digging into all the ins and outs you’ll want to know so you can come up with a successful eBook idea of your own.

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Daily routines can make a huge different to how happy, healthy and productive we are. But what makes them even more effective is if they're personalised. I've recently tried adjusting my routine in the hopes of getting more important work done and wasting less time.

While it's important to take inspiration from other people to see how their routines work, you also need to pay attention to you. You need to understand how your own brain works and what will suit your body best.

So in the hopes of increasing my own productivity, I now hope this gives you the ability to help increase yours too. Here are some of the things that can help you create a personal routine to stay creative and productive.

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If you’re part of the Blogging Breakthrough community or follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you probably know that at the start of the month, I was away for five days in Dublin.

My plan was to take a complete break from creating content, social media, emails - everything. Crazy, right? That I wasn’t going to even check in with anything for about a week? 

I got back into the swing of things the day after I came back, but it was only last week that a blog post was published that was actually written by me. All I can say is the the break and the holiday overall were absolutely wonderful.

The trip had been planned since February and nearer the time, I had to decide what I wanted to do with my blog - keep it running or take a break. I chose the first option.

Then I got into a huge panic that I’d have too much work to do before I went away. Getting all the blog posts written up alongside my day job was going to be the most difficult thing, and that’s not to mention photography and social media scheduling. Managing your blog and online presence on a day-to-day basis is one thing. Getting it ready for when you’re taking a holiday is a completely different playing field.

Like many bloggers and small business owners, taking a break doesn’t always fit the criteria of what taking a break actually means. Even if we go away, we’re still checking our emails, responding to people on social media and watching snaps. I was determined that my holiday would not be like this. I wanted to take a break in every sense of what that phrase actually means. 

Could my blog stop completely and still be OK? In a way. I mean, it wasn’t a huge amount of time that there was going to be silence. But I felt like I’d come so far with my blog in 2016 that I didn’t want it to go quiet. So I created a plan and boy has it paid off.

The same thing is going to happen again in August when this time, I’m on holiday for seven days. But now, I know exactly what to do.

So today, I wanted to share with you my step-by-step plan of how I kept my blog running whilst I was on holiday, along with growing my social following and hitting a record number of pageviews. 

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