7 Tips for Never Running out of Inspiration

Inspiration - it means everything to creatives. Whether you're a blogger, photographer, designer or another profession, the truth is we need it. With it we feel like we can conquer everything. But what happens when we don't have it?

Sometimes you might want to write something, make something or cook something. Yet you sit there, your mind blank and you have no idea where to start. You're stuck and inspiration just doesn't want to play with you.

I believe that most of us have our best ideas inside us. It's how we get them to appear that's difficult. But I've found that there are some things you can to bring your inspiration back and help you create your best work yet.

#1 Think About Your Purpose

Only you and you alone know your true focus and values for yourself and your personal brand online. When you're struggling to come up with ideas, think back to the meaning of your blog or business. Think back to why you started all of this in the first place. Knowing that was key to helping you come up with your original ideas, and it'll be just as much help in the long run.

Why do you blog about what you do? Why these topics and nothing else? These will really help you to expand your mind. You can let your thoughts wander and think about what you wish you’d known about this topic when you were just starting out or what you want to learn about it in the future. Idea generation doesn't just have to come from what you know - it comes from within and what makes you, you.

#2 Have a Running List of Sources

I’ve always had a Plan B. I’m the type of person that likes being organised and prepared. I like having a back-up plan in various aspects of my life. When you don’t have any inspiration, you don’t want to feel stuck like most of us too. So why not have a Plan B?

If you know that you can get inspiration from certain sources, it’s going to be really valuable for you to keep those in a safe place. That way, when a block hits you, you can refer back to this list of sources and get your inspiration back straight away.

Evernote is the tool I’d recommend for this. I use it to keep all my blog post ideas in one place for all my different topics and for inspiration too. One of my notes is a list of all the sources I look at when I feel stuck. Here’s a list of some:

Magazines
Pinterest
Instagram
My journal

Failing that I know that the other source is to step away. And that leads us straight onto number three.

Holly SuttonFebruary 22, 2016bloggers, idea, ideas, inspirationComment

7 Inspiring Quotes (+ What They Can Teach Us About Blogging)

Quotes never fail to inspire me – some that I keep strike a chord with me every time I look at them. If you don’t regularly browse Pinterest or your Twitter feed for the quotes people are sharing, I really recommend you do so. Although some of them might not be to everyone’s tastes, there are always words you can find that will really resonate with you.

We know that quotes can mean different things to all of us, but I find that many of the ones I come across really make me think about my blogging journey. When you think deeper, a quote can actually help you out a lot if you’re struggling or need to make certain decisions. So today, I want to share seven inspiring quotes with you and what they can teach us about blogging.

NUMBER ONE:

“Celebrate every tiny victory”

Each of us can be in very different places compared to someone else’s journey. The place I'm at right now with my blog will be completely different to where someone is when they've been at it for eight years. You might see someone say they've launched an e-course or their own product line and think like you’re failing. But you shouldn't.

Just because someone reveals they get 100,000 pageviews a month and you get less than 10,000 doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do.

I’ve always believed in celebrating every milestone, no matter how big or small – this quote reminds me to do that. Whether you’ve put loads of effort into a blog post and it becomes one of your most popular ones, or you get the chance to host a Twitter chat – these are all really great things.

For me, getting my first gigs for the sites I freelance for were huge achievements. Now, I celebrate every time something I’ve written goes live on one of them, because I know how hard I worked to get there.

Each time you feel a sense of achievement, write it down. If something makes you smile, that’s always worth remembering.

Holly SuttonFebruary 13, 2016quotes, inspiration, bloggers, bloggingComment

[Guest Post]: Oh Look How Far You've Come...

Today, I welcome a guest post to A Branch of Holly - the lovely Stephie from Tea In Your Twenties. I have had the pleasure of meeting this lady in real life and let me tell you - she is definitely the girl behind the blog. Chatty, open and someone you feel like you've known forever.

So I won't give anything else away. Just go ahead and read. But I will tell you this - she'll put a smile on your face.

Holly SuttonFebruary 5, 2015career advice, career, goals, guest post, inspiration, reflectionComment

10 Reasons Why Graduating Improved My Life

On Wednesday 3rd December, I graduated from my master’s degree. It was a year of laughter, love, stress, tears and hard work. But more than that, it was probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, in more ways than one. I won’t lie to you – it was more work than my three years at my undergraduate degree combined. Over ten exams, a 28 page magazine, two group projects and articles written by the dozen. Overall though, I probably learnt more and grew more as a person during this one single year than any other time.

October Photo Round Up & New Goals

When it comes to goals, we're all unique in what we want to achieve each month. But this time around I need your advice.

Holly SuttonNovember 3, 2014goals, inspiration, instagram, life, monthly goals Comments

Blogs I've Loved in October

It's absolutely amazing how every single month I find a new list of bloggers to add to my Bloglovin feed. The bloggers I follow are all so inspiring, creative and produce a gorgeous selection of online content for their readers. I've been feeling beyond proud to be part of this community recently and am thinking about opening up some new directions to take my little blog in. But for now, here are the people that inspire me to do one thing: keep blogging.

Holly SuttonOctober 30, 2014blog love, blog posts, blog roll, blog, bloggers, blogs, content, inspiration, life, online contentComment

12 Things I've Learnt In 12 Months of Blogging & A Great Giveaway

This year I’ve written 173 posts, tweeted over 2000 times and taken nearly 300 Instagram snaps. I’ve shared my ups, downs, happiness, loves and life with you. There was a stage where I questioned myself and my blog but I came out of the other side more positive, confident and on track with where I saw this space going in the future.