Welcome to the Productivity Blog

At the start of this year, many of us chose a word that would define the next 12 months. These ranged from organise, creative, kindness – anything that you wanted to represent how you were going to live your life. The aim of this is simple. Instead of listing a set of goals you want to complete, pick one word instead that you can focus on every day.

I didn’t initially take part in this challenge, but one of my aims for 2015 was to live more intentionally. To live on purpose, in the moment and be present. For the first couple of months of the year, this was exactly what happened. But then things changed. I became a person I used to be - always thinking about what I had to do and focusing on the future, instead of living for now.

Can you relate? It’s actually quite difficult to live intentionally. You have to be purposeful and work hard to live your life that way. You have to take intentional steps that are going to get you to where you ultimately want to be. When you’re in a moment, you let yourself be in that moment and nowhere else, not even a few hours ahead.

Without being intentional, we would simply float through life with no purpose, going down different paths. When you’re living intentionally, you’re playing an active part in your own journey.

Now, I’m not just saying all these nice words to try and convince you that you can do this. You may have tried, but when obstacles crop up in life like they always do, things change.

There’s still almost four months left of 2015. Are you going to live intentionally with me?

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“Follow your heart wherever it may go, just don’t forget to bring your mind with you.”

Does your heart know more than your head? Or do you think it’s the other way around? Surely your head is more rational, more professional and more straightforward? Whereas your heart is the one with the passion, the want and the need. But which one should you follow?

We’re always told to use our head and our heart. But usually, one of them is telling us one thing, and the other is telling us something else.

Say you’re trying to make it as a freelance writer. Your heart is saying, this is what you’re meant to do. This is the start of your path. Grab it with both hands and go for it!

Your head, on the other hand, is saying something different: Be wary – there are so many people doing freelancing right now. Keep your feet on the ground, you won’t get a gig like that. It’ll take time.

And we won’t even go into what the self-doubt monster might be saying.

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What do you want to be when you grow up? 

This is a question we've all been asked numerous times during our lives. School, college, university - everyone saying, what do you want to do for a job? When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher. Little did I know, being a teacher wouldn't even be on my radar when I started my career.

Blogging does many things, but did you know it can also get you a job? You might not realise it, but every time you go through the process of creating a blog post from start to finish, you're using skills that look really impressive to potential employers. But what job could I do with these skills? Never fear. I've rounded up the ten best jobs you could go for as a blogger.

Sit back and take notes.

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Last weekend, the fam and I took a well deserved trip to Penrith. We walked a lot, (20,000 steps one day!), ate, chatted, laughed and spent every night relaxing in the hot tub. The highlight for all of us was a trip to the beautiful Aira Force - the number one attraction in Penrith. Words will never describe the beauty of this place, so I really hope you enjoy the photos.

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Don't you just love a four day week? The August Bank Holiday always signals the end of the holidays for me. Straight after it's September and everybody comes out from their summer dream world and starts their lives again. People go back to school, university, work and a busy time starts once again. This week has been just a taster of that! It's been a tired old week so this weekend, I'm looking forward to running a few errands and relaxing. As for your weekend reading, here are six great posts on branding.

Because whether you realise it or not, you definitely have a brand. 

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Quit talking about it and start doing it – how many times have you said that to yourself?

Having an idea is great. But sometimes, we can be in a place where we just don't follow through with it. We can feel so much accomplishment from saying we're going to do something, but it’s fear that holds us back from doing what we're meant or inspired to do.

For a long time, I had an idea. I spent months thinking about it and planning it. But how much of that time did I actually spend doing things to work towards it? About 10%.

Can you relate?

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So...it's September. I'm just going to brush past that, alright? Alright.

Well, things have changed around here over the past month. I realigned my purpose for this blog with what matters most to me in life, and I've never felt better because of it. So you'll see in this monthly series that my goals will be slightly different too. More in tune with me, my life and the path I want to go down. Thank you all so much for your support over these past few weeks - your words have meant so much to me and I love that you're all high-fiving me about this new venture!

Setting goals at the start of the month is a great way to align my work with the things in life that matter to me the most. Plus, sharing them with you motivates me even more to complete them, and I love reading about the goals you set for yourself too.

Today, I'm sharing with you how I got on in August as well as the goals I'll be working towards during September.

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If you're reading this post at around 5pm, I'll be on a train to (hopefully sunny) Penrith! The fam and I are heading up there for the Bank Holiday weekend to have some relaxation and time together. It's been a long time since we've had a holiday together, so we're taking it as a fresh start and the beginning of a new chapter.

Which mean that for the next weekend readings series, I thought a group of posts on transformation would be perfect. Get ready to feel powerful and motivated.

I'll see you in your inboxes on Monday!

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If there’s one thing there will always be too much of online, it’s advice.

Over the past six months, it seems like almost every blogger has jumped on this bandwagon, which means it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, lost and unsure of what to listen to.

The right advice can be magical. It can help you move forward, inspire you and motivate you. But too much advice, and too much generic advice can leave us following another’s path, not creating what we were made to create and prevents our purpose from shining through.

This is why the advice “do what you love, love what you do” annoys the hell out of me, especially when it comes to our careers. For blogging, alright – the saying suits it fine. But our day jobs? The way we make money?

That’s when it starts to get to me.

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If you’re working hard to build and maintain an online presence through your blog, social media and perhaps your newsletter, I know it gets challenging. But there are a few core things I think we need to believe in, in order to create a purposeful online presence that still delivers impact.  One of these is having a clear direction.

But what if you lose your direction?

 

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Let me ask you a question - and I want you to be honest when you answer. You don't need to leave your answer in a comment. You don't even have to say it out loud. I just want you to think about it.

How many times have you felt like quitting? Not just in blogging, but in different aspects of your life. How many times have you thought, I can't do this, and wanted to give up?

My guess is a lot. Why? Because I've been there too.

Everybody has. There will be someone, somewhere that feels like quitting every day. There’ll be someone who feels like quitting right now. A person who has everything and a person who has nothing - it doesn't matter the difference between them when it comes to quitting, because they've both felt like doing it.

But how do you know when to quit for real?

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When you're asked the question, why did you start blogging, many of us usually have the same answer - we started because it was a way to document our lives and everything that inspires us. It seems that's changed lately.

Ever since I announced earlier this week that I was bringing more personality back to this online space, you've all been so supportive. I've even had emails and messages from you, and when I've been reading them, I've noticed one thing in particular.

You all feel like your favourite blogs are lacking personality

I completely get where you're coming from, which is why I made a change. I'm taking ABOH back to its roots - and that's where this new series comes in. 

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Before my Grandma passed away, we'd see her every weekend. My mum saw her everyday. On Saturday and Sunday, she'd spend the whole afternoon with her. It's been hard for her now,  knowing that she has huge gaps of her day to fill. So we decided that we'd go on dates - Tom has a season ticket for Preston North End anyway, so every other Saturday my mum and I are going to visit somewhere. For our first date, the whole family went and it was a place I'd wanted to take them for ages...

a walk up to the top of Nicky Nook, in The Forest of Bowland.

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Wow, what a whirlwind week it's been! You know when you're just mega busy but in a really good way? That's been my week. First, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me this week. If you don't know, I revealed to you all on Tuesday that I was slightly changing the direction with this blog. It was nervy being that honest with you, but once it was out there it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I couldn't run this online space without you and I'm feeling really positive about where to take it in the future.

It's been GCSE results week so naturally, working at my new job at the sixth form college has been absolutely mental! But I've been really enjoying myself - I hope your week has been full of positivity and productivity too!

So with a change of direction I realised, these weekend reading posts don't have to just stick to blogging resources do they? Which is why today I'm rounding up the best posts of two other big loves in my life - food and interiors.

Enjoy!

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Fact number one: there are jobs out there.

Fact number two: it's never been a more competitive time to get one.

Employers today want a lot from their prospective employees. A lot of experience, a knowledge of industry trends, a pro-active personality and a whole list of other things. Each time you show your strengths on your covering letter or in an interview, another box is ticked. 

But what happens when they get to your CV and they see a gap?

This isn't uncommon. I know people that have been worried about job interviews due to the fact they know they'll have to explain a gap in their employment. What these people (and you) may not realise is that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

Some gaps are easier to explain than others. But if you go about it in the right way, you can use a break to your advantage. Here's how...

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My guess is that you've got at least one to-do list.

Chances are, you probably have a few more. But have you ever had a to-do list as long as your arm that doesn't get any shorter? No matter what you tick off, it seems to stay the same length, or get even longer.

It's the same when you start a project. You plan it, start it, but it never seems to get finished. Days and weeks go by and you're stuck at the same point, not getting time to work on it, not getting time to finish it.

We can spend so much of our time focusing on what we don't do, especially as bloggers.

You haven't tried Periscope yet, you've not edited your photos for next week, you've not finished your free opt-in offer for your mailing list, you've not checked your Facebook groups in a week.

It can become exhausting.  

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Yesterday, I sent an email to my lovely tribe of people about something I've been struggling with lately. I feel like I've needed your help over the past few weeks, although it's taken me the last few days to realise it.

Today, I want to talk to you about it.

Unlike the usual content you see on this blog, this post won't teach you a new skill. It won't be a tutorial and it won't have anything to do with social media or digital marketing.

But it will be honest.

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Happy Friday folks! It was A Level Results Day this week, so if any of you got your results, I really hope you did well. It's been six years since I got mine and I still remember the day perfectly in my mind. It actually made me quite nostalgic - do you ever let yourself take a look back at everything you've done and see how far you've come? I hadn't until this week. I was worried that the six years had just passed me by. But thankfully, I'd achieved more than I ever thought I would.

Which is why this week's Weekend Reading is all about being purposeful and productive. So at the weekend, take a beat to see how far you've come.

Then read these posts for more inspiration!

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Three years ago, a lot of bloggers didn't know anything about SEO.

It was a buzz word, making its way around the community. We were aware of it, but we didn't think it was that important and we definitely didn't understand it.

Fast forward to today and it's a completely different stories. Now, we all want to know about SEO. Whether it's in a Twitter chat, a Facebook group or a blog post, people want to know about it. We want to know how to use it and how to maintain it.

It's all well and good learning what SEO involves, and what you can do for your own strategy. But do you have any idea what you might be doing wrong? I was doing things wrong for a good six months when it came to SEO. Since then, I've learnt from my mistakes (and learnt from the pros!) to know what works and what doesn't.

So today, I'm not going to share with you what you can do to boost your SEO strategy - I'm going to share the mistakes you can avoid, which are going to help you out a lot for the long term vision of attracting a community to your personal brand.

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