Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is what we as individuals, actually want in life, and how our decisions affect everything. Lately, I’ve seen some of you struggling with knowing what direction to go in and how to get there. But ultimately, that comes down to knowing what you want.

Whether it’s your career, your life or your blog, we can go through a time of feeling lost and confused. There are so many options, right?

But you’re not alone.

When we do something without really knowing why we’re doing it or why we want it, it can actually make us less likely to achieve it. Let’s say you start up a mailing list for your blog. Your initial reason for this is because:

• A – You’ve been told by other people to set up a mailing list
• B – You’ve seen how successful some bloggers have become due to their mailing lists

Yet you don’t have a valid reason for doing it.

So you start out sending emails and trying to grow your list without success.

Why?

You don’t actually know why you want it or why you’re doing it.

Read More

When I first came up with the idea of creating the 101 Best Sites Online Right Now series on ABOH, I had absolutely no idea what journey was about to start. At first, I was so excited by the idea that I didn’t consider anything else. But actually, committing yourself to a series like this is a huge challenge.

If you come up with a unique idea for a series, go for it. Don’t question it. But I’ll be honest…

It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do for your blog.

You’ll have more late nights, frustration and moments of wanting to give up then you’ll ever have with your online space.

But you’ll also have more enjoyment, satisfaction and pure accomplishment than anything else you’ll ever publish.

Leading up to the first instalment of the series, I was worried I would fail. I started to second guess myself, as you do. But once you’ve decided to commit yourself to it, and as soon as you involve other people in your plan, there’s no going back.

After it all, I can safely say that running a series on ABOH has been one of the best things I’ve ever done and something I’m planning to do again. But I do wish I’d had help along the way. Which is why I’m writing this today.

So if you’re thinking of doing something different with your blog or want to try hosting a series, here are some crucial lessons I’ve learnt that will make it successful for you. Plus, I’ll also give you some tips for how you can create your own – but you can look out for a whole blog post on that next month.

Read More

 

You see it every single day as a blogger. Everywhere you look - you must be on social media. You must do this, you must do that. You know what this ends up becoming? Digital clutter.

After our conversation about unfollowing lots of blogs because they've become the same, I found that a lot of you were in a similar position. You were all fist pumping the air because I was saying what you all were feeling.

I've been having chats with friends online in the community about the issue of digital clutter. It's been eye opening. One person I really admire online, Kory, actually tweeted a link to an article the other day saying she was really considering doing what the writer was discussing: unfollowing everyone on the internet.

It might seem extreme, to completely take that part of your online presence away. But the question you have to ask yourself is whether this is all affecting your online presence in a good or bad way?

Our full inboxes and full feeds can usually make us feel only one thing - that we have to do something or buy something. Everyone is creating the latest course ready for us to buy. Everyone wants us to sign up to their mailing list.

Here's the thing. If we all start creating the same things, the comparison trap gets even easier to fall into. But that's not what social media should be about. Today, I want to chat with you about this and see if we can get back to the roots of social media.

When you first signed up for Twitter, why did you join it? Community and conversation. You got to be a part of something and you got to talk to real, like-minded people. People who were interested in the same things as you. People who had the same views as you. It was a way of seeing everyone on a real level.

Then brands and businesses cottoned on, and soon enough, everyone was on it. People started to see that actually, you can make sales through social media. You can actually promote yourself a lot on these platforms.

That's when everything changed.

 

Read More

A flower arrangement I made for my mum.

Roses and a card from Tom to say congratulations on my new job.

An end of summer sunset.

Gardens and a tea room in Waddington.

A little stream in the morning sunshine.

Autumn flowers.

A dream catcher that Tom designed for me to celebrate our two year anniversary.

 

 

Read More

“Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.” – Will Self

DOES THAT MEAN AFTER THREE MINUTES, YOU COULD LOSE A MOMENT FOREVER?

When you think of keeping a diary, you think of writing down what's happened in your day. You note down what you're doing, what you're looking forward to and other general thoughts about your day. It's this secret thing that no one else can see but you.

JOURNALING IS DIFFERENT.

My journal is something I'd feel comfortable reading to my family. It's somewhere where I write down my thoughts, my likes, my dislikes, and thousands of other things that are floating around my mind.

JOURNALING CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Read More

"The day you stop learning, you're definitely not an expert."

We can go on quite a journey with our blogs. Think about how long you've been running your online presence for and how much has changed. Think about how much you're always striving to do to be better. Think about how much you're always doing to try and improve.

IT'S EXHAUSTING.

I've had this post by Sophie saved somewhere safe ever since she wrote it. For a while, I read it almost every day. It really struck a chord with me, and today, I wanted to share my own thoughts on this.

It seems that so many people are trying to better themselves, their blog or their business. Everyone is always taking the latest course or trying the newest trick on social media. It's great to set goals and want to achieve more. But the problem is that people can get caught in a bubble.

Let's take email lists as an example. Off the top of my head, I can name five different bloggers who have courses about building your email list. I bet you can also name a lot of bloggers who have written a post or two on the topic.

But here's the issue - that is one person's opinion. That has worked for them and only them.

WHO'S TO SAY IT'S GOING TO WORK FOR YOU. WHO'S TO SAY IT'S GOING TO EVEN BE RELEVANT FOR YOU?

Read More

You're busy - I get it. 

So am I. 

I know you've got loads of things going on. Different projects, roles and responsibilities that all need attention. 

Your job, your family, your home, your pet, your garden, your wardrobe, your body. Each piece of your life needs to be kept on top of and fed with all the right things. How do we do this? By having the goal of a healthy lifestyle. We all know the endless benefits of being healthy. Not only can you feel great, you can look good and fight off sickness. But I get it – you’re busy.

So when you’ve got a crazy busy life, how do you manage to keep up living healthily? 

 

Let me paint a picture for you. I know to keep my body in the shape it’s in requires me to eat healthy food and exercise as often as I can. In my new job, I have a big number of weekend and evening events to attend at various schools around my area. Days when I’ll leave home at 7:45 in the morning and won’t return home until after 9 at night. 

How do I continue to eat well? How do I fit exercise into this routine?

Read More

1. The colours of the trees
2. The sounds of the leaves crunching beneath your feet
3. Plaid scarves
4. Your winter coat
5. Hot chocolate
6. Soups and casseroles
7. Halloween
8. Pumpkin carving
9. Pumpkin everything
10. Bonfire Night

Read More

After being in education for so long, it's pretty hard to believe that I've been in full-time work for just over a year now. So much of these past twelve months has been spent finding my way, finding out what I want, and more importantly - finding out what I don't want. But now, I can see that all the celebrating, the tears, the frustration, and the pure accomplishments have all been worth it. Today, I'm sharing the biggest lessons I've learnt during my first year of full-time work.

Your first job will never really be your dream job

Neither will your second or third for that matter. You're very lucky if you find your first job to be the one you want to stay in forever. It takes patience, persistence and a real sense of self to find the career you want to spend the rest of your life doing.

It's not enough to just have passion  

Passion is amazing. You can be good at what you do and enjoy what you do without passion. But is passion what gets you through 365 days a year doing the same work at the same place? Not so much. It takes dedication, determination, and strategic thinking. Passion will always help you, but you can't expect to grow in your career without taking action and pushing yourself forward...

Read More

Have you got a degree? An MA? A PHD?

Or have you built a thriving business? Have you worked for national brands? Have you got a wealth of experience?

A few years ago, it seemed like the only way you could get a job was by having really good qualifications. Now you need experience, too. Both. So not only do you need to work hard at school and university, you've got to build your skills and get experience on the side too.

How can we do it all?

There's always an argument when it comes to our careers whether we need qualifications or experience more. Some say the former, and some say the latter. I say both. But when it comes to my first job, it was qualifications that got me there. Today I'm exploring these thoughts and sharing my personal experience of how my qualifications not only got me my first job, but also got me my latest job as a Marketing Coordinator. I'm also sharing a handful of essential skills for your career that studying for qualifications can teach you.

Read More

“Everyone's an expert." “Anyone can say anything” – how much do you believe in these two statements?

It seems that lately, many people who run a blog think of themselves as experts. First, we saw a few people turn their blogs into businesses. Now, it seems that everyone who starts a blog has this as their end goal.

This can be quite dangerous – for me, there’s a huge difference in someone who’s been blogging for six months, to someone who’s been blogging for three years. But which one of them is an expert?

Both of them? Or neither of them?

The trend in blogging nowadays is for people to be encouraged to position themselves as an expert. We’re all growing a social media community so why not teach others how to do it? We’re all trying to create great content, so why not teach others to do the same?

The problem is, that when everyone starts having this mindset and chooses to blog in this way, this is all we read.

This direction might benefit you – but who’s to say it’s benefitting your readers?

Read More

1. I can't remember the first line to my presentation... 

2. Why is it that all I can think about is a photo I saw on Instagram this morning?

3. Oh, she's just come out of hers. She looks nervous. That's good.

4. What if that's a good thing for her?

5. What if they think she's amazing?

6. I'm pacing now.

7. Why are my palms so sweaty?

8. Actually, why is everywhere so sweaty? I wish I'd brought deodorant.

9. What if I get in there and I just can't speak? What if instead of talking about what I'm meant to talk about, I start singing the alphabet instead?

Read More

There are a few core things I believe in when you’re choosing to do something with intention and actively building a life that you want to live:

•        Our true purpose is created through consistency, support and honesty

•        Spending time doing what you want to do and doing things that fulfil you will reflect your mood and outlook in a positive way

•        You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing just because you think that will work

•        You will always be one of the most important people in your life even if you don’t realise it yet

Being intentional means being purposeful. And being purposeful means doing the work that is going to fill your life and take you one step closer to where you need to be. It’s about using your instincts, your gut feelings, developing your own way of working, and ultimately understanding yourself enough to know what you want. You know what you want to work on to improve yourself, your job, your blog - anything. That dream you've got or the goals you have. But what stops you? What makes you procrastinate? What holds you back?

Believing that this is the work you’re supposed to be doing, when you’re not committed to it.

Read More

Do you want a job that involves scrolling through Twitter and Pinterest all day? Don’t become a social media marketer.

The above is just one of the myths of what it’s like to have a career in social media.

Don’t get me wrong – working in social media is great, if you love it. But you’ve got to be prepared to work hard at A, getting the job, and B, when you’re actually in the job.

Every job has its pros and cons, and working in a social media marketing role is no exception. But is it for you?

I’ve been working in social media marketing for over a year now. Today I’m sharing the pros and cons of doing this for a living.

Cons

It’s time consuming

We all know how time consuming social media can be when you’re a blogger, but when you’re doing it for a day job? You could spend your whole day on it and wonder where the time went. When it comes to social media, it’s important to spend time doing tasks that are going to benefit you and your business. But you’ve also got to be willing to spend as much time as possible researching new trends, learning them and putting them into practice.

You deal with complaints

Social media is becoming the new way of dealing with customer service. Instead of phoning up or sending an email, people now take to Twitter and Facebook to share their opinions. But this can be a bad thing. Some days you might not have any complaints to deal with. Whereas on other days, it could take all day. Even the top companies like Apple and Topshop are going to deal with customer complaints on a daily basis. Just make sure this is something you can handle.

Read More

If you’re searching for a way to change your life, blogging can be a great way for you to do so.

Now, before I continue, I want to admit that, yes, changing your life is a very broad and bold statement.

It can mean so many things. Our lives are full of a dozen aspects. How can one thing so simple change something so undefined?

Blogging can change your life in many ways. Let’s face it, having a business or brand online can be lonely, confusing and extremely overwhelming.

When you start blogging, you naturally start building a community.

Whether this is on social media, in an email list or just through your blog comments, you will be surprised at the response you receive.

With all of the bloggers out there, you probably don’t see a reason why anyone would find a reason to read your content, but I promise you, if you start writing about your passions right now, you will start building a community within a few posts.

After a month of blogging, I had people asking to be my client, based just on what they read on my blog.

Read More

This week, I've been waiting to hear whether I'm going to be shortlisted for my dream job - I should (hopefully crossing all my fingers). I'm currently in the temporary role, but because it's temporary I had to apply for the permanent post. So it's safe to say that while I've been working my butt off, my brain has also been ticking away, wondering when I'll find out if I'm shortlisted for an interview. Are you in this position this week? If you are, here are ten things to do while you're waiting to hear about it.

1. Distract yourself. Once your application is submitted, it's gone. Don't worry yourself thinking what you may or may not have included. Throw yourself back into your life and your hobbies.

2. Carry on powering through in your current job - or if you're applying for your first job, keep submitting applications.

3. Make a brew, because a cup of tea solves everything.

...

Read More

When was the last time you made a mistake? It can be big or small. Yesterday? Last week? Last month? It wouldn’t surprise me, because mistakes are part of life.

They happen. It’s only natural. And you can learn a great deal from them. But when you’re at work, especially when you’re a newbie, you thinking making a mistake could mean the end of your job.

Picture the situation: it’s a normal day at work. You’ve got a to-do list a mile long that you’re juggling with phone calls, meetings and emails when it hits you. You stop. Your eyes widen. Your stomach starts turning. 

You’ve made a mistake.

Whether you’re told you’ve made a mistake or you figure it out for yourself, neither situation is pretty. Instead of worrying about how big of a mistake you’ve made, it’s actually more important to focus on how you’re going to react. You might act too quickly by covering yourself up or making an excuse. Or you might deny it completely. But that isn’t really the way to go about it.

So how should you play it? Well probably like you, I’ve made mistakes during my career and I’ve learnt the best way to deal with them. Read on to find out the best way for you to deal with making a mistake at work.

Read More