5 Ways to Tidy up Your Social Media Channels
5 Ways to Tidy up Your Social Media Channels

When it comes to spring cleaning, you always start off with good intentions. Making a list is what usually happens first - room by room, task by task, you write down what needs to be done. Then you think it’s time for a brew - Netflix goes on, you jump on Twitter and whaddaya know? Two hours have passed.

But with some things, spring cleaning really needs to happen way before Spring even starts. With some things, it needs to happen now. Like your social media channels.

Most of us are guilty of never going on our social platforms other than to check our notifications and have a good scroll. When actually, there’s something we’re missing. There’s something we need to do at least once a year that doesn't really involve being social.

Let’s face it - your bio could probably do with an update (and possibly your profile photo), you’re still trying to create the “perfect” Instagram feed, but don’t know what that entails, and Twitter is still quite a mystery to you. Sound familiar?

You’re not alone, friend. If you want to feel better about social media, it starts with cleaning up your channels. Day 15 in the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge is going to tell you five ways you can do that right now.

Go on an Unfollowing Spree


I'm gonna’ start off with the most unglamorous task first, but arguably the most important. You've got to go through those followers. I'm serious. I know you might be following hundreds (or thousands) of people, and it might take you most of your afternoon, but trust me. This is what you want to do. And here’s why.

Sometimes, we follow people on a whim, without really paying much attention to who they are. Sometimes, the cheeky channels do it for us! But if they’re not relevant, you don’t have a clue who they are or they’re not bringing anything positive and valuable to your feed then they’re pointless being there. It’s not worth following them. Don’t be afraid of hitting the unfollow button!

I did this at the end of last year and cut who I was following down by about 300 people. It felt so good. Why? Because I knew I was getting rid of accounts that were meaningless. It left me with more room for the people I actually wanted to follow.

Keep scrolling, read all the bios and if they don’t float your boat, just hit unfollow. It’s as simple as that.

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Holly Suttonbloggers, social mediaComment
How to Tidy up Your Blog's Menu and Sidebar
How to Tidy up Your Blog's Menu and Sidebar

Have you ever gone onto a new blog, read an article and REALLY wanted to read more from the person...I mean they had such an awesome blog post....but then you take one look at the navigation and the sidebar, and you can't seem to figure out where the rest of the blog posts are?

The menu is cluttered with topics that don't make sense, the sidebar is full of unrelated ads and buttons from random "organizations" that the blog is apart of. And yet you can't find anymore posts to read ANYWHERE.

After a quick scan of course, you give up and click out of the page. Too bad, you really liked that first article.

We've all been there right?
 

Let's talk about actions that you can take to be sure that your menu and sidebar are user friendly and easier to navigate.

The first rule, that applies to both sidebars AND menus is to keep it simple and give as few options as possible.

Often, we think that by breaking up our content into tons of tiny categories or having a bunch of different pages, we are sure to meet everyone's needs when they come to our website. When actually, we have much more difficulty deciding what we want when there are too many options.

Think about visiting a big city with a ton of new, different restaurants, all with different foods and a good variety - you'll more than likely have a hard time deciding on where you want to eat and sit and debate about it until you end up drawing restaurant names out of a hat to decide. Now think about visiting a small town with only two restaurant options - maybe one is pizza and one is a diner. Your choice is going to be MUCH easier in the small town.

Although we like the idea of different choices, and maybe all of those choices ARE wonderful, people on the internet do not often spend time searching through each of these options available on your site. They like clear, defined choices so that they can get exactly where they want to go with just half a second of looking.

So what does this mean for you?

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Hayli De Jong blogging breakthrough challenge, bloggers, websiteComment
How to Find Your Own Unique Image Style
How to Find Your Own Unique Image Style

This is one of the fun parts! Researching and determining what image styles will suit your blog should be enjoyable (especially if you’re a Pinterest freak like me) and not time consuming. I know it’s easy to get sucked in and start collecting a million ideas, then agonizing over what will actually work. So let’s break it down and get you some gorgeous images!

 

 

What Do You Love & What Does Your Audience Love?

This is probably something you think about often when considering your blog and who you’re trying to reach. And it plays a big role in finding imagery that works for you. 

First and foremost, anything you do has to strike a chord in your heart and then you can think about others. So when you’re looking at images make sure they light you up, feel inspiring, and resonate with who YOU are. 

Once you have that piece you can start incorporating how the images relate to your audience and what they love to see. Obviously some common sense should come into play here - if your blog is about chic interior design, posting selfies of you and your cat probably won’t win your audience over. Find that sweet overlap between what you love and what your audience loves and that will guide your images.

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Why You Need To Try Publishing Content Every Day
Why You Need To Try Publishing Content Every Day

This online space has been running for over two years now. But I've actually enjoyed it and learnt the most about it during these past six months. This is my number one side project above all others, and it makes me so happy to create content for you and interact with you all each day.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not easy. There have been plenty of tears and stress levels have been high. But it’s been more valuable and rewarding than I ever could have imagined. Now, I couldn't imagine my life without this blog. I know it won’t stay the same – it’ll grow as my life does. But I want it to always be there.

But there’s something I always wanted to try – daily blogging. When I first started out, I posted three times a week. Then for a while I went up to five posts a week. As of this year, I'm pushing myself to publish a blog post every single day.
 

Why? Well that’s exactly what this post is going to tell you.


On Day 12 of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I want to talk to you about why you should definitely consider blogging consistently for a whole week. By the time you’ve finished reading this post, I think you’ll start to see the benefits.

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Why You Should Always Write About What Inspires You
Why You Should Always Write About What Inspires You

Not so long ago, I found myself in the depths of my worst ever blogging rut. It's a situation that most bloggers will be familiar with: I grew more and more reluctant to write and photograph, and became increasingly convinced that I wasn't good enough, creative enough or talented enough to be blogging at all.

The answer was of course a simple one... My concerns about "branding" and "fitting in" meant that I was rushing to hit publish on posts that didn't resonate with me. Instead of being excited to write and share my content, I was left feeling flat and drained, unable to think of a way forward.

If this is where you are now, today's post is just a friendly reminder that we all end up here. Blog for long enough and you are bound to hit a low; it's just part and parcel of being creative. To help get you moving forwards, here is my very best advice for finding the posts you love to write...

TAKE A STEP BACK

I ended up not blogging for around 3 months, but this lull ended up being exactly what I needed. Removed from the pressure of sticking to a schedule and meeting readers' expectations, I could clearly see that the problem was not that I was lazy or stupid: I was simply no longer in love with the content I was sharing. 

By Her Mirror was a beauty blog at the time, and the step back gave me a chance to realise that beauty posts weren't the ones that satisfied me most. Lifestyle and photography pieces were the ones I was excited to share, and that felt authentically me. I realised that for By Her Mirror, this meant a shift in focus was needed; I said goodbye to beauty content and I haven't looked back.

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A Space of One's Own
A Space of One's Own

Finding a space in which to work that makes you comfortable and free is an essential part of developing your voice.

How often has someone told you not to work in bed? That you should create an area in which you can be strict with yourself and focus, probably at a desk or kitchen table.

The people telling you to work that way will only have had your best interests at heart. They will have been teachers, tutors, parents, whoever and they’re correct - but only to a degree.

What's essential to being able to write, is having a space that is entirely your own, somewhere you can disappear into your own thoughts, theories and ideas.


And if you’re in your pyjamas under the covers, who cares?

In A Room Of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf wrote: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

While Woolf used the rest of her famous essay to put forward some of the trailblazing feminist theories that shape our thinking today, the practicalities of the situation remain the same as they were in 1929. It is essential for a writer to have personal space in which to write.

So while it might not be ideal to write from your bed, and you should try to ensure that you have the correct orthopaedic support, if your room is the only place that you have to write privately, then you should write there.

Whether you live with your parents, with friends or housemates, distractions are everywhere. Coffees being made, dinner being prepared, discussions about the day at work, university or school, all waiting to suck your attention away.


Writers need to be able to lock into a thought process and get thoughts onto paper as soon as possible, without being distracted by the delicious smells of a Sunday roast.

 

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How to Create the Perfect Structure to Your Day
How to Create the Perfect Structure to Your Day

Building a structure into your day is an important and useful habit to become accustomed to, and if blogging is factored into that, even better. As part of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge so far, I sat down and really thought about what I wanted my blog to be this year. This involved where it had come so far in 2015, and also where I want to make improvements, inspiring me to write a list of Blog Goals for 2016.

You may notice that right at the top of the list is “blog more regularly” – something that in my fledgling first nine months of blogging I have found difficult to grasp, with some weeks posting nearly daily and others only once. Having usually planned a whole bunch of great posts, not only does this push your schedule back, the sporadic nature can be irritating to your followers and appear erratic.

Therefore this year on Wooden Window Sills, I'm determined to design (and more importantly stick to) a regular calendar, both for blogging and more generally in life. Don’t know where to start? That’s exactly what Day 9 of the #BloggingBreakthrough Challenge is here for!


How Do I Start?

Firstly, use some of the pointers given on days 1-8 of this challenge. Trust me, they will be amazingly useful. For blogging in particular I especially refer to Day 4 on planning your editorial calendar, and equally yesterday’s Day 8 on writing lists. Because ultimately, the key to organization is both of these things – planning when you’re going to do things, and making lists of what you want to achieve.

I tend to use three calendar systems in my day to day life, and the beauty is, you may choose to not use any of them! The main thing here is finding what works best for you, so that it fits into your life and is easy to stick to.


What System Do I Choose?

To start, think about what style suits you.

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Holly Suttonblogging breakthrough challenge, planning, organising, bloggersComment
Let's Talk About the Amazing Power of the List
Let's Talk About the Amazing Power of the List

Let me ask you a question. Are you ready?

Do you have a to-do list for your blog?


It's great if you do. But if you don't, it wouldn't surprise me.

You see, being productive and being organised are two totally different things. You could write the best to-do list in the world. Completing it is a different story.

I can see the problem, though - because I've been there myself. Last year, I was trying so hard to come with a system for completing all my tasks for my blog. I tried out lots of different ways and none of them worked. Until recently.

I bet it's safe to say that many bloggers have a to-do list. But I bet it's also safe to say that you're making it more complicated for yourself than you need to be. That's where Day 8 of the #BloggingBreakthrough Challenge comes in.

I find reading about other people's productivity processes really interesting. And honestly? My blogging life would be nowhere near as successful without my to-do list process. I couldn't keep track of everything without this list, and since using it, I've been more ahead with my blog than I've ever been before.

So today, I present to you my process for creating the best to-do list ever for your blog.

So the main list I want to talk to you about is one for your actual blog content.

If you've been joining in with the #BloggingBreakthrough Challenge, you'll have sorted out your editorial calendar on Day 4. That's the foundation I use to create my to-do lists.

I don't have a monthly to-do list - my editorial calendar does that for me. My lists consist of weekly ones that I create every time I've planned the following month's editorial calendar.


What's in the List?

This list is to help you understand where you're up to with creating content in your blog schedule. I use paper and pen, but you can feel free to do it on Word or online too.

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How to Sort out All Your Blog Files Really Quickly
How to Sort out All Your Blog Files Really Quickly

The other day I needed to find a pretty important document that was in my bedroom. I remembered that I'd put it on my desk. But over a few days (plus Christmas), I'd also put a lot of other things on my desk. So much so, that I couldn't see the surface.

I was going back to work and my untidy bedroom had made me feel like my whole life just wasn't organised. So I tidied and cleaned it - afterwards, I felt a whole lot better.
 

So let me ask you something - can you relate to this with your blog?


Something we all want as bloggers is to be organised. We've got so many images, documents, calendars, ideas, printables and so much more that we want to be able to find quickly.

But if these are all over your computer, then it makes it quite difficult to stay organised, right?

Welcome to Day 7 of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge. Today I want to talk to you about how you can create dedicated places on your computer for all your blog-related items that will save you a massive chunk of time. Plus, you'll be able to get it done quickly. I'll be telling you the system I use so you can start using it too. All you need is some motivation and your drink of choice (tea for me). Let's go.

Spoiler alert – I don’t have anything on my desktop.

 

Nope. It’s a free zone of everything. All I’ve got is my pretty desktop calendar from The Blog Market and that’s it.

Some people have their desktops full of everything. And that might work for you. But to me, that just shows mess and clutter, which makes me feel like I’m not on track with anything.

The method I use takes away all of that. It’ll feel like a breath of fresh air!

If you’re on your computer reading this and you’ve got your folder open with all your documents that’s a fab place to start. But first, there’s something else to tackle.

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How to Tell People What You Do in Just 5 Minutes
How to Tell People What You Do in Just 5 Minutes

If there’s one question I know we all hate answering it’s this: “so, what do you do?”  We pause and think. What’s the right thing to say here?

I’ve been asked this question many times over the past few years. And if like me, you stumble across the words and can’t think of how to answer this question, then today’s post is for you.

The #BloggingBreakthrough challenge is all about getting a breakthrough with your blog, right? Part of that means you’ve got to be recognised and remembered.

How you answer this question makes all the difference. I was so sick of my response being “I work in marketing and I’m a blogger.” That sounds so boring, right? I mean, how many people work in marketing? And how many people are bloggers?

You want to be different. You want to be the only one that a person will remember when they ask you this question. So you need a good answer. You get that by creating a brand statement,



HOLLY, I'M LOST - WHAT EVEN IS A BRAND STATEMENT?

I first learnt about brand statements during my Masters course in Journalism, two years ago. For every brand we created during that time, we had to create a brand statement for it. This was so we knew exactly what each brand embodied. It was so if someone said, OK, tell me about [insert brand name here]”, we knew exactly what to say to blow them away.

Let’s say you answer “so, what do you do?”  with “I’m a marketer and blogger.” Boring, right? Or you could answer it like this:

"By day, I market one of the top sixth form College’s in the country through online content, email marketing and social media strategies. By night, I write for my online community about building a fulfilling online presence, reaching your dreams and getting to where you want to be. I also use what I learn on a daily basis as content ideas to teach my audience. It seems that people know what sort of what they want to do in life but they don’t believe they can get there. That’s what A Branch of Holly is for."

Which one do you think is the better answer?


Which one would be remembered the most?

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Want a Breakthrough with Your Blog? Introduce Something New
Want a Breakthrough with Your Blog? Introduce Something New

As we come towards the end of the first week in the 28 Day #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I wanted to give you just one tip. A tip that for me, completely changed the way people looked at ABOH. It was a breakthrough moment. And it’s actually not that difficult. Plus, it’s got nothing to do with strategies, SEO or burning yourself into the ground. The only thing it involves is you and your ideas.

If you truly want your blog to grow, you can’t stay static. It’s like anything. You want to move up the career ladder, right? You know you won’t be able to do that by staying in the same job. This is true for you blog, too. It’s all about coming up with new ideas and really, the whole point of day five of this challenge - introducing new things.

But I get it - you’ve got to come up with so many blog post ideas on a daily basis. You’re thinking, I can’t come up with a whole new series or feature idea for my blog too!

That fear is natural, friend. Many of us have felt that way at some point, myself included. Earlier this year, I felt like I didn’t have any ideas left. I wanted to do something different with ABOH. I wanted to introduce something new that wasn’t just another blog post. I wanted it to be bigger and better. But could I find the idea? No.

I tried so hard to search for this that the idea just never came. I’ve always believed that when you look for something, you won’t find it. It’s like when you go shopping and think, “I need a little black dress.” Chances are you won’t find it, because you’re set on looking purely for that. 

So I decided to stop looking. I stopped forcing myself to look for this new idea.

And that’s when it came to me like a light bulb.

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How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog
How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

If you’ve never used an editorial calendar for your blog, you’re really missing out. Even though this is one of the most important tools I use to run my own site, I’ve never actually written about it - until today.

An editorial or content calendar helps you plan out your blog posts for the month and keep track of them. This was one of the first things I learnt about as a blogger and I’ve been using one for two years.

Over time, I’ve tried out different ways of managing my calendar. But now I’ve finally found the one that works best for me. So for day four of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I want to share with you how I set up my publishing schedule and how easy it is for you to create your own editorial calendar.

Why Do I Need an Editorial Calendar?

If I’m ever asked by a fellow blogger whether an editorial calendar is worth it I always say yes. Here are a few reasons why:

  • Blogging consistently, whether it’s every day or once a week is challenging. An editorial calendar makes it a whole lot easier.
  • It gives you consistency by helping you post content on the same days and at the same time each week.
  • It improves your productivity by allowing you to see what tasks you’ve completed and what you need to do.
  • An editorial calendar gives you an overview of the types of content you’re posting - it can open you up to lot more variety.
  • It also allows you to monitor how often you’re blogging about certain categories - plus you can schedule all your content for when you’re going on holiday or taking a break.
  • You’ll be surprised at how many new ideas you get each month.

So now you know why you need an editorial calendar - let’s talk about how you actually create one.

Every blogger manages their calendar in different ways. But I’m going to take you through the steps of my process and show you my own editorial calendar.

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Goal Setting for Creatives
Goal Setting for Creatives

If there is something I have a love hate relationship with, it's goal setting. For some reason it works with some things I do but not with others; for example, my free email opt-in was taking a while, so back in October I gave myself the deadline of December 30th and it was ready almost a month beforehand. However, with my book I gave myself the deadline of February 28th and I’m definitely not on target with this one – as least 10,000 words behind on it and it’s been getting me down.

One question I always think is – how can I make my goals easier to achieve? 

Reading up on it, there is a lot of information and honestly with so much to soak up it can be hard to remember or even ascertain which information to follow. I’m sure they all work, but as everyone is different, I’m not sure what will work for me or you. Then I found a tweet by my friend Rebecca Viner - she has recently done her website, rebranded and set herself goals to achieve AND released a workbook – which you should definitely get if you’re just starting out. Her tweet went a bit like this: "Ultimate Vision - 3 objectives - 5 achievable steps. Okay so that's it broken down now lets create some goals."

Write down Your Ultimate Vision or Goal

Whatever it is that you want to achieve this year, write it down. It can be anything, from putting out your first workbook (free or paid), to setting up your course idea. It doesn't matter what it is that you're aiming for, only that you write it down. Once it's written it can't be forgotten - so write it somewhere you'll remember.

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How to Get Reader Feedback to Help Grow Your Blog
How to Get Reader Feedback to Help Grow Your Blog

Next month, I’m planning on recapping my first ever reader survey. I’m going to analyse all the data and talk about all the information I’ve gained from it. It’s so exciting to read your responses and find out how I can improve ABOH based on what you want. But I know what you’re thinking - how did I even get this feedback on my blog?

You’re not a mind reader. You don’t know what your audience wants. So how do you find out? By asking them. 

 

Reader feedback is one of the things that can benefit your blog the most. Your readers are like your cheerleaders. They’re there to share your content, sign up to your mailing list and tell people how great you are. These are the people who are going to be able to help you grow your blog right now.

It’s as simple as that. So on Day 2 of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I want to share with you exactly how I went about getting my own reader feedback, from start to finish. By the time you’ve finished reading this post, you’ll have everything you need to ask your readers for exactly what you want.

How Do I Get Reader Feedback?

The easiest and best way to get reader feedback is to create a survey. We’re going to walk through it right now. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself as we go through.

 

#1 What Do I Want out of This Survey?

If you run a survey just for the sake of it, you won’t get the answers you want. You’ve got to be intentional and purposeful with it. You need to know why you’re doing it. I can give you a general reason for why you’re doing it - to get a breakthrough with your blog. But the deeper reason is up to you.

Do you need to find out more about who is actually visiting your blog? Do you need to find out what type of content they like the best? Are you planning a rebrand this year and need some feedback? Figure out the deeper reason. I ran my survey to find out more about my audience, what they were enjoying and what they wanted to see more of. So this really helped me figure out what information I wanted from my readers.

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How to Get Your Blog Ready for 2016
How to Get Your Blog Ready for 2016

It’s official. 2016 is here which means it’s the start of a brand new year of blogging. Like me, I’m sure you’ve got lots of grand plans up your sleeve and want to make this another big year for your blog. But how do you make sure that’s going to happen?

If there’s one way to kick start the new blogging year it’s this. Forget reading blog posts, guest posting for others and scrolling your way through endless social media feeds. If you want a breakthrough with your blog, the first day of this challenge is how you make that happen. That’s what we’re going to talk about today - by looking at where you’re at with your blog right now.

Why Is Reflecting so Important?

You can’t breakthrough with your blog unless you know what’s working and what isn’t. It’s like anything - a business doesn't function year on year without a review. And you don’t move up the career ladder without an annual review. This applies directly to your blog too.

Before you can start to plan what you want to introduce to your blog this year and how you want to grow it, you’ve got to take some time and reflect on your current situation. So, what does this start with?

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2015 - A Year in Review
2015 - A Year in Review

2015 has been a rollercoaster of a year. There have been so many ups and quite a few downs. It’s been a year of change. But more than anything, I feel like it’s been the year when I’ve finally found myself.

Looking back, I can’t believe how much has happened this year and how much I’ve accomplished. I’m so thankful for the opportunities that have come my way and that’s what I want to celebrate today. I’ve seen these 2015 review posts around the blogosphere lately, so I wanted to join in and share my own highlights.

Top 5 Highlights of 2015

1. Getting the best job I could wish for as a Marketing Coordinator for a local sixth form College.
2. Seeing the sights, drinking cocktails and watching the sun go down in Nice, with Tom.
3. Our first family holiday in a long time to the beautiful Penrith.
4. My brother, Michael, getting a fantastic degree and going onto do a Masters.
5. Seeing Chvrches live in Newcastle, which was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.

Blogging Achievements

1. In Summer, I finally made the decision to up my blogging game. I transferred ABOH from Blogger to Squarespace and designed the whole site myself. I was scared at first and there were a few tears. But with help from Tom and support from my family, I did it. Six months on, I know it was definitely the right thing to do. My confidence is definitely growing, because I want to make even more changes now...

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5 Things: Christmas Day Traditions
5 Things: Christmas Day Traditions

Welcome to the last blog post in my little festive series. We've talked about the lead up to Christmas, Christmas Eve, and now we're onto Christmas Day traditions.

Christmas will be very different for us as a family this year, but we're all still really looking forward to it. I love Christmas Day. It always goes so quickly so I try and cherish every single moment. And as the big day is nearly here, I wanted to share with you some of my traditions.

This will also be the last blog post from me until just before the New Year as I'm taking a break over Christmas

So I wanted to take this time to thank you. You reading this right now - you play such a huge part in my life. You keep me coming back to this space and creating content for you almost every day. Thank you so much for all your support over the last twelve months and here's to a brilliant 2016!

Now onto the traditions...

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5 Things: Christmas Eve Traditions
5 Things: Christmas Eve Traditions

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...

Apart from my bunnies bounding around and Maisy rolling about on the floor...

 

As if it's Christmas this week. This week! Wow. These last few months have been such a whirlwind that it seems to have appeared in no time. Usually, the days leading up to Christmas seem slow, but this year they won't, because we're so busy. We're getting everything ready today for going away on Wednesday, I'm getting my nails done tomorrow and then we'll be heading up to the Lakes. Do you always find that you're really busy in the lead up to Christmas?

Anyway, carrying on with the little festive series I've got planned, today it's all about Christmas Eve traditions!

I find that Christmas Eve is always so different when you've got a full-time job. Most people working 9-5 have to actually plan their holidays so they can take Christmas Eve off. I'm lucky now that I work in the education sector that I get this time off. Last year I had to work it and wasn't allowed to take it off! When you're at school or uni, you can really get into the festive spirit early. But when you're working it's a different feeling.

So for those of you who might be working over the festive season, this is for you. I hope this list of Christmas Eve traditions will get you feeling festive in no time!

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5 Things: Traditions in the Run up to Christmas
5 Things: Traditions in the Run up to Christmas

Guys - Christmas officially starts today. That's it. It's my work's Christmas party, I finish for two whole weeks and I'm feeling very festive. My nails are glittery, the Christmas jumper is on and the festive season is well and truly in full swing.

For today and some days next week, I actually had different posts planned. I was going to round up some of the posts that you guys have loved on ABOH this year. But when it came to writing them, I wasn't feeling it. 

I've been thinking about where I want to take this blog in the new year. One of my decisions has been to bring more of myself to this space. I used to love writing lifestyle and personal posts. Lately I feel like that's been missing. So I hope all of you will be happy about this new aspect of ABOH. I feel really good about it!

So because Christmas starts today, I wanted to put together a little mini festive series for you all about traditions. Starting with my traditions in the run up to Christmas.

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Why You Should Reflect On Your Career At The End Of A Year
Why You Should Reflect On Your Career At The End Of A Year

What do you reflect on towards the end of a year? The moments you’ve enjoyed the most, what you’ve achieved and what you want to accomplish over the next year, probably. But do you ever think about reflecting on your career?

Sure you can talk about everything you’ve produced and the projects that have gone really well. But that just comes down to one job along. What about your plan? What about where you want to be in five years time?

Our careers are such big and important parts of our lives. We need to give it substance and treat it with the same reflection that we do with other things

Last year, I had a Skype session with a career advisor. I was completely stuck and didn’t know what to do. In that call, he gave me one of the best pieces of advice that I’ve ever heard. 

He said I should evaluate my career path each year. Evaluate it in the sense of whether I was happy, how much I was progressing and whether I still wanted to carry on.

If you’re anything like me, you’re not a coaster. You don’t want to stay in the same job role, on the same wage, doing the same thing for the rest of your life, right? Hell no! You want to push yourself with more challenges and more responsibilities. Evaluating your careers helps you understand whether you’re on track to achieve this - or whether you need to find new opportunities in other places.

No matter where you are in your career or if your career hasn’t started yet, evaluating where you’ve come and how far you want to go is so important. It keeps you honest about what you want

Last year was the first time I evaluated my career. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t doing the work I enjoyed and I knew at that time that it wasn’t the career I wanted.

Six months later, I felt the same way. I took this as a sign to evaluate again. That’s when I found the job I’m in now which is the best job I could hope and wish for.

So even though you might not realise it, you could be in a place now where you’re living passively through your career. You might think that there’s no point in making a change, or you’ve been there so long now that it doesn’t matter. Or worse - that it’s too late.

It’s never too late.

I used to think of my career as just jobs. Not an actual career. Now I think differently. And I think you should too.

Today, I want to talk you through the questions I ask myself when I want to reflect on my career. Make a brew, sit somewhere comfy, get a notepad or your laptop and get ready to dig deep.

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Holly SuttonComment