Welcome to the Productivity Blog

If you've not heard the news, Twitter has announced that they'll be 'opening up' the character limit. They aren't planning to make huge changes straight away - for now, the plan is to not include links and pictures in the character count. 

For many of us, we've seen this coming. Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest have all made algorithmic changes over the past few months, so it became time for Twitter to do the same. 

So in light of this news, naturally a lot of people are going to be talking about this social platform. I know out of all the channels, Twitter is the one that confuses people the most. And as a huge Twitter fan, I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you.

Since I started implementing a strong Twitter strategy, my community has grown dramatically. Now, I get more followers, more mentions and my blog posts get shared more than ever before.

How did I get to this point? It's taken a lot of trial and error, determination and an open mind. Today, I thought I'd share with you some of the best ways that you can grow your Twitter community.

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Thinking about dipping your toes into the world of freelance writing?

Having the freedom to create your own schedule, set your own rates and choose the best people to work with are just some of the reasons why being a freelance writer is so appealing.

So, what do you do when you’re first learning about something new? You research and read up on it as much as you possibly can. But, then you end up becoming completely freaked out about the whole thing, because you feel like everyone is telling you something different.

If you’re nodding your head thinking “this is me”, then I want you to know that I’ve been there, and actually, I still am. There are days when I read SO many articles about freelance writing that I just don’t know what to believe.

This meant that it took me a lot longer to get going with freelance writing and made the whole thing a hell of a lot more confusing too.

It doesn’t have to be that way for you.

I’ve wanted to start creating more content about freelancing, so today, I’ve got seven things you need to be aware of as a newbie. Now, these will all require some sort of action from you. Your freelance business won’t grow if you’re not helping to make it grow and getting yourself out there. So here are some of the things I think you need to be aware of if you’re thinking about freelance writing.

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Hands up all of you out there who think you 'can't' do something. Yeah? Me too. 

It seems strange to think that we spend most of our lives doing things that we originally don't think we'll be able to do.

I've always been a writer. For as long as I can remember. I spent the whole of my childhood with my head in a book, and writing pages in my journal. In primary school, I won an award for reading a certain amount of books, and further into high school, I lived for my English and Drama classes. 

At college, I took A Levels in Drama, Media and English. It soon became time to decide which route I was going to go down - journalism or acting. This was still around the time when most creative subjects weren't considered 'academic'. Ultimately, I chose what I was strongest and most passionate about, which was English. I didn't go straight into a journalism degree, partly due to advice from my tutor, and partly because I didn't think I'd be able to hack it. I also never thought I'd be 'up there' with the magazine journalists who have thousands of followers on Twitter, writing for one of the biggest publications in the world and absolutely loving every minute of it.

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Since the start of the week, I’ve been thinking a lot about this online space. I wore my heart on my sleeve in Wednesday’s post (as I always do) and I think it’s what I needed to do to see where this path went next.

In the midst of all the planning, work and pure tiredness, sometimes letting go is what we need to build the blog we really want. I thought I’d found my feet. But it seems I need to carry on finding my way for now.

After your comments and from talking to my family, I’ve decided to make some small changes to ABOH, and I wanted to share them with you today.

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There's a question that we all ask at some point throughout our career journey. Does the perfect job even exist? You search and search for the right one, and when you think you've found it, you're knocked back down to earth again. 

You don't like your boss and you're given tasks that you didn't know would be a part of your role. Or you thought the culture was so great when you went for your interview, but it turns out to be the complete opposite. 

But what's worse is when you keep going through this same situation. Oh, and all of your friends found their perfect job about six months ago. So you're on your own.  

I don't really know if there's a dream job. I believe more that you pick a job to fit in your dream life. But it's also very frustrating when the people around you seem to be in important, well-paid jobs, while you're still riding the train waiting for your stop.

Here's a secret - no one really has the 'perfect' job. People might have jobs that they love, but they're always working to change things and improve themselves. If it was perfect, there wouldn't be any need for change, right?

But what they do have is a mindset that helps them create the life they want with the right job for them. Today, I wanted to share with you how you can do exactly the same. 

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Today I was supposed to write a post about freelance writing. The plan was to share with you why I want to add freelance writing to my personal brand, along with an action plan so you can help to hold me accountable.

But when it came to writing the post, I didn't feel like it. It wasn't what I wanted to write about. I actually felt called to write something else, so here we are.

On Sunday morning I was very emotional. I let out what I'd been keeping inside me for a good few weeks. It was about a mixture of things. But the basis of it was that I just felt completely overwhelmed. 

I get so many comments and questions from you on here and on social media and you wonder how I do it all. You say how good I'm doing, how well I mange my time and that you just can't believe that I do everything I do. I even write about managing your time and what to do when things get too much. 

Well I'm breaking through that outlook today, and I really hope I don't disappoint you. Because the truth is, even though I try my absolute hardest, I can't do it all. I can't. I had such a huge to-do list this past weekend and there was no way on this planet that I was going to get it all done. I got done as much as I could. But doing it all would've meant missing out on rest and time with my family.

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I think most of you would agree with me when I say that coming up with blog post ideas is one of the hardest parts of being a blogger. 

Content is the foundation of what we do and what we give to our readers and one of the constant pressures we feel is coming up new title after new title. Having fresh ideas can really get to us.

I’ve been a blogger for almost three years and as of a couple of months ago I started blogging seven days a week, and I’ve been freelance for around twelve months, where I’ve got a few websites that I contribute to.

So I can safely say that there are days when I go completely blank and can’t come up with any ideas.

Has this happened to you?

You’re planning your editorial calendar for the month and you can’t think of a single topic idea for any of your categories! 

While one of the best parts of being a blogger is the fact we’ve got free range to blog about what we want and come up with our own topics, this can also be very time consuming.

So, as we do in exercise, we want to work smarter, not harder. Which means today I’m giving you a huge list of blog post ideas that you can use for your blog and other projects if you have them. Make sure you bookmark it so you can save it for inspiration - and let’s get right to it.

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In my job, I get to speak to lots of different people. A big part of my role is interviewing 16-year-old high school pupils who are making the transition to college. I couldn't tell you how many I've interviewed since the start of this year. All sorts of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. Some I might see again. Some I might not.

What I notice most of all though, is that there's a huge difference between them. You can sort of split these kids into three groups. Two of the groups are at opposite ends of the scale - you've got the ones that want to do really well and work their butts off to get there. And you've got the people that aren't doing well and have got to the point where they don't care.

Then you've got the third group. The group in the middle. Most of the kids I've interviewed probably fall into this category. They're the type that are predicted to do really well but aren't doing well at the moment. They might be predicted As and Bs, but they're coming out with Cs. 

I usually say, "Well your predicted grades are a lot higher than the grades you got in your mock exams, aren't they? So what are you going to do in the run up to your exams to make sure you come out with the best grades you can?"

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Hey friends! Are you enjoying this absolutely beautiful weather? The sun does wonders for me and always makes me feel better. I've had a lot of work on this weekend, but I'm so thankful that I've been able to do it outside. 

When you go on holiday and take a full break from your blog and everything, it's pretty unbelievable how much work goes into it. When I started planning my guest post schedule, I thought, yeah this'll be a breeze!

Boy was I wrong.

It feels like everything's come at once and I'm like a planning bumblebee at the moment, buzzing round making sure everything is in place and ready to go.

I don't know why I decided to use a bumblebee but it's sunny so we'll just go with it.

Anywho, I know how much you'll have missed last week's Seven for Sunday round-up, so without further ado we're back again with the first one of May. Enjoy!

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So this week’s reminder may have come straight from me watching Cinderella earlier in the week, but I think it might be my favourite phrase of all time.

One of the themes I’ve been noticing recently – in conversations with you, in conversations with me and in the things I’ve been paying attention to – is the idea of there being too much out there.

I know, I know. You’re sick of hearing about all the noise. But hear me out.)

I’m noticing that whenever we have a new idea for something we think, Oh I bet that’s already been done before. She’s so much better at that than me. I’ll never be able to compete. There’s just no point, there’s too much out there already. I can’t get myself known.

But I’m starting to believe that we’re categorising that too generally.

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When you’re eating out and you look around the restaurant you’re in, sometimes I can’t believe it. Over the past few years, people have become addicted to technology. But we don’t see it as an addiction. We see it as an extension of ourselves. We’re always tuned in and always, well on. Looking around a restaurant, it’s no surprise to see most people on their phone. And today, that’s become the norm. Seeing people on their phone while they’re supposed to be spending quality time with their loved ones is seen as acceptable behaviour.

I for one, am not one of those people. I believe that when you’re spending time with family, you’re spending time with family, and technology shouldn’t get in the way of that. Taking the odd picture is fair enough, but not a whole browsing session.

This isn’t to say I’ve got a good relationship with my phone! It’s really not. Because I too, am always tuned on. But I can safely say that I’ve gotten a lot better over the years and I realise how important it is to have that separation. So today, I wanted to share some of the ways I’ve found that help me be more intentional with technology. 

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In two months, it’ll mark a year since I applied for the job I’m in now. The fact that I love it just as much as I did in day one makes me feel all kinds of lucky, and I know there’s not a great deal of people out there who can say that. So today, I wanted to share some of the things that helped transform my career and got me to the position I’m in today.

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Friends, I’m excited. Really excited. You see today I get to share with you what I’ve been working on behind-the-scenes over the past few weeks.

The #BloggingBreakthrough community started off as just an idea. An idea to help bloggers with the basics and to share my own experiences so that they might help or inspire others. Then the series launched on the blog over the month of January and after that, the eBook was released. By this point, I had no idea that this would turn into a full blown community, but it has. Now, the people that sign up to the community sign up to be a Breakthrough Blogger.

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you’ll have seen that I’ve been talking about something I’ve been creating for the #BloggingBreakthrough community. I love sending letters to your inbox on a weekly basis. But I felt there was something missing. Something more I could do for you.

The eBook I created showed me just how much I love creating products like that and it made me think – well, why can’t I do something like that more regularly?

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this and a few weeks ago, it hit me.

I was preparing a talk I was doing to some high school students about my journey so far. I spoke about how I got to where I am today. As I was planning my script about high school, college, uni and my career, I realised that one huge factor that has stayed with me throughout is magazines.

Reading magazines, analysing magazines, creating magazines – they've been my first love since I was 16 and my ultimate goal was always to work for a magazine.

So I thought, hey – why not create my own mini one?

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Social media is definitely not an easy playing field. In fact, you have to be really smart about it to make it work. Saying that, there are thousands upon thousands of articles out there that tell you how to succeed with social media - and also those that put fear into people by going on about myths that just aren’t true.

When I first started blogging in 2013, I spent six months researching how to promote myself, what platforms I should be spending my time on and how long, plus what I had to do to make myself become a “successful” blogger.

During this set-up time, I spent my days reading too many blog posts to count. They all had contradicting advice that made me question where to even start when it came to social media.

I soon learnt that taking things back to basics, doing things my own way and creating my own unique system that worked for me and my blog was the best thing to do.

After time, I started to ignore all those articles, and now only pay attention to what a handful of bloggers are saying in the social media industry. I ignored the articles that said it’s easy, that said spending money on followers was the right thing to do, and that no one could really grow their blog using social media.

That was probably the best thing I could’ve done for my blog - any more social media myths that portrayed it as a time-sucking soul-destroying place of negativity would have had me cowering in my seat and never starting a blog in the first place.

But even so, it still took me a long while to figure out my path in the social media world and I got through a lot of myths along the way. So today, I wanted to share with you what I’ve learnt so far.

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Sometimes in our journey as a blogger, we can feel like we’re alone. It seems like we’re not really blogging to anyone. It’s very similar to working alone - running a blog can make you feel isolated and the support of a team can really be missed. Especially when there’s always so much to do.

A key to becoming a successful blogger isn’t down to pageviews or even what you actually blog about. What’s really important is the supportive network of family and friends that you have around you - like-minded people. These are the people that will bring out the best in you, that will help you grow, develop and learn more about blogging and about yourself as a person. They’ll be there to give you advice, share your journey, act as a cushion for when you’re having a tough time, and to celebrate with when things are going well.

But if you’re anything like me, it can be really difficult to find this support, especially when reaching out doesn’t come naturally to you. So that’s what I wanted to help you with today.

What you’ve got to realise, and what took me a long time to realise, is that you’ve got to reach out if you want to find this support. It won’t come and find you. You’ve got to seek it yourself. You’ve got to be active. You’ve got to make the effort. For me, there are two key characteristics we need as bloggers that play a crucial part in helping us find this support: honesty and friendliness. 

Don’t be afraid to reach out, whether it be a tweet, comment or email. You might not realise it, but commenting on someone’s blog every time they publish a post is creating a relationship with them, and you’ve no idea how much that could grow, or the opportunities you could get from it. What’s the worst that could happen? 

Finding support online means putting yourself out there. It’s scary, but here’s what I’ve learnt to help make the process a little easier.

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Hey friends. So I'm changing the usual Seven for Sunday post today because it's time for the monthly review. Last time I did one of these we had a four-day weekend and now we're in the middle of a three-day one - I hope it feels as great for you as it does for me! Apart from the fact that the weather has been a washout. Thanks Spring.

In my last Month in Review post, I said that things have calmed down a bit and that's true in some ways. I'm not travelling around as much with my job anymore, but this is one of our busiest periods. We've got events to organise, content to write and refreshed marketing materials to make for when the new academic year starts in September.

I have to say as well, that this has been the month I've enjoyed most for my blog in 2016. I've enjoyed all the content that's been published and I've loved creating stronger relationships with you, especially in the form of guest posts. I've got a schedule to fill up in June and August and it's been great hearing some of your ideas. But what's even more astonishing to me is that you actually want to contribute. It sounds silly, but the fact you want to write a guest post for ABOH fills me with such delight! Watch this space, because there's some great content coming your way.

I've also stepped up my game this month. I've started taking freelance writing more seriously with applying for opportunities and creating a page on my site. And I've also come up with a really exciting idea for the Blogging Breakthrough community which I can't wait to share with you all.

But enough about work - that's not what this post is about! April has been a very positive month, so here's a look at everything that happened.

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Happy Saturday everyone! It's a long weekend and that means another slice of inspiration to treat yourself to. This week's little reminder is something I've been thinking a lot this week in regards to my life, as I finally started calling myself a freelance writer.

I've always been a person that's wanted more for myself. I'm not a settler or a coaster. My parents brought me up to work hard and go after what I wanted. Someone said to me the other day that we shouldn't say to people, "you can be anything you want", because sometimes they just won't get to where they want to be. But I disagree. I don't think that's good advice. Because if you don't try to get somewhere, then really, what's the point? 

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One of my most popular posts on ABOH this month has been "Some of the best magazines worth subscribing to." The fact that you, my readers, response was so enthusiastic (combined with my unconditional love with all things to do with magazines), I thought to myself, there has to be something more I can do with this.

Which brings us onto this - The Magazine List. A monthly series where I'll review the best magazines and why they were so great. They'll be full of reading recommendations for you and if you love them like I do, then it's something else we get to share in common together. 

So for this month's instalment, there are four in particular that I want to talk to you about. Oh and P.S - I've also thought of another rather brilliant way to bring magazines more to this blog, so if you're intrigued, watch this space!

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Stephie writes things, over thinks things and drinks too much tea. Sometimes, the three collide and she makes a show. Other times, she blogs. She started her own theatre company and currently works as a programmer, working hard to follow her dream.

I asked Stephie to be the guest for this month's interview and share her career journey so far. I hope it will make you feel as appreciative and inspired as it made me.

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Maybe it’s just because my middle name is “motivation”, but I’ve always needed a good, strong workspace to help me achieve my best work. My office space has seen me throughout college, university and my Masters degree, but it’s not just the way I’ve set it out – it’s the actual supplies that do it for me.

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about how I set up my desk to increase my productivity, and I enjoyed that so much that I decided to get a post together about all the best accessories. I’ve come across so many great brands that have really great desktop supplies, so here’s my favourite picks to help keep you motivated and tick off that to-do list.

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