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new years
Procrastination As A Blogger
January 07, 2018
I think everyone has been guilty of procrastinating things at some point or another (whether or not they were important is another story but we are for sure all guilty of this) which is why it comes as no surprise that my biggest blogging resolution this year was to limit my procrastination time. That being said, I did come up with that resolution while procrastinating writing a blog post for today so I guess it can be somewhat useful.
When it comes to blogging procrastination can be pretty detrimental to your success due to the fact that more often than not you are the only one who is running this blog and the success of the content is all down to you. It is so easy to sit there following and liking peoples photos on Instagram and claiming you are getting your name out there or retweeting tweets instead of actually writing your own. You eventually begin to dig yourself into this mindset of 'if I tell myself that this is work enough times then maybe I will begin to believe it' but this mindset doesn't achieve anything other than making you feel guilty for the lack of work that you have done for that day.
This year I am setting myself the goal of uploading a minimum of four blog posts a week, meaning at the end of the year there should have been around 200 posts uploaded from me. I decided this as a way of tackling my procrastination because if I have such a large goal and something that I really do want to achieve then I am going to be so much more likely to stop putting my work off.
The one thing I do always forget though is that I am allowed days off and times where I don't do any work for my blog, I tend to try to keep things set to me working on week days and allowing myself to have weekend days off of working. This works perfectly for me within my lifestyle and routine of being an au pair due to the fact I am able to work while the kids are at school and take a break once they are back and then finalise things in the evening. It ensures that I get everything I need to do done everyday which is so helpful.
Often I will find myself writing a little to do list in a notebook I keep by my bedside full of things I need to do the following day whether it be for my blog or general life. It helps me to have a plan the next day and also then put into place what actually needs to be done and what I am convincing myself needs to be done - us millennials seem to be obsessed with being busy (a blogger I have been loving recently called Beth wrote a piece about this which I will link here) and it only seems to lead to my procrastination more than anything. If I have a simple list of things I actually need to do then I am so much more likely to achieve at least 2/3 of it all which is a massive difference to me putting everything off and binging Netflix all day.
2018 is going to be the year of me refusing to reach the level of procrastinating my procrastinating by procrastinating and actually smashing through this workload that I have decided it was so necessary to set myself. If you guy have any tips on working on avoiding procrastination and getting things done then feel free to share them with me, my to do lists and I will appreciate them a whole lot!
So Long 2017
January 01, 2018
'Nothing goes away. Not on its own. You deal with it, or it deals with you.' - Jonathan Safran Foer, Here I Am
This past year has been one of the biggest learning curves for me, I have had my heart broken, I have moved away from home, I have grown as a creator and watched my friends achieve incredible things to name a few of the things that have happened in the last twelve months of my life.
When I was reading a book my stepfather got me for Christmas I came across this quote and it really got me thinking about the way I want to approach my new year. Everyone knows the phrase 'new year new me' but nobody ever really thinks about the full extent of which this means, yes they are changing something about themselves but in doing this it means they are changing their surroundings and their lives in some way or another too.
I have been thinking a lot about what I want to achieve in 2018 and how I can get there, but I also realised that this means I am going to have to tackle the ghosts of my past that seem to enjoy coming back to haunt me every now and then. It means moving on from toxic relationships and friendships, blocking these people and leaving them behind to be able to live my best life without them being something that hinders my process.
One of the main things blog wise that I really want to achieve is posting three of four posts a week, I adored doing blogmas (despite stopping once I went home for the holidays in order to spend time with my family and friends) and really want to get more content out consistently while also contributing to be challenging myself. I also really want to begin to venture into being self hosted and convert to WordPress as these are things I feel will help my blog grow. A lot of people have begun to tell me that they see me to be an 'older sister' figure which is something I appreciate so much to know that I am able to support and help others and I want to carry this on with the realness of my blog in the next year.
Back to the initial point of this post though, while we are all desperate for fresh starts and leaving things in the past it is important to close things off first. Give closure to others where you are in need of delivering it and seek closure from those who owe it to you - move on once you have this closure and keep moving forwards. No future is possible without the past having happened, it will always be part of you and you need to find a way to learn to live with it without it coming back to bite you.
A Reflection On My Resolutions
July 21, 2017
Considering we are well over halfway through the year now I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon the resolutions that I created back in January and see how many of them I have achieved, and how many I can see myself achieving in the upcoming year.
I’m going to take the template from the original post, put it here and just add comments and thoughts around it to explain how I have or haven't achieved them thus far.
This Year I Will:
Begin to travel more. I intend to go and see a lot of my friends that live across the country and also see my mum more. For me, I think this has been achieved, I have travelled to Salisbury to stay with one of my wonderful best friends, I have seen my mum regularly and completely rebuilt my relationship with her. Within the rest of the year I hope to see more of the people I don't always get to see, but so far this has been an achievable resolution.
Learn to drive, I guess this will help with my traveling and also means I will have to stop getting the bus everywhere. Okay, so what with quitting my job and not having any income I haven’t been able to learn to drive just yet (I never even realised how much it would cost!!!) but I am employed again so hopefully I can get my shit together and learn to drive.
Help the people I love when they need it, becoming more selfless is something that I really need. I would like to think I have always helped the people that I know are struggling, however this year I feel as though I defiantly have done this even more. Running to my friends aid with pizza and hugs whenever is needed has become my staple way of comforting friends who need it.
Go to more gigs (not that I needed to make that a resolution, we all know I will do it anyway). Oh no, oh no, oh no, this is the one that I have failed at the most. Last year was jam packed with gigs, I was up in London at least twice a month seeing someone new, while this year is pretty sparse. Can some good bands please release some dates before I end up only seeing With Confidence three times this year!
Organize to see the people I love more often, this year went by without me seeing my mum and brothers due to the hectic-ness that was going on, however I want to see them as much as possible. This is the one that I had done the most of, I have been at my mums so much. I have surprised Canadians, I have spent days with new friends and old friends. I have seen family that I hadn't seen in years, it has been lovely.
Teach myself a foreign language (or at least try??). I don’t think I had time to do this in amongst my A Level revision, although Wuthering Heights felt like a foreign language in itself.
Enjoy things more, start living in the moment and stop worrying about the consequences of things so much. Ever the worrier me, I have begun to try to just live. I think it’s going well so far.
Read more poetry and generally expand my poetry book collection, as well as reading the Kurt Cobain journal book which I have been dying to read for the longest time. My poetry collection has definitely expanded, however when it comes to reading Kurt’s journals that goal is still unreached.
Create more, in general just create. I am going to write more and paint more and take more photos and do more sketches and pour my heart into creating - this is going to be the year of my art. I’ve created a blog series, I’ve done so many photography jobs, I’ve written poetry for myself and others. It’s going good so far.
Give thought out and heartfelt gifts, I am going to stop worrying about how much things 'cost' and show the people I love that I care about them. I know gifts aren't everything but when you have a job it is nice to be able to show the people you love that all they do doesn't go unnoticed. I have and I haven’t, but for those I have done they have been so thought out and given with love.
Prepare for uni, although I am taking a gap year I want to be prepared for when I go. I'm going to start saving money so I don't have to fall back on my student loan as much as I may need to. New job = time to start doing this.
Inspire others - hopefully, at least. I hope I have so far.
New Years Resolutions - 2017
January 01, 2017
Last year I wrote a little blog post where I complied a few of my new years resolutions and I thought it might be nice for me to write another one where I talk about my goals for this upcoming year. This year I want to do it a little differently, I came across a template on tumblr where it discusses 'this year I will' and has a range of sub categories which encourages me to think about things more widely.
This Year I Will:
Begin to travel more. I intend to go and see a lot of my friends that live across the country and also see my mum more.
Learn to drive, I guess this will help with my traveling and also means I will have to stop getting the bus everywhere.
Help the people I love when they need it, becoming more selfless is something that I really need.
Go to more gigs (not that I needed to make that a resolution, we all know I will do it anyway).
Organize to see the people I love more often, this year went by without me seeing my mum and brothers due to the hecticness that was going on, however I want to see them as much as possible.
Teach myself a foreign language (or at least try??).
Enjoy things more, start living in the moment and stop worrying about the consequences of things so much.
Read more poetry and generally expand my poetry book collection, as well as reading the Kurt Cobain journal book which I have been dying to read for the longest time.
Create more, in general just create. I am going to write more and paint more and take more photos and do more sketches and pour my heart into creating - this is going to be the year of my art.
Give thought out and heartfelt gifts, I am going to stop worrying about how much things 'cost' and show the people I love that I care about them. I know gifts aren't everything but when you have a job it is nice to be able to show the people you love that all they do doesn't go unnoticed.
Prepare for uni, although I am taking a gap year I want to be prepared for when I go. I'm going to start saving money so I don't have to fall back on my student loan as much as I may need to.
Inspire others - hopefully, at least.
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