The Last Day!

Hello my fellow bloggers!

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Long time no see my blogging buds. How are you? How are things?

I have been focusing on my work recently as I approach my final day of placement. Apologies for my absence. If you have been with me since I started this journey you’ll know that I have been working for a year now within my industry as part of my university course. If not then go back and read my other posts c’mon!

So…my last day is fast approaching and then I am free for 3 months to do as I please…(within reason).

What would you do if you had 3 months absolutely free at your disposal?

One of my main plans is to get back into the gym and do a bit of swimming in the hope of getting back in shape ready for the start of university again. I am someone who suffers from hyper mobility/hyper extension of the joints or the slang term, ‘double jointed’. This has limited my ability and performance when it comes to training in the gym. If you don’t know what this is, I’ll briefly explain as simply as I can. So like the name states, I have more mobility in my joints than that of a ‘regular’ person. For example, I am able to bend my thumb all the way back to touch my arm, and when I stand If I push my knees backwards my legs will curve as if I’m facing the wrong way. This may look cool and be a little party trick to show your friends, but it can be quite painful at times. I am unable to squat due to my knee becoming weaker making it almost impossible to push myself back up. Obviously this is dangerous with a big weight on my shoulders so I try to avoid that.

However, I am interested and excited to adapt my work outs so I can work just as hard to achieve the best results. One thing I refuse to do is give up and become lazy. Adaptability is essential in all walks of life which has been more than apparent to me this year. From working full-time to tackling my health hurdles, I have made it to the end and given myself the best opportunity and boost in my career. Now I can focus on my life in a different way and I look forward to seeing how I can be the best version of myself.

Hurdles come in a variety of heights, sometimes they get bigger before we reach the end, but finding your way over them is a process well worth putting your all into.

Post Surgery and Young Entrepreneur

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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Long time no see! I’ve missed you! How have you been?

What have I been up to?

If you have been following me for a while you may have picked up that I have recently undergone surgery on both of my feet. I won’t bore you with the details/gross you out. I was pretty much house bound and became very ill afterwards with some repercussions. BUT…I’m on the mend and I should even be able to get back into the gym soon…I hope.

I’m pretty sure I’ve gained 10 stone (roughly) since hardly being able to move. One of the down sides of being off work. However, I don’t know about you, but when I have time off work, even as little as a few days, I feel completely thrown off of my daily routine! Only now am I starting to get back into it…even though I’m so flipping tired. I was able to pick up a few of my hobbies I haven’t been able to keep up with and I’m so excited for everything yet to come…

My latest entrepreneurial investment!

If you haven’t gathered from some of my other posts, I am a bit of a young entrepreneur. Always looking for the latest trends, buying and selling, all that kind of stuff. So, being bound to the sofa for a week gave me a little bit of extra time to surf the internet. I did a bit of research here and there, surfed ebay for a while, until I came across my next venture. I had seen this listing and you know when you’re shopping for some clothes…you walk into one shop, see something you like, but because it’s the first shop you want to look around in case you find something better. Only to revert straight back to that first shop anyway because you really wanted that item…that’s what happened here.

When I find something I like on ebay I will tend to privately message them to see if they will accept a ‘buy it now’ offer, meaning I will definitely secure the item/s. That’s exactly what happened and TAH DAH…it was mine.

What is it that I’ve bought? Okay, so no judging, I have previously sold a variety of makeup brushes and found them to be very popular. So this listing was offering 157 sets of oval brushes…of course I had to have them. Currently they are sitting in my room nice a neat. A few have been sold and I have been making steps to increase my sales.

I love the buzz of buying and selling because it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I’ve done this myself. Making investments is risky, but can pay off so I am starting small and hope to move onto bigger things. Even though this isn’t the first time I’ve done this I am a little out of practice, but love a challenge.

Do you want to know how you can buy and sell too?

There are soooo many things you can buy cheap and sell on, but it’s all about knowing your market. If you would like to know some of my hints and tips as well as how to make it a success then keep a look at for my next post as I will be covering everything I know!

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 It’s been a pleasure…until next time my dudes!

My Diet and Lifestyle Tips

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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Who is looking forward to the bank holiday on Monday?…

THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE!

Not only do I get a free day off, but I’ve also snuck in two more days off, so a five-day weekend is heading my way (internally screaming).  Does my boss know I’m not in? No…Am I looking forward to his reaction when he realises I’m not at my desk? Hell yes (even though I won’t be there to see it…shh).

What are your plans for the bank holiday weekend? 

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How many of you are always up for trying the latest diet trends?

How many of you feel like you’re constantly on a diet?

How many of you feel like giving up because you’ve tried everything, but nothings working?

Let me ask you this then…are you being completely honest with yourself?

I have been trying to stay healthy and make good lifestyle choices, but in my mind I know I could’ve been that little bit better. I can empathise with how difficult it can be to find foods that are interesting and tasty. No matter how many products are brought out onto our supermarket shelves and make health benefit claims, they always seem a bit too green for me…not very appealing.

What’s the next step?

For some people, the gym is not an option, but if it is, then even by going once or twice a week it 1. is more than you were doing before and 2. is a great starting point to build up from. If you hate the thought of sweating and working out in front of people then I highly recommend connecting your computer to your TV or getting the YouTube app on your TV. Why? The amount of exercise videos on there are insane. There’s no need for you to go out and buy one of these cringe DVD’s made my a ‘celebrity’ that used a PT to get fitter.

What do I recommend?

I personally, from experience find that HIIT work outs are the most effective.

HIIT is a training technique which involves intense bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by varied periods of low-intensity active rest, or complete rest. HIIT can be a great option for staying in shape when time is an issue, as you can get an amazing fat-burning workout in 20 minutes or less.

So, if you want to get great results from only a short work out, then this is the one for you. I have been doing the Joe Wicks (Body Coach) one which is available on YouTube.

Don’t feel bad about having a cheat day!

Everyone needs a balanced diet to function. Depriving yourself of the foods that contain higher fat percentages is actually more likely to make you gain weight when you may have them in the future. Maintenance is key! Having a day where you eat some ‘bad’ foods keeps your body used to digesting them. Remember, calories are your energy source, cutting them low and limiting your intake is damaging.

I have a cheat day every Saturday because it’s the first day I’m not at work so there’s nothing to distract me from snacking…unless I’m shopping. Allowing myself this day then curbs my cravings for sugary, fatty, salty treats. Do I feel better for it? Yes actually, I don’t get that guilt after eating a doughnut, or half a bar of chocolate because of the good work I’ve done all week.

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Moral: If you feel like there’s no where left to turn, go back a few steps and see what could be changed to alter your path ahead!

Success…I’m Coming for You

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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Anyone else feeling their motivation slowly dripping away like my ice cream did this weekend? …same.

So let’s do something to boost it back up!

What have I been doing to regain my drive for success?

Well, nothing too difficult actually. One main thing I have discovered that has really pushed me is a certain TV program. I’ve found that a lot of entrepreneurial shows are emerging recently and I’m loving it!

This particular one is called ‘Buy It Now’. The concept allows regular people like you and me to pitch a product they have invested their time and money in to create. For example, last nights episode showed a young woman who is a teacher. Her product was a non-slip fabric inner sole which supports both the back and base of your foot preventing blisters. She stands on a stage in front of 100 shoppers who have a light above their heads, if they like what they see and hear then they can turn that light green to show they’re interested.

As long as the entrepreneur still has one light left on after the price of the product is revealed, then they move onto talking to some investors of large corporations, for example, JML. So this particular woman had 40 green lights left on and went further to receive 25,500 orders from the investors. Overall, she managed to secure £225,000 in retail value of her products which is absolutely life changing.

One of the many goals I have in life is to create something everyone will love and appreciate like this. At the beginning of my year out working I was always thinking about what could be that next big idea, but the last few months I faded out of that a little bit. So, yesterday I decided to give myself a little pep talk, NO, I have to stick at this and make it my success!

How have I turned this into my motivation?

I have many notebooks, if you have been with me from the start of my blogging you will know this. In my ‘general notes’ book I began to think of problems that need solving in our every day lives, or hindrances to people. For me, this is a great way to get my creative juices flowing and come up with some cool, never seen before products. When I go back to university, I plan to take my ideas one step further and begin to make at least one a reality, so the time I spend planning everything now is vital.

For anyone who wants to do something like this, I promise you, you can do it, there’s no reason for you not to. We can always find a way to achieve what we want. Alongside studying for my final year at university I hope to have a finished or close to finished product ready to go and prove to everyone that you can be any age, at any point in your life to start something new and exciting. Why not be ambitious and start today?

If you are like me and love watching these kind of programs like the one I mentioned above, then definitely worth checking out, it’s on every weekday at 5:30pm on channel 4! (BST)

From Hobby to Business

Good afternoon fellow bloggers!

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We all have turned something we love into a routine or part of our live. How do I know this? Well we’re all here right now, blogging out minds away. However, a lot of us don’t earn from it and simply do it for fun and peace.

Do you have any other hobbies?

One of my other hobbies, besides blogging is art. I know some of you may have already seen my work, but here it is again (but smaller).

It’s very well known that artists do not get paid very well unless they’ve hit the big leagues. I wasn’t looking to make drawing or painting a full time job, but I have been looking at ways I can potentially monetise this passion of mine. One of the first things I did was look at all the pieces I had completed, as you can see I like to leave them partially done (was kind of my signature). I then had copies made of those pieces to sell. I currently have one left from the 20 I had printed which isn’t bad going. Having done a few commissions I had a taste for it and wanted to expand my prospects.

How can you turn your hobbies into something more?

Firstly, you obviously need to have a hobby you enjoy doing. Whether that be baking, drawing, sewing, gymming (my new word), whatever it may be, it can be classed as a hobby. Then you need to think about how you can generate something to put to market. So if you like to bake cookies, muffins, cheesecakes, then have a think about possible some new flavours you think people would be interested in. Packaging isn’t expensive and neither is ingredients so it’s low cost and delicious!

If you enjoy making clothing items, have a look at what is already on the market and see if you can come up with a new niche. Maybe lizard hoodies or something I don’t know (don’t judge for that comment please). 

You never know, you might come across a new hit product!

We all want to be doing something we love…right? This is an ideal place to start.

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Moral: Finding the right blend of business and pleasure is essential, the next big thing could be right under your nose!

Reminiscent

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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I sit here on a dull Tuesday morning at my desk thinking back on my time I’ve spent within the company I’ve been working for.

For those who do not know I’ll briefly explain what I’ve been up to. As a second year Architectural Technology University student I found myself a year out work placement within a local Architecture practice. I have, to this date been working here for 9 months and obviously that means I only have 3 months left. It’s been enjoyable, but quite tough I can’t lie.

One of my University tutors visits me twice over my time working here, she has already been once and is yet to visit again. Unfortunately I have to do a presentation and a few other things upon her arrival in a few weeks…yay…

So yesterday I began setting up and writing my power point so I’m well ahead of schedule. Even though I’m not quite at the end of my year, I can almost feel the finish line and this presentation has really made me reflect on my experience. If you are a student who has the opportunity to take a year out, I would highly recommend that you put your all into trying to secure one. Not only does it build you as a person, but at this stage in your life people really want to help you get your foot in the door and we all need to take advantage of that.

A lot of young people don’t realise that by starting things early and making yourself stand out in any way possible will benefit them hugely in the long run. I’m thankful to myself for putting my all into everything I do and I feel like I’ve set myself up well for the future. Without this placement I wouldn’t have realised what my true ambition is, let alone understand how to achieve it.

The main aim of my blog when I first started it back in January was to inspire, motivate and discuss my 5 year plan. I can look back on everything I have done so far (I know it hasn’t been that long) and put into perspective everything I’ve learnt and continue to learn. I speak about reflection quite a lot in my motivational posts because it is the one thing that spurs me on to better myself. Looking back at my mistakes, my weaknesses and my journey allows me to grow.

I see how my parents feel when they regret not being able to do certain things and I cannot express how much I want to prove myself to them and show them that anyone, even a normal student like me can achieve their own success. That doesn’t mean I’ll be doing it on my own because everyone needs their support system, but my independence means the world to me…and it should to you to.

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Moral: It’s never too late to turn things around, take some time to reflect and perspective will shine through!

Planning, Positivity, Pass!

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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HUMP DAY! We’re nearly at the end of the week and I have officially got 84 work days left of my placement (minus 19 holiday days) so actually I have 65 days that I have to come into the office! Not that I’m counting or anything!

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As excited as I am to have freedom again, I have 6 months until I go back to university to start my final year of study. That’s amazing, but also terrifying.

How am I going to approach my final year?

POSITIVITY! This is so important for me, mainly because I come across a lot of things that I struggle to understand. I tend to feel quite low when I can’t do something, so maintaining that positive attitude is imperative to keep my motivation through the roof. One thing that I have been doing for a while now, and this may sound silly, but I follow a lot of architectural Instagram pages. Simply by saving the innovative ideas that tickle my fancy I can look back on them and use them in my projects to give me that edge to stand out from the others.

I have yet again bought more notebooks. If you have been with me from the beginning of my blog then you’ll know that I love my notebooks and I swear by them. So yes, a notebook for all occasions is necessary. This time I have one to start planning my final year project. By doing this in advance I really want to nail everything I want to incorporate into it. My first 2 years were quite slack and I can now look back and to be honest I see how awful I was and how much I have improved since then.

Advice for students like me!

If I was to give any advice for students who aren’t very good under pressure and need to study a bit more than others to achieve the same result then ‘plan plan plan’. It is so important to get down as many ideas as you can when they pop into your head and to spread the work load. I know no uni student actually starts their work early, but if you have a spare moment or two just get on it, you’ll feel so rewarded. Even just sit in front of the TV and write a few sentences, it’s better than nothing. I think I only managed to do this once throughout my 2 years so far, but that one time I got everything done to a high standard which felt so so good. Not only that, but watching your course mates scrambling around doing all nighters gives me a warm feeling (evil I know).

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Moral: Reflect on your experiences so you can plan ahead to improve your future.

Jumping Hurdles

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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Sooooo…it’s time to grab a cup of tea (or hot chocolate because I don’t drink tea) and a cookie, sit down on your comfiest sofa, feet up, blanket on and have a catch up.

Previously I have mentioned how important reflection is. Taking a second to look back and evaluate our choices and decisions. Is everything going to plan? Did you choose correctly? Lets have a think.

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For me, this weekend just gone seemed like a bit of a mad rush trying to fit in everything I wanted to get done in a short space of time. From seeing one of my old school friends I haven’t been able to catch up with for over a year which was awesome to starting a sort of new side job. Can we just give some love to her because her stupid now ex boyfriend broke up with her on valentines day! (I never liked him anyway) What’s better than having a little venting session with your pal?

Anyway that was the first thing which was a great start to my weekend, since everyone has branched out, gone to university and doing their own thing, I haven’t seen any of my old friends for sooo long! I had left my boyfriend with my brother to go and see some new film whilst I enjoyed my Costa catch up…sorry not sorry. Again I had left him alone with my whole family this time whilst I went off for an hour to do one of my new little side jobs.

What is this side job?

As I have previously written about becoming a tutor (find it here…In Demand!), I was asked by a young mum on Friday if I would tutor her Primary aged son in a bit of Art. Of course I was going to say yes and I had my first session on Sunday. Now working with children has always been something I enjoy and have done it quite a lot in my time (like I’m some OAP). However, this young lad was very shy and wasn’t the best with communication. Not a problem, I made sure that he was as comfortable as possible and tried to make the lesson fun by structuring it in a way that suited him and what he wanted to do. Sometimes being adaptable for the benefit of others is a great selfless act. It feels amazing to know you’ve helped someone and are making a difference in their life and potentially their future.

It also helps that I get paid to do this, but that’s only a small reason I signed up to this tutoring platform. I hope to make contact with more students across a variety of subject…spread the knowledge!

How can you make a difference and do what you love at the same time?

I would start by thinking about your main passions. Whether that being makeup, baking, gaming, sports, anything! Question yourself, how can you make that into your own little venture? I believe there are endless opportunities and new ideas to be discovered. We all think differently and who knows, you may come up with the next big million pound, dollar, euro whatever…idea!

Take a minute…

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I’d love to hear if any of your are starting a new venture or are on the brink of a break through…lets get those creative juices flowing!

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Moral: Every so often we need to move into the slow lane and look back at all those hurdles we’ve jumped in order to keep going in the right direction!

How I Quadrupled my Traffic in Less than a Month!

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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I’m going to be catching up on a small backlog I’ve built up due to being a bit busier over the last few weeks I haven’t found the time to keep up. Anyway today I’ll be posting more than once to get everything up to date and keep the blog as fresh as the snow I’m hoping to fall so I don’t have to go into work!

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So here we go. Since starting my blog I have slowly, but steadily watched my traffic and popularity increase as time has gone on. It’s not even the end of my second month blogging and I have already drummed up 4 times the amount of hits, views, visitors, likes etc. than I had in my first month. I expect this happens to a lot of new bloggers as you start to establish yourself.

What have I done differently or kept up with?

It’s all about evaluating your posts and seeing what people are actually reading and making sure you’re consistent with your writing. Daily posts, weekly posts, whenever you find the time. So this includes how many views, visitors, likes and overall interest you get for each post. However, it’s not only about looking at the figures, you must also look at the best time of day and the day itself to catch people when they are delving into the site’s content. If you’re particularly looking to increase your traffic you need to look at this and make a decision as to what content you are going to include in future posts. If you simply have to get your ideas down as soon as they pop into your head then you ca even schedule your posts so they go live at a certain time. This can be done in the publishing tab when you’re writing. Simply click the blue button ‘publish’ and you’ll have the option to ‘Publish Now’ or check below and choose ‘Schedule’ where you can choose your optimum time. The stats tab is awesome on WordPress because it’s so clear to see the most popular elements of your blog.

Tip: Don’t forget to use tags within your posts! This consists of a few key words that you link to your posts so that when people search for things they’re interested in they can arrive at your page without typing in anything too specific!

Recently I have started using twitter for my blog and really engaging within the social media platform. I must say that if you don’t already have it you NEED to download it NOW! The support within the blogging world on all platforms is amazing. I discovered something called a ‘Blogging Follow Train’. What’s that? It’s self-explanatory (sort of). So bloggers who generally have thousands of followers make a post where others can re-tweet (post the tweet to their page for others to see) to their page, like the post, leave a link to their blog and find other bloggers within that post to follow and interact with…similar to some things within Word Press, but open to all. It’s like helping each other grow whilst growing ourselves…win win! Since engaging within the Twitter Blogging community I have found that my number of followers and readers increased instantly. Even on Twitter having only used it properly for a week or so I have gained over 100 followers. (check my links at the bottom to follow me on Twitter or Instagram)

I must mention, I do this because I believe in my own journey and want to share my words through my passion that is writing. It’s not always about having thousands of people visiting your site and trying to make money from this, but I understand that it helps which is why I am making this post.

What do I plan to do to keep growing?

Currently my plan is to keep writing and interacting with my blogging buddies that I have made already as well as explore some new platforms. In particular I am going to look at Pinterest. I don’t know a lot about it, but I know the basics and that apparently it is a bloggers heaven. I will keep everyone updated on what I’m going to be doing and how it affects my blog in a positive or negative way.

Not to forget that every week I make my little post on ‘The Community Pool’ which is a post written by ‘The Daily Post’ which allows new bloggers and existing bloggers to let everyone know what they’re about and attract new readers as well as make new friends. Don’t forget every Monday/Tuesday (depending where you are on this planet) you can find this post and give yourself that little boost.

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I hope this helped anyone who was looking for a little bit of inspiration on where to turn next and if anyone is a pro on Pinterest please help me out, any tips for getting started? Much love!

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Moral: It’s not always about the numbers, you need to do these things to make yourself feel good as well as others. However, If you’re feeling low about not having many people visiting your site, don’t panic, there are so many ways to meet new people, you simply have to put yourself out there and it will come!

In Demand!

Good morning fellow bloggers!

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I don’t know if you have read or been following my journey so far, but the other day I wrote a post about having more than one job and maximising my savings for next year…here it is if you want to have a read…Multi Tasker.

So if you haven’t read it I was basically talking about having a part-time job that I would be able to do alongside studying next year. Long story short, I decided to sign up to a tutoring platform whilst I’m on placement at home. It may be a silly idea, and you may be thinking I’m pushing myself too much, but its a great way to keep my mind active and earn a bit on the side. I signed up to a few different platforms actually over the weekend just gone.

Lo and behold, last night I was approached by my first student. This particular site allows both students and tutors to reach out to find what they are looking for. My main point I want to put across here is that, if you put enough effort, time and passion into something even as small as this then it is SO worth it. To be honest I’m buzzing to start ASAP!

Not only was I approached by a student, but a recruiter had found one of my profiles online and reached out to me via the business app LinkedIn on the same night. She was looking to recruit Undergraduate students to tutor in and around my home area.

At this point my mind is overwhelmed. Not only has it been 2 days since I made my profiles, but I have been already approached for work too. Normally it’s the other way around. In such a fulfilling role I cannot wait to start tutoring and sharing my knowledge with those who need help.

When I was in school I started to struggle as I moved up ‘the chain’. I didn’t get too much help within the lessons (teachers were awful) so I did have a tutor for one particular subject (Maths, I sucked at it). However she didn’t relate to me very well and had a set way of teaching and that was it…not ideal. I believe my experiences are going to make me adaptable, empathetic and motivating so I can enable my students to be given a better chance than I was. (This sounds like a cover letter or something)

Anyway…helping others is one of the most amazing things you can do in my opinion and by sharing ones knowledge to benefit the next generation is a gift in itself. If you’re looking to do any volunteer work, tutoring or general part-time work, then just go for it, don’t doubt yourself because the feeling you’ll experience is like no other.

Comment below what you’ve been doing I’d love to hear what you’re involved with!

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Moral: People recognise hard work even if you feel like you’ve been ignored. It does pay off, I promise!