This is still me ❤️

Over the last few weeks, I've been spending about 90% of my waking moments working towards my goal of writing for a living. I wake up and am straight online posting on platforms that I am unable to schedule posts on (or haven't learned how to yet) I could wait until later in the day, but I find that a lot of people read posts first thing, myself included. I meditate, do my self-reflection and review my to-do list for the day, apart from writing, I read other people's articles and engage with other writers on the platforms as practically all the articles and books I've read say this is a huge factor in being a successful writer, it's something I've found surprisingly fun. On top of this, I'm trying (and failing) to keep a clean and tidy home, cook dinners, see friends and family, and generally have a life. I'm not complaining, I bloody love it. I finally feel like I have a purpose. However, me being me, I have given myself a rather large to-do list, t

Small steps, daily. Set up a LinkedIn profile This week, I am going to set up a LinkedIn profile for my writing. I'm feeling quite nervous about this as although I have been writing this blog for 5 years now, I don't have any "work experience" when it comes to writing. It feels a bit like a catch-22 situation as I may not get writing work with no experience, but how can I get experience if no one will hire me? Well, no one is going to know anything about me if I don't put anything out there so this will be a good step in the right direction. Incorporate some movement into my days. I need to find something I enjoy to get me moving more. I'm feeling overweight and unfit and the exercises I have done in the past seem like such a chore, so this week I am getting up, getting my happy playlist on and I am going to have a little dance for a few songs. I think I'll enjoy starting the day like that. Finish the online SEO course I started this course a co

Learning, laughing & looking ahead Other Writers I read a lot of really good articles this week. I've learned so much in such a short space of time. I've been inspired I've picked up a lot of great tips and came away with lots to think about. An afternoon with the bestie I spent an afternoon with the bestie. We had lunch in her garden in the sun and caught up on each other's lives. We always have so much to talk about and it feels like a really fun therapy session. Rejigged my routine I took away a lot of things from the articles and some of them relate to my routine. I sat down on Friday and planned not only my content for the week but also set out a rough plan for the week. I just need to remember that things don't always go to plan and that's ok. What are you grateful for this week? ♥️

An extract from this week’s Substack newsletter I like to start each month by looking back on the previous month to see what went well and what didn't, how I can improve, what habits worked for me and any little ways I can make my life a bit easier for myself On the surface, June was a good month, but when I look a bit deeper, I can see that it wasn't without its challenges. I'll start with the challenges and where I can improve, that way we can finish on a positive note, rather than finish thinking how rubbish I have been! Emotional Hangovers Despite knowing I suffer from these, it still doesn't stop me. At the end of this week, I suffered terribly after drinking Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week. It's not a regular occurrence, but it is something I need to be more aware of and consciously make an effort to have more alcohol-free days. Not putting my screens away Guilty!! I managed to do this for a few days here and there, but I am still picking up

Feeling Thankful I’m so thankful to have had a positive week. Although I do wonder how much of it was simply down to my mindset. Reviewing my outgoings. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had been sort of putting this off. I was scared that I would look at the numbers and realise I needed to earn money immediately and would have to take the next job that came along. Thankfully, I have enough money to pay the bills for a few months. This does of course mean that I have to cut back on a lot of things but when I weigh it up, the choice between being at home doing my writing vs earning lots of money, there is no contest. Money really can’t buy happiness. Good results on medium I’ve had my best month on Medium since joining back in April. I’ve had lots of views, claps, comments, and followers and I have earned the most! Sadly not enough to pay the bills, in fact barely a cup of tea but it’s a huge win for me and I have learned so much from all the other brilliant writers. Mee

Finally, a week where I can stop and breathe. It's been a positive week and I feel with each new day, brings new things to learn. I sometimes feel like I have only just begun living my life as I am meant to, which is odd at the age of 41. Last week I started adding a "song of the day" to my social media pages, the intention behind these is to get everyone's day off on a positive note. I thought I would share these on my Friday posts for everyone to enjoy, by adding the link to the day of the week. On Friday I went out with a couple of friends for some Friday night drinks. We sat in a beer garden, drinking rose and chit-chatting about our lives. I had a picture taken, which I usually hate but for once I didn't. When I wondered why I noticed that I looked relaxed and not like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, it felt good to realise that. There was a man at the pub that I was convinced was the actor who played Martin Fowler in Eastenders. I was t

Dream. Plan. Do. I have a lot to think about this week. For those of you that have read my posts this week, you will know that the job I was offered a couple of months ago, has not materialised, for those of you that haven't you can read here . In all honesty, I have avoided thinking about it too much. I know I need to, but I needed to get over any feelings I have about it first so that I can sit down with a clear head and think things through. It makes sense that at least some of my intentions should be around this. Review my outgoings This week, not only am I going to sit down and go through my budget daily, I am going to review my outgoings for the next couple of months and cancel some things that are not essential, namely my subscription boxes (sob) Hopefully, it won't be for long, but I would rather be prepared than stressed out about how I am going to pay for things when I am still getting a monthly box of beauty goodies I don't really need. Read For the l

My productivity has skyrocketed since setting clear, concise goals. After spending some time last week reviewing my current goals and setting some new ones, I'm feeling quite excited about the future. For the first time that I can remember, I am very clear about what I want in life and it feels pretty damn good. Sometimes when I set my weekly intentions, I struggle to think of some, which is where I will usually chuck in something vague like "drink 2 litres of water each day" and then inevitably, don't follow through with it. Now I have some crystal clear goals, it's so much easier and I could list several intentions I have for this week (don't worry, I won't) I'll just give you the usual three. Finish my article One of last week's intentions was to write an article, I started writing one but as I mentioned in last week's post , it was bringing back some pretty painful thoughts and feelings. I will go back to that article, but only whe