Lifestyle• Personal Life

Getting a Puppy – The Reality!

23/11/2020

Who doesn’t love puppies? I am sure you either want a puppy or are trying to convince whoever you live with into getting a puppy.

Well, here is a post all about what it is like to have a puppy. The actual reality from someone who has a puppy in a home with other adults and older dogs…

Winnie is our baby cocker spaniel, currently, she is 12/13 weeks old at the time of writing this post. Here is a picture of pure cuteness. Despite the fact she is the devil in disguise she is extremely adorable, and we love her to bits.

getting-a-puppy

The Reality of Having a Puppy…

This isn’t going to be a puppy bashing post. So if you’re here trying to convince someone WHY you should NOT get a puppy, this isn’t the post for you. Sorry!

(Here is a little secret – I am currently writing an ebook about getting a puppy and the ins and outs of the process up to the first night at home, so stay up to date with me for that!)

The following points are all from my own experience and my own point of view since bringing Winnie home. Life is different for all dogs and all dog owners, remember this!
I like to think dogs are actually like people, they have their own personalities, quirks, things that they hate or love… But they’re just better than humans.

The First Night

Bringing your puppy home is so incredibly emotional and exciting. I cried on the way home from picking Winnie up because I just felt so happy we finally had her.

She was tiny, tired, and so perfect. In a blink, I imagined our life with her. She will be with us when we move out, have children, watch us grow as people and we will watch her and teach her everything she will know.

Gosh, it’s very emotional.

She slept almost the whole way home and even when we put her in our living room. The biggest stress for me was the other dogs. One of them quite likes her now and then, the other wouldn’t go near her. Still to this day, he freaks out when she is near and he growls at her a lot.

Winnie actually slept very well for her first night and we were quite surprised at how well she does sleep. She now sleeps all through the night and we never have to get up. But the reasoning for this is due to the fact Winnie was actually poorly, so of course, she slept, and now she is just used to it!

first night with puppy

A Poorly Puppy

Continuing from the last paragraph, Winnie was a poorly pup when we brought her home. Although she had her vet check and there was never an issue before bringing her home…

Winnie ended up having a really poorly stomach. She was fine for a day, but not eating, normal for your pups to not eat when they’re in a new home.

Then she was pooping blood and we ended up taking her to the vet and paying £85 for some tablets, and some special food to fix her.

So, whilst we think we have a super cute chilled sleepy puppy, it was all because she was ill.
Her little belly was all bloated and she was exhausted.

Luckily, after a week she was on the mend. Now we have a normal hyperactive puppy who chews our fingers off.

@winniecockerspaniel

Wakey wakey #timeforschool #cockerspaniel #cockerpuppy #spanielpuppy #TFBornThisWay

♬ time fo scoo – braden🦓

Biting/Teething/Growling

I have to be honest here. I would see people talking about how much their puppy bites and how they think they’re aggressive and my reaction would be “chill, they’re just a puppy!”

HOWEVER.

Now that I have my very own puppy I can strongly say that this phase is not the nicest. I have even questioned if I would ever have a puppy again.

It hurts, the teeth are sharp, they don’t give in, and it’s frustrating! I think all dogs are different in this area.

It happens, and you have to just get through it. It truly is a phase, but how you handle it is important.

puppy-teeth

All The Stress

My biggest stress with Winnie is that we live at home with my parents, and we have two older dogs.
Due to her being a jumpy, annoying puppy, she can’t be left alone and I don’t trust the other dogs with her. (although they’ve only ever growled at her, and never hurt another dog before, its just my anxiety!)

The other thing is that, and maybe it’s just a personal thing, I’m always thinking she doesn’t like me because she bites and growls etc… Ridiculous I know!

But fearing that your puppy may be harder to train, are just some of the thoughts that go through my head, and I’m sure it goes through others too.

With this said, I know its all going to be fine. She is an adorable puppy who is just a puppy! But sometimes I can’t wait for the biting stage to end, and for her to be completely obedient!

Other than that, she’s been great at toilet training, and eating, and being brushed because her ears get so dirty! We have already taught her how to; sit, paw, lie down, and she can nearly ‘leave it’ and she’s getting better at her recall.

Now, at the start of this post, I said this isn’t to put you off buying a puppy but to think from another point of view before you buy one. All of those statements are 100% true, however, its the in-between you need to think about!

All The Love

To conclude, if you do really want a puppy, I promise you it will fill a hole in your heart you didn’t know was there.

It is so lovely to see that you are caring for this baby animal, and everything you do is helping them learn and grow and be healthy, just like a human baby I suppose!

But they just never learn to talk back, they just growl and bark instead…

The cutest thing about puppies is when they sleep, its just so adorable, and you get some peace!

Getting a puppy is a lifetime commitment…

You’ll be in this job for at least 12 years, you have to go through the puppy stage, the teenage regression stage, and the old age phase when you really start to think your time is limited.

***

Thank you for reading this post! The first one I have written for a while…

Don’t forget to follow Winnie over on instagram to continue seeing updates on her!

Here were my other most recent posts!

Continue Reading
0
Lifestyle• Personal Life

A Little Life Update – The Past Months…

12/10/2020

Well well well, I guess I am back tryong to have another go at this blogging/writing stuff. The main reason why I want to is because I have really been feeling like something is missing, and this is it. Writing, sharing, creating content. So what better way to get back into it than sharing a little life update from me, and to explain in super short notes what has been going on the past however many months it has been. This may be a little personal, you might not be bothered! But for those that are, thank you.

Life Update in Months

Throughout these little monthly updates, I have tried to include something positive or something I am thankful for since these few months have not been my finest…

So a little reminder to everyone is to always seek to find the good in even the worst days. I promise it will make you feel better.

June –

Grandma had a stroke. Whole life stopped for me! I couldn’t concentrate on anything the whole time she was in the hospital (until August) Thankfully she is at home at the time of me writing this, and I have never been more grateful for a miracle. I was at work until the summer holidays which was positive. Also thankful.

little life update

July –

Still in this huge slump. Not having a great time overall! Although work was the one thing keeping me going, working with children does wonders when trying to keep your mind occupied! My family and boyfriend are angels for being able to put up with me (haha).

August –

Grandma finally came home but it was very stressful. Sorting out her care and dealing with my Grandpap who now has to care for her was slightly heartbreaking. However we are slowly getting there, and once again thankful for the progress that is being made! It was the summer holidays now but due to covid not a lot of things to do. However, I did go away to Bournemouth and Liverpool with my boyfriend which was a lovely break.

Happy me in liverpool

September –

Getting better! Started work and loving it. Grateful to have a job that I never dread no matter how tired, poorly or low I am feeling! This month went pretty fast, I can’t even really remember anything else other than working!

October (the time of writing this post) –

The best month so far since the world went into lockdown. My boyfriend managed to convince my dad for us to be allowed to buy a puppy before we hopefully move out next year… So now we are getting a Cocker Spaniel called Winnie (insta here and at the bottom!) I feel like I have forgotten about everything else that was bothering me and really starting to just live in the moment and to live slowly. Whatever was missing in my heart and soul has certainly been replaced with this puppy, so once again, thankful.

Life Update Summary

This year has been hard for all of us, we have all had our own battles to face but this doesn’t mean your own personal one wasn’t important to you. Just because someone else might have also had a bad time, don’t forget that you are allowed to have bad days too. Ride through them, know it gets better, but acknowledge what is happening and how you are feeling too. Otherwise, you’ll constantly be held hostage by your own emotions and how you feel inside your head. You are the most important person to you. Look after yourself first x

Thank you for reading my little life update. If you ever want to talk about anything follow me on Instagram or message me on here.

Some other helpful posts here :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/

Winnie’s Instagram is here –

Continue Reading
0
Lifestyle• Personal Life• Self-Improvement

Importance of Reflection Time & Taking a Break

05/09/2020

You may (or may not have) noticed that I haven’t been very active online for the past month or so. Truly, I can’t actually remember the last time I blogged or even felt the need or want to do so. But here I am, back at it again! This is going to just be a little short post that will most likely have rubbish SEO and serve no value. However, I will be talking about how important it is to take some reflection time and really think about your life, health, actions, and so on…

If you are feeling like blogging or social media isn’t your highest priority, then that’s fine! It shouldn’t be, and that is something I have learnt over this past couple of weeks. There are way more important things to be worried about, and worrying about your online status when your mind needs a break is not a good idea! If it’s not fun, or you have to force yourself, then take a break. It’s all good.

Reflection Time

This sounds like you need some time out because you’ve done something bad, its the opposite to that. Taking some time to reflect, or having some reflection time not only helps you to recenter your thoughts, but it enables your brain to take a little break and to spend more of its energy worrying/thinking about things that are taking more priority in your head at that moment. Therefore, you should never feel bad about taking a break away from anything.

Ways To Take A Break

Here are a few ways you can take a break; from big to small. Minimal effort, to a large amount of effort, and anything else you could imagine.

  • Take a break from looking at your screen!
  • Have a few days off from social media, or however long you need.
  • Plan times of the day to go for a walk or do something totally different from your normal routine.
  • Book time away with family or friends, or even yourself!
  • Visit somewhere you haven’t been for ages, or at all.
  • Grab a cup of tea and actually get into reading a book.
  • Write down the things that are important to you, which ones have you focused on recently.
  • Remind yourself of affirmations. (I have a post about that here)
  • Treat yourself to something new.
  • Get everything in line before you go back to your normal routine. By this, I mean to organise your space, calculate expenses, maybe create a vision board.
  • Do a personal challenge: Yoga for thirty days or meditation? Try new things to add to your normal daily life.
  • Create a working brain and a life brain… Keep work at work, and home at home.
  • Book time off to just chill at home, you don’t need to go anywhere different. Be in your own space and enjoy it.

The aim of coming back to blogging – For me (If you’re interested)

I have been away from the blog for some time now, I never wanted it to become too personal but the reason being, simply, is because a family member has been extremely ill, and my mind was elsewhere! However, blogging is something I love doing and still something I am hoping creates a better life for me.

So, the aim now is to start sharing content to help you with self-care/self-help and keep this space real, but positive!

I will be creating more content for my Intstagram so please please please go and check that out! And if you would like to collab email me at writtenbycharlotte@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for reading, if you have read this! I have been away from all my socials so here they are below!

Follow me on Insta!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/
Continue Reading
3
Lifestyle• Self-Improvement

How To Unselfishly Practice Self-Care

27/06/2020

How to unselfishly practice self-care. This may seem or sound like an impossible task, and kind of contradictory. If this sounds confusing keep reading!

I write a lot on this little blog about self-help and self-improvement, but what about everyone else? Of course, you should always be looking out for number one (you) and creating the life you want to live and living your best life at that.

However, how can we live our best lives alone? Practising self-help should be done in such a way that it benefits not only ourselves but for others too. Once again, I have waffled on, so let’s just get into it.

What is Self-Help?

Self-help is simply an act of performing certain things that will help your self. This can be physical or mental, but the end goal is to improve your personal self and the life you are living.

I have some posts on self-care here:
– Self-care after work
– Create a self-care plan
– Give yourself a current life review

This amazing, of course, you should always be doing things to better yourself and your life, especially if you are faced with moments of needing to make changes. Lots of people will turn to self-help when they feel as though they have let themselves go, or like they need a real positive change in their lives.

So, as I said, self-help is a must. However, touching on today’s subject, you are not alone in this world, and to help yourself, you need to also help others too.

Unselfishly Practice Self-Care…

If you don’t help others too, what is the point?

You are faced with different people all the time from all over. If you focus on only yourself, you are bound to find someone who wants to add a negative force into the growth you are reaching.

Because unfortunately, that is what people are like.

To avoid/stop this, use your self-help time to improve how you react to others, to in turn, teach them as well. You don’t need to focus on this all of the time, but just be aware of how your actions and learning will effect others too.

unselfishly-practice-self-care

How to Help Yourself, and others AT THE SAME TIME

This post has been a whole lot of words, so here is a list of ways you can unselfishly practice self-care by not only helping yourself but others around you too.

  • Having a bad time? Message your friend and see how they’re feeling. Go out and talk about things and offer each other advice.
  • Educate yourself on how to deal with negative people. If you find yourself in some conflict, try to talk to them about changing their mindset and behaviour too.
  • Don’t hold in all of your feelings. Chances are, there is someone out there who would like to vent how they feel too. Share your emotions. Even if this is online!
  • Share how you practice self-help… If you have found a way to deal with a certain emotion, or you have found something that helps you, don’t keep it to yourself!
  • Educating yourself can be a form of self-care, especially if you are needing to learn more about the world, people and cultures. This of course, in turn, helps you to help others by gaining my knowledge.

Other Ways to Help Others

Of course, unselfishly practising self-care does seem like quite a hard task, and it is! You don’t need to do this all the time, it’s just good to keep in mind. So, if you do want to help others, here are a few more ways you can do this in general.

All of the following points are inspired by the book ‘Lift As You Climb’ By Viv Groskop. Lift as you climb means you should be helping to lift other women too on your journey to success.

  • Share other content to help them grow too! You get what you give. So, help other people grow, and in turn, it will happen for you. Kind of like good karma.
  • Promote your friends business ventures or ideas they have! Support your friends. That’s all.
  • Don’t be negative about things when you do not need to.
  • Answer questions and offer help.
  • Share your knowledge with people who are struggling, even if they are doing the same thing as you.
  • Don’t just try to sell your products to answer simple questions… Just answer them! Then refer to your products for extra help if you need too.

If you have any other ideas I would love to hear what you have to say! So please comment below to let me know what you think.

I know that this post might seem a bit full on and a little confusing. All I am asking is that you Lift others as you Climb… That is all! Help others and yourself.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get updates every week!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/
Continue Reading
0
Lifestyle• Self-Improvement

Positive Affirmations to Enhance Your Life

22/06/2020

I think a lot of people read things like this and about positive affirmations and think “what a load of rubbish” but HONESTLY I can promise that having a more positive mindset on life and actually visually seeing/reading and saying positive things will change your life.

*Small disclaimer*

I am in no way saying that it is easy to change your mindset and that everything is great ALL the time. Trust me, I fully understand that there are bad days and good days.

I write posts like these because not only will they help you, they help me too. Creating this content also allows me to learn and better my life. Hence why I love to share it with you, I want you to be on this journey.
I also would love it if these little positive posts made some difference in your lives too.

If you ever want to talk about something, or just see the other content I post about lifestyle and self-improvement, then follow me over on Instagram – writtenbycharlotte_

What are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are basically simple phrases you can read or say, that will defend yourself against negative feelings and emotions.

Affirmations are also used to boost how you are feeling. This website is great for learning more about the science behind it all. – Positive Daily Affirmations – Positive Psychology

So, they can be pretty much anything. From simple sayings to longer phrases. You can choose what you want it to be depending on the use of your affirmation.

For example, if you wanted to build some courage for a new job interview, you could tell yourself :
“Whatever happens, happens. I have given it my all, and the outcome will show me down the path I need to venture.”

Some Examples of Daily Affirmations

It is so easy to create your own to fit in with your life and what you want.

Simply sit with a pen and paper and write down your wishes and how you are feeling. Remember to think positively, and reinforce your feelings with words by writing them down into phrases to say out loud and to follow.

The first five are the longer ones I have created for my self. Don’t forget to PIN IT! Of course, affirmations can be a few words, or whatever you want them to be, depending on where you are right now.

I have created an infographic of some of the positive daily affirmations I believe help me.

  1. I know that good things are coming my way, staying positive and present will manifest the right changes in my life.
    *
  2. Nothing happens overnight but I can spend my nights manifesting the life I want by simply dreaming and thinking.
    *
  3. I trust in my process and believe that everything that comes my way has a meaning.
    *
  4. I will not let the small things defeat me and ruin my day, I will learn to rise above.
    *
  5. I can create the life I envision by following the right paths given to me and choosing to stay positive throughout my personal journey.
Don’t forget to pin this to your relevant boards!

Some smaller Daily Affirmations;

  • I can control my feelings, thoughts and actions.
  • The universe will provide for me.
  • I am smart.
  • Everything happens how it should.
  • I am successful and I will be successful.
  • My heart is calm.
  • Nothing is impossible.

How You Can Use Affirmations

‘Using’ daily affirmations is super simple and you can really do it whenever and wherever. All you have to do is the following things;

Find some affirmations you feel resonate with you, or write your own. Put them in your notes in your phone, or physically write them down (I find writing things down works better and feels more real!)

Either read them in the morning before going about your day, or set them as reminders to pop up whilst you are out at work, or busy doing other things. Sometimes it can be a nice pick me up!

Set your home screen on your phone to a motivational phrase if you feel you really need it that day.

Keep on writing them to fit your current needs. Then wait and see what happens. Stay positive throughout the process and you must really believe that it is working, for it to actually work. Yes, everything is in your head, but isn’t that the whole point?

***

Thank you so much for reading, I really hope this post helps you create some positive change in your life, and enables you to live more positively!

Subscribe to my blog to receive a weekly update of posts.

I would love to know what daily affirmations you follow, or if you have created any of your own. Please comment below!

Don’t forget, I share content every day on social media so make sure you follow me over there;

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/
Continue Reading
5
Healthy Living• Lifestyle• Self-Improvement

Practising Self-Care After Work

15/06/2020

Why you should be practising self-care after you have been to work…
Do you feel exhausted when you return home from work, and you really just don’t want to do anything? Then feel bad about not doing anything to look after yourself? Keep reading.

After the weekend, or when you have been off work for a long period of time (COVID-19 pandemic) it is important to keep on looking after yourself and not letting your work-life take over your whole life.

So here is a blog post about the ways you can practice self-care after work and how to not just fall into a cycle of work-eat-sleep-repeat.

Practising Self-Care – Create a Routine

First things first, you are going to want to create some sort of routine depending on what your work hours are.
For example, if you work 9-5 every day this is an easier task… If you work different shift patterns, then you may need to create a couple of different self-care routines.

So, establish what time of the day it is you will be practising your self-care.
Will it be in the morning, middle of the day, or the evening?

Here are a few things you could do during different times of the day depending on the schedule you have;

Morning

If you have time in the morning because you don’t start work till later on in the day, then you could get a few of the following things done.

The morning is a great time to be productive or chill out.
So choose wisely depending on what you need to get done. If you have jobs you need to do around the house, schedule them in.

You will feel better coming home later on!

  • Wake up slightly earlier to make a healthy breakfast.
  • Spend some time doing a skincare routine.
  • Practise yoga, or stretches.
  • Or tick some jobs off your list to give peace of mind.
  • Write a daily plan and affirmations in the journal.
  • Tidy your space, do the washing, anything to clear your mind…
  • Prepare everything you need for the day.

Mid-Day

Sometimes this can feel like a really weird time to do things, especially if you have come home from a morning shift, or if you’re getting ready to go to work at night.

Either way, use the middle of the day to do things that feel normal, and don’t waste your time.

  • Shower or bath after work, listen to some music.
  • Have some lunch or meet friends for lunch!
  • Go for a run or walk.
  • Spend some time reading or doing the hobby you never have time to do.
  • Tidy your space (bedroom/house)
  • Watch your favourite show
  • Write down tomorrows to do.

Evening

This is the time of the day that I will be practising self-care. I think a lot of people usually come home in the evenings and spend their time getting ready for the next day or rushing in the slouch on the sofa (there is no problem in that if that’s what you need to do!)

  • Have dinner after work, hydrate yourself too!
  • If you have time, squeeze in a 15-minute workout.
  • OR, see friends and family.
  • Take a bath/shower
  • Moisturise! Paint nails, pluck hairs… Whatever you want to do!
  • Get things ready for tomorrow (lunch, clothes).
  • Read something inspirational
practising self-care after work snack eating lunch, eating healthy

Self-Care You Already Do

You are probably looking at the lists above and thinking, “but I already do those things?” Yes, you probably do! Therefore, you are already practising self-care every day, and every time you come home from work. All you need to do is be more mindful within the process and be aware in the moment of what it is you are doing and how you are caring for yourself.

When you make your dinner, listen to music in the background, have a little dance. Create a new meal that is not only healthy but completely different from what you would normally make after work. Spend more time doing the little things you didn’t even realise were part of your normal self-care routine anyway.

Having a bath or shower after work to wash the day away is another form of self-care I am sure you practise every day too. So, be mindful in the process and combine just having a shower with a bit of self-care and self-love. Use a new shower gel, wash your hair, scrub your body with that nice coffee stuff I really want to try…

So, as you can see, you are already practising self-care after work anyway. Basically, all you need to do is enhance these little normal every day things you do to make them more fun and more worth it!

I use the Dingbats journal, you can buy it here – Dingbats journal Black Duck

Keeping it Up!

Finally, all you need to do is keep it up. Easier said than done, right?

Think of all the reasons why you might want to keep up a self-care activity you have started. For example, if you have noticed a difference in your physical health, then keep eating well and exercising. If you are feeling calmer and more positive, keep reading those self-help books and journaling!

There are so many reasons why you should continue doing these things, because overall, they better yourself, and who doesn’t want to be better?

Some of the things you can do to hold yourself accountable to practising self-care are;

  • Log it in a journal – Create either a habit tracker, or write things down as tasks.
  • Create reminders on your phone.
  • Reward yourself when you have finished a book or reached goal through self-care.
  • Write down how you feel before your practice, and after. Keep doing this to motivate yourself.

You can change your routine around until you have found what works for you. The main thing to do once you are home from work is to try and stay motivated to care for yourself even when you really just want to get in bed and sleep until the next day…

***

Thank you for reading this post, here are some others that also talk about self-care;

Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get a weekly update of posts!

Follow me on social media to stay up to date with what I am doing…

Instagram – @writtenbycharlotte_

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/

Continue Reading
4
Blogging

Starting A Blog – Blogging Platform & Themes

13/06/2020

Here it is! Number three of the blog series… Now you have decided to start a blog, the next thing to do is to just do it! That is honestly my best advice. Putting things off doesn’t help you learn, and blogging is a whole learning process.

This post is going to talk about what platform to use and how to find a theme since those are two very exciting, and important factors. Oh, and I will also be touching on domain names since you will need one of those too.

If you have just made it here, you might want to check out these two posts first! First I briefly talk about the ‘series’ and next, the things you might want to consider before starting your blog.

Planning your blogging with a cup of tea, notebook and pen.

Blogging Platforms

First, you will need to decide what platform you want to be blogging on. Now, it doesn’t really matter and it all depends on what you like and what you want. You can start on a free blog platform, or upgrade to being self hosted.

I would recommend blogging on WordPress because I am totally biased to it and I personally think its the easiest but also the best!

You can create a free blog using these platforms, and you can also use these platforms to self-host your website.

I do not have a post on how to set this up, however, you can find tons of tutorials all over the internet! (If you have written one, comment it below and I can add it in!)

Here are a few platforms you can blog with;

Self Hosting sites;

These two sites will help you create a self-hosted blog. This means you will be able to do more, have more control, and your domain name won’t include the platform. For example, if I was not self-hosted, this blog would have .wordpress.com after the name.

blogging themes and domain names

Domain Names For Blogging & Social Media

Of course, before you decide to be self-hosted you will need a domain name for your blog. This is the little name everyone will know your blog by, for example, mine is writtenbycharlotte.com

You might want to start having a brainstorm of all the names you might like, but you will need to check to see if it’s available.

It is quite annoying to think you have a great name and it’s already used! I like to use this website to check for domain names –Name Checkr not only does this check for website domain names, it also checks to see if the name is available on social media accounts too.

Ideally, you will have the same name across all platforms!

So, if you want to self-host, you need to buy a domain name – That’s it.

IF you want to use a free blogging platform, you wont need to do this. However, you will still need to think of a name no one else has used…

These two websites below will help you purchase a domain name for your blog. Click on them and search your name, and follow the steps.

Blogging series how to blog

Where To Find Themes

This is the best part, in fact, I love choosing the theme.

It takes a while to decide on what you want, especially if you have chosen to buy a theme.

Some are cheap, some are expensive. There are different characteristics to both.

If you buy a cheaper theme you may not be able to do as much with it, a more expensive theme will be more responsive.

There are lots of types of themes you can have for your blog, depending on what you are blogging about and what style you want to give.

You can have a generic blog theme like mine; a sidebar, header and posts on the homepage, or you can have anything you can imagine. If you really wanted to, you could even design it from scratch with page builders…

Page Builders;

If you want to have full access to customise everything about your blog, then using one of these is a good idea. There are lots of tutorials on how to use them!

Free Themes;

These are a few websites I have found with free themes on them. You could do some more research and shop around too, I know lots of people also create themes for free on Etsy and places like that!

If you want to buy a theme, I highly recommend you use Theme Forest! My theme is was purchased through theme forest and you can find hundreds. I guarantee you will find one on here!

THEME FOREST!

Conclusion

To conclude this blog post, here is a breakdown of the steps we have covered.

1- Do some research on different blogging platforms and choose the one you like.

2- Decide if you want to go self hosted or give blogging a go first on a free platform.

3- Brainstorm ideas to find a domain name, and check to see if it is available for a site and social media.

4- Find a theme! Either download a free one to start with, or go straight in and buy one.

5- HAVE FUN!

how to start a blog - Blogging pinterest pin

***

Thank you for reading this post. I hope after reading this you feel better about starting a blog. It really isn’t too difficult! Simply find a platform, choose a name, find or create a theme you like, and start!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask me on social media or in the comments below!

First make sure you subscribe to the blog to stay up to date!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/
Continue Reading
1
Lifestyle• Self-Improvement

Give Yourself A Current Life Review

08/06/2020

Giving yourself a life review is a good idea for a number of reasons. Do you feel like you are stuck? Emotional? Or just plain confused about everything at the moment?

Sitting down to review your life and everything in it can help bring some clarity and also help you understand what needs to change and what isn’t actually that bad.

There are a few steps you can take, but the main one is simply just thinking.
Sit down somewhere with a cup of tea or coffee or whatever you want, and think about everything in your life right now.

This includes your family, friends, work, hobbies, morals, beliefs… As hard as it may be, this might become quite an emotional roller coaster.

Try not to let the details get to you. Write them down and keep going!

Life Review Part One

The first step to giving yourself a life review is to do all of the thinking first. Don’t over exhaust yourself by trying to think about absolutely everything in your whole entire life. You could try to focus on one topic at a time; Work, Family, Relationships for example.

The following points will help guide you as to what to do with step one. Simply, get some paper and write down some notes for each of these topics or others if you can think of them.

Whilst you are doing these steps, please remember; You are fine and all good. You are not an awful person, there is nothing ‘wrong’ with you. Everyone has room to bloom, everyone has space to grow. No one is perfect.

Write things down that bothers you…

This seems very broad but sometimes I personally can feel myself getting stressed at things I know I don’t need too. So figure these things out.
It could be as simple as a job that you havent done yet!

Who/what brings joy into your life…

Obviously, this process isn’t all about the negatives. Think about the good too! There is tons of good in our lives when we really think about it, even when we think there is nothing left. Write down who and what brings you joy and why they do.

Do you have relationships that are one-sided/hard work

Analysing your friendships is a good way to sort out who is in your circle, and how to increase your good vibrations. I have a post all about it here – Increase your good vibes!

Has anything happened in the family that has upset you

This is kind of a big one. Just because you are related to someone does not mean how they treat you or others is excused.

If there is a problem, think about if you need to address it and what the outcome would be. if that outcome would be negative, simply distance yourself.

You will feel a lot better.

How do you feel about your job,

The jobs we do and the careers we choose need to be something we love. I know that there are a lot of people that will work jobs just for the high wage…

If you are truly not happy and not enjoying your life, then what is the point?

Do you think you could be somewhere better and more appreciated?

You don’t need to map out your whole life now… You may well love your job!

When you view yourself, what do you see?

Self-confidence is key. I must admit, I struggle with this myself sometimes. Not only does this mean what do you see with your physical appearance, but what do you see when you imagine how you carry yourself, the way you act, the way you talk.

Sometimes there are things we need to change in order to either be respected more as a person or to be more respectful as a person.

Not everyone is perfect and we all have room to learn more about ourselves and how we are in the world!

Do negative emotions come from other sources?

This again is super broad, but for you yourself you may receive unwelcome emotions from other places, whatever that may be.

This could be to do with where you live, what you want to achieve, or even how you care for yourself.

How can you change your own mindset to be a better person?

Is there anything you think you can learn to improve yourself as a person? For example, during the BLM movement. Do you know enough? Is there more you can do and improve?

Not only with this, but with all matters.

Do you let people into your own life enough?

How trusting are you of others?

The list is endless and when you are writing these things down, all sorts will pop into your mind and you will know what you need to improve.

Like I said before, it’s not that you are NOT a good person, just everyone has things they can do to be better.

Part Two Life Review

The first part is the hard part. If you don’t want to do the next step yet or it’s feeling a bit too heavy, take a break or save this post and come back to it tomorrow!

During step to you basically want to narrow it down and create the steps for change, and also see the things that are good and to appreciate what you have got.

  • Take a few moments to look over what you have written down, or think about the things you have thought about.

Is there anything you have missed or something that doesn’t really count?

Create the top things into a list form of things you like and things you don’t. PLEASE remember to include positive things too!

There will be positivity somewhere, sometimes it’s hard to find. Hopefully doing this exercise you will see that!

  • For now, choose 5 things you think needs changing, and five things you think is working for you.

Create a list of things that you are happy about and a list of things you want to change. For example, your list of things could be; (these are just examples, not my list haha!)

  1. Find a new job that I love and enjoy!
  2. Speak to my friends about what is bothering me.
  3. Address my personal reviews – I need to stress less about things that are minor.
  4. Educate myself more on the world and how I can make a difference.
  5. Be a tidier person and take more pride in my belongings.

Final Stages

Get creative and make some reminders for yourself. You can create reminders on your phone to do something or think a certain way, even if it just says “take a moment to breathe”.

  • Having visual reminders for yourself can help manifest change in your life.
  • Remember to be calm, nothing changes overnight.
  • A positive and healthy mindset will help you to focus on what you want and how to change.
  • Life is weird, and it works in very strange ways.
  • There are no flowers without a little bit of rain…

Conclusion

You don’t need to do this often, give yourself a life review if you can really feel yourself sinking.
Or, just do this once or twice a year just to make sure youre on track with what you want from life.

This is not a negative process. You should have things you want to change – these are the things that bring no bonus or joy to your life, and you should also have things you love – you may want to enhance these, or keep them on track.

***

Thank you for reading, I would love to know what you think and if you also give yourself a life review now and then!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to receive weekly updates!

I am also currently working towards growing my Instagram account so I would love it if you followed me over there too! Here are some recent posts… – @writtenbycharlotte

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/

* PIN IT *

Continue Reading
13
Lifestyle• Self-Improvement

Productivity – Why You Shouldn’t Feel Bad

06/06/2020

Productivity is something that makes us all feel good about ourselves like we have accomplished something great so therefor the day has been worth it.

However, when you don’t do anything productive, it can strangely make you feel really rubbish and a ‘waste of a day’.

I am writing this post to explain why you shouldn’t feel bad about not being productive, and how actually, we are all very productive in our own ways every single day.

What Productivity Means

You do not need to have written a whole book, or ran ten miles, or scheduled blog posts for the next two weeks to be productive.

There are tons of things we can be proud of and receive that sense of achievement from.
I did the whole glow up at home thing during the lockdown and felt great! I have a post about it here – Glow Up At Home

Being productive for me comes in waves. I will sometimes feel the energy to write loads and get so much stuff done for the blog and my Instagram, but some days, I really just don’t feel it.

We are all human, we all feel like this sometimes.

Productivity can also mean different things for different people. I am sometimes stuck with the idea that productivity means completing physical ‘big’ tasks, however, that’s not the case.

The real definition for ‘Productivity’ is

  • The state or quality of being productive.

So, I don’t know about you, but it can literally mean anything.

Productive Things We Do EVERYDAY

Here are some things we all do most days that are in fact productive.

Stop worrying about not doing anything because all of the little tasks you automatically do throughout the day count.

  • Getting out of bed and getting ready for the day!
  • Eating healthy meals and staying hydrated is important for our overall health.
  • Cleaning our living spaces.
  • Taking care of our friends and family, or even our pets.
  • Making your bed/tidying little bits.
  • SELF-CARE! Yes, caring for yourself or taking some time off.
  • Shopping for things you NEED.
  • Going for walks/walking the dog.
  • Educating ourselves on matters needed to be addressed.
  • Reading anything, this could be books, news or magazines.
  • Watering your plants.
  • Communicating with others.
  • Going to work (I don’t count this as my own productivity sometimes, although, it is…)
  • Building your social media by engaging online.
  • Taking photos and capturing moments to look back on in the future or for online.
  • Taking time to be alone and having your own thinking space.
  • Sleeping!

I think I could probably go on and on.

Basically, throughout your daily routine as normal, you are probably doing some or most of these things anyway.

So don’t feel bad about your productivity! You are smashing life and doing just fine.

How to do The ‘BIG’ Tasks

Of course, you don’t want me to just sit here and tell you that you are always productive no matter what.

So I thought I would include how to get those big tasks done even when you don’t feel like it.

If you have a deadline for something to be done, then, of course, it needs to be done.

If you have just written on your to-do list on a let’s say Monday, to complete a task but you’re not feeling it, then do it tomorrow!
However, if you are going to reschedule your tasks to a different day, then be prepared to do them.

The biggest thing I have learnt is to not burn myself out by thinking I can do one hundred things in one day. When writing your to-do list, think about the actual possibility of you doing it.
Otherwise, you are going to just feel bad about not doing it. Give yourself some achievable tasks and one big task per day.

For example, it could look like this;

Planning the Tasks…

  • Big task – Write two blog posts and schedule for next week. *
  • Smaller task 1 – Sort wardrobe.
  • Smaller task 2 – Take the dog for a walk.

If you feel like you can do more, then do more, but slowly ease into it.

Complete your tasks in order of how much time they will take, and order of importance.

I put a little star next to the one that I need to get done so I can remind myself. That way, if I don’t complete the others, I know I have done the biggest one.

OR on the other hand, if you just know you aren’t going to do the big one, at least do two of the smaller tasks. I hope that makes sense!

Once you have done something then make sure you reward yourself! If you know there is something good at the end then you will feel more motivated to continue! You can reward yourself with a little break, doing anything you please.
(Post on motivation coming soon)

***

Thank you for reading! This is the first post I have written with the new blog theme and I love it, I hope you do too.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and tell me if you have any other ways of being productive throughout the day. I would love to hear your views.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to recieve weekly updates from me!

If you don’t already, then make sure to follow me on Instagram too. I share all sorts of things about self-improvement, life, and positivity on my feed. When you do arrive at my page, let me know!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbEzJKAext/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CITdWtUAjyZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIK2opygkg0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAWEtlATyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH8RUFDAdd2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5znHpgpL9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CH2FccUAfv9/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHs-YC1gr74/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqLyR2gQnR/
Continue Reading
4
Older Posts

Archives

%d bloggers like this: