This is a guest post from Alisha at Inside the Voyage.
Hi everyone! I’m Alisha a travel and lifestyle blogger over at Inside The Voyage. I graduated with a BA Hons degree in English and Media in 2019, and have since been discovering myself and my passions.
What Now?
I am positive that every University student fears
unemployment after graduation. Who wouldn’t? I most certainly did, and to an
extent, nearly two years later I still do.
I graduated in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and
Media. Though I celebrated the end of my degree with overflowing prosecco
glasses and listening to the constant ‘Well done, you did it!’ felicitations
from family, and friends. I could not help but hear that deep-rooted
fear within my gut that consistently questioned ‘What now?’.
I did not know what I wanted in a career, never mind
actually apply for a job. So, rather than rack my head around career topics, I
decided to take time away from educational studies and future career prospects.
I needed to gain clarity for my future. I believed I was only causing myself
anxiety, forcing myself to follow fellow graduates into new exciting careers. I
hadn’t found my calling yet, and though it sickeningly worried me, I
comfortably settled into the unknown.
Travelling
I then decided to travel, I love the world and want to see as much of it as possible. I booked onto a two-month tour around South East Asia, though my mum was worried out of her mind due to my travelling solo, I was ecstatic. I finally had one goal set to reach that I needed money. Soon after moving back home, I landed a part-time job in a local bar and began working as many shifts as possible to save for my next adventure. A career was not even a thought in my mind, because in the present I had much more exciting plans. I finally believed that I had structured my life into forming a pathway that I should be on.
April 2020: Travel around South East Asia
September 2020: Start an MA Course (at this point, I was still undecided on what I wanted to do)
Being a Graduate in the pandemic
Unfortunately, this devastating pandemic hit and my plans,
like many others, were indefinitely put on hold. I was now back at square one.
Not sure where my life was going, or even what I wanted to do. Luckily, I
managed to run from the graduate blues, hiding behind my excitement to travel. However,
forced into a lockdown that feared question soon arose, ‘What now?’.
I now had all
the time in the world to figure out what I wanted out of life. And my gosh, I
experimented with plenty of things during 2020. I first started a “marketing”
job, and what a mistake that was. It was not what was advertised, but I earned
next to nothing, and quit on the first day.
Next, I started an MLM scheme, purely out of boredom at this
point. That lasted a week or so before I put time into researching what an MLM
scheme actually was and realised, again, I was barely making any money. Don’t
get me wrong, some people do earn a lot working for an MLM scheme, but I found
it a pretty exhausting way to make money.
Starting my own business
My next adventure and my most favoured was starting my small
wax melt business Inside The Fragrance. Starting this venture has kept
occupied and busy when I felt lost and demotivated. This is one hundred per
cent a small side business for me, and in no means is it my future career, but it
is absolutely perfect for the time being.
Now, like many others, I’m currently on furlough from my bar
job. Thus, this free time has allowed me to focus on my side business and my
future career. I have spent months looking at various job prospects and MA
courses. Ultimately, this slightly freaked me out as I wondered virtually from
one course to another, desperately seeking somewhere I could call home.
Finally, after nearly two years since my graduation, I
gained some clarity on the path I am about to embark on. From one graduate to
another, please don’t stress if you graduate University without a job. It is,
and I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH; it is not the end of the world. If you’re like
me, it will merely take you slightly longer to reach realisation, but once you
get there, you will feel like you’re on the path you’re meant to be on.
My advice to you:
1. Don’t panic apply for jobs. When we’re panicking, we often make rash decisions and uninformed decisions.
2. Figure out what you enjoy, identify your skills, and discover the right career path for you.
3. Don’t be discouraged if your job application is rejected. That one job was not meant for you, and there are always more opportunities.
4. Use your free time to build on your CV. Attend online classes to enhance or learn to skills.
5. Find your passion! It might be easier said than done, but once you realise your passions, you will feel much more confident in applying to that MA course OR job.
Follow me on social media:
Instagram: Instagram.com/alishabrisco
Twitter: Twitter.com/alishabrisco
Blog: www.insidethevoyage.co.uk
Related read: Top Tips for Starting University
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AD - This is a sponsored post.
As a blogger, I am always trying to find new ways to be
creative. Although, sometimes it can be quite difficult to stay creative or to
get the motivation to be creative, especially with the ongoing pandemic. Most
of the time when I am not feeling creative but know I have to get something
done, I need to find inspiration.
You may want to create graphics for blogging and social
media or you could just want to start a new creative hobby while there’s less
to go and do at the moment. You may have a small business want to create logos
and business cards to promote what you do. If any of these sounds like you then
I have some tips for you.
Image from Anthony Shkraba on Pexels.
Tips on getting creative when you are in a creative slump
Take regular breaks when you need to
Unfortunately, a lot of the time you can’t force creativity.
The best thing for me is leaving something and coming back to it. If I need to create
something and get a bit stuck on it, it will usually help me to leave it for a
bit and give myself rest. Then when I come back to it, I can come back to it
refreshed with a different mindset. I do this with blog posts a lot of the time
too, sometimes I can write them so easily and other times it takes a while for
me to construct them.
Use design prompts
When you are in a creative slump but have a deadline coming
up, you may need to seek inspiration and look for design prompts. Design Bundles
have so many prompts available to purchase for low prices. They offer products
such as graphics, templates and illustrations to help you with your designs.
These bundles could be helpful if you are starting a new creative hobby too and are not sure where to start. They even have SVG files such as a baseball SVG and skull SVG which could be great for kids. Using bundles like these can not only give you inspiration, but can save so much time when creating too.
Image from Anthony Shkraba on Pexels.
Get inspiration from similar outlets
You should never copy anyone else, but there’s no harm done
in looking to other outlets that have produced something similar to what you’d
like to do and using them for inspiration. For example, when I am stuck for
blog posts, I know a lot of bloggers have posts about ideas for blogging so I
will look to them for some guidance.
Similarly, if you’d like to start a candle making business,
it would be helpful to see what other candle making businesses are doing and
what works well. If all else fails, just use Google to look for what you’d like
to create and see what’s already out there.
What are your favourite ways to get creative? Let me know if
you use any of these tips. I love being creative and always feel better once I
have done a creative hobby or made something. You can get so caught up in work
life or university life if you’re like me so it’s great to have a creative
outlet too!
Related: 100 Blog Post Ideas for Every Niche
Wool of the King
This blog post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product through my these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please see my disclaimer.
I feel like every blogger has written a blog post ideas post but I haven't yet, so I thought I may as well share some ideas from me. I always love reading these posts when I'm stuck for ideas so I hope this can help you out. Hopefully, this post will help me too when I'm stuck for ideas. I can just look back on this post and hopefully, it will spark some inspiration for me too!
In this post, I have tried to include quite a few niches so I can help as many of you as possible. Some of these niches I don't write a lot about myself, for example, I never really write about fashion - but I love reading blog posts about it anyway and have just gone off the sort of things I think would be interesting to read about.
Image from Pixabay.
Blog post ideas for every niche
Fashion
1. Winter essentials
2. My top coat picks
3. Paris in outfits (or any travel destination you may visit)
4. Must-have accessories this season
5. How to style your favourite fashion item
6. Top pics from SS2021 (or any other season)
7. Recreating iconic celebrity outfits (I have seen a lot of TikToks where people recreate outfits of people like Kendall Jenner and Princess Diana and they always look so good)
8. Go-to hairstyles
9. My favourite items from Zara (or a shop you like to buy a lot of items from)
10. Staple items everyone needs
Travel
11. Travelling on a budget
12. Top things to do in London (or a city of your choosing)
13. Travel bucket list - here's my travel bucket list.
14. Top luxury travel destinations
15. Top staycation destinations
16. What's in my travel bag
17. How to keep entertained on long-haul flights
18. Most Instagrammable spots in Copenhagen (or a destination of your choosing)
19. Best places to visit in your city
20. How to keep the travel bug alive when you can't travel
21. Top historic destinations you need to visit
Beauty
22. My favourite beauty products of all time
23. Recreating iconic celebrity looks
24. Reviews of new products
25. Top 10 eyeshadow palettes
26. How to get the summer glow
27. Trying out beauty trends
28. My day-time skincare routine
29. My night time skin care routine
30. Products that aren't worth the hype
Lifestyle
31. Night in ideas
32. My favourite ways to practice self-care
33. Law of attraction and manifestation posts
34. Inspirational quotes you should live by
35. Date night ideas
36. How you can support small businesses
37. 21 things I have learnt in 21 years (replace this with your age)
38. Goals and hopes for the future
39 Sharing my favourite playlists for every occasion
40. Smalls steps you can make for more sustainable living
41. A day in the life of Lauren
42. Advice I'd give to my younger self
43. Gift guides
44. Q&A with your followers
Food & Drink
45. Cocktail recipes - here are 5 cocktail recipes from me
46. Recipes for your favourite meals
47. Fakeaway recipes
48. Favourite restaurants in your city
49. My go-to brownie recipe (this can be replaced with any sweet treats that you like to bake)
50. Your favourite pasta in under 500 calories (be careful with this, it can be triggering to those with or recovering from eating disorders to count calories. However, it is great to find healthy versions of your favourite versions of not so healthy meals)
51. Vegan breakfast recipes you need to try
52. The best vegetarian/vegan meat substitutes
Mental Health
53. Mindfulness activities
54. Stress-reducing activities
55. How you have dealt with trauma
56. Toxic positivity - what is it and how it can affect people?
57. How you deal with anxiety or depression
58. Overcoming obstacles that have affected your mental health
59. Things I'm grateful for
60. Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health
Blogging
61. 100 blog post ideas for every niche (just like this one)
62. What I wish I knew before starting a blog
63. Top bloggers to follow in 2021
64. How I've grown my social media channels
65. 100 hashtags to use on Instagram
66. Best ways to plan your time as a blogger (Check out The ULTIMATE Yearly Blogging Planner to help you plan your time).
67. Resources all bloggers need to try
68. Best apps to have as a blogger
69. SEO help posts (we all need these)
70. The best Wordpress or Blogger themes
71. How to grow your blog followers
72. How to grow your mailing list
73. How to monetise your blog in 2021
Entertainment (book film, netflix, music etc)
74. Top films to watch on Netflix
75. Top series to watch on Netflix
76. Book reviews
77. TV series reviews
78. Film reviews
79. What to watch on Disney+
80. Your favourite musical and why
81. Review of a musical
82. Review of your latest concert
83. Album reviews from your favourite artists
Student
84. Productivity tips
85. Things you should know before starting university
86. Things you should know before moving away from home
87. My study playlist
88. Revision tips
89. Managing studying with part-time work
90. Easy ways to enhance your CV
91. Reasons why you should do a placement year or study abroad (you can replace this with anything you think would be beneficial - it could be joining a club or society at university)
92. Saving money as a student
93. Benefits of learning a new language
94. Balancing university with a part-time job
95. Easiest ways to make money while studying
Opinion Pieces
96. Opinion on current issues such as fast fashion
97. Why I prefer having a small circle of friends
98. My opinion on blogging in 2021
99. Why I don't like the ... trend (any trends you don't like or do and why)
100. Challenging the stigma on a certain topic
I hope this post has helped spark some ideas for you if you were stuck, or even just to add to your already large list of ideas. Please tag me or let me know if you use any of these ideas, I'd love to read your posts.
Do you have any blog post ideas that I've missed?
Related Read: 5 Steps to Taking Successful Instagram Pictures
Join my mailing list for exclusive content and resources here.
Wool of the King
This is a guest post from Sophie over at Girl Vs. World.
Hi, guys! It's Soph from girlvsworld here. The lovely Lauren has given me the opportunity to write a guest post for her blog regarding dealing with anxiety during a pandemic, which I'm super thankful for and really looking forward to. Today, we're going to be talking about dealing with anxiety during a pandemic.
Recently, my anxiety has been getting much worse, as being stuck inside leaves little to do other than overthink and become your own worst enemy. I have a full post about How to Protect your Mental Wellbeing Whilst in Quarantine, which may be helpful for you if you suffer from depression or any mental illness other than anxiety.
Anyway, without further ado, let's get into my top tips for dealing with anxiety:
Don't constantly watch the news or check stats
This is the biggest tip I could give you if you're dealing with anxiety during the pandemic. Obviously be mindful and stay educated on the situation, but don't work yourself up by constantly checking the news and making yourself miserable. Yes, keeping informed on the virus is important, but so is your mental health and your days shouldn't be filled with panic and stress that is making you miserable.
Take some time out each day to watch Netflix (I have a post talking through My Top 5 Netflix Series I Watched in 2020), do something creative (write a blog post if you have a blog, or do something artistic if you like that kinda stuff!) or read a book. Taking time to do something you personally enjoy can make the world of a different when it comes to dealing with anxiety during a pandemic.
Go for a walk
This one may seem simple but it is SO important. Going for a walk is a simple yet effective, way of clearing your head and getting yourself out of the house during lockdown. Seeing other people out and about walking their dogs etc reminds you that you're not on your own and everyone else is in the same position you are.
It's also great to get out of the house so you're not staring at the same four walls all day, every day - that's not good for anybody! You are likely to feel way more refreshed after a good, long walk and more prepared to continue with your day (whether that be lounging round watching Netflix, or being productive on the laptop - either is completely fine... No judgement round here!)
Facetime your friends or family
For me, I have found this to be an absolute essential during lockdown so I don't start to feel lonely. I facetime my friends multiple times every day, especially at night when the loneliness and boredom hits a little more. Personally, my anxiety always hits more at night , so facetiming my friend is a fantastic distraction that reminds me there are always people on the other end of the phone ready to listen.
Everyone is going through the same situation, remember that. Whether you talk about silly stuff, every-day casual conversations, or have deep chats, it's great to have someone to be there. Never underestimate the power of a phone call - especially face time / video call as you get to see your loved ones face and really feel like they're right there with you.
So, there we have it! My top 3 tips on dealing with anxiety during a pandemic. If you ever need someone to speak to, you can DM me on Instagram or Twitter and I will always be there to listen to you. Stay safe, lovelies, I promise things will get better and there I always a light at the end of the tunnel. Make sure you're there to see it!
Thank you so much, again, to Lauren for giving me the opportunity to guest post on her wonderful blog! I hope you guys enjoyed the post.
Read next: 5 Books I wish I'd Read Sooner
Join my mailing list for exclusive content and resources here.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product through these links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please see my disclaimer.
Since becoming more serious and consistent with my blog, I decided to try and grow my social media channels. Mainly Instagram and Twitter because I think these ones work best for my blog and I reached 3000 followers on Instagram recently. I did give Pinterest a good go in summer and it worked well for a while but I felt like it was taking up all of my time so I took a step back. Maybe I will try with Pinterest again but I just thought a break was needed and I haven't really gone back since.
Anyway, since I have been trying to grow my Instagram, I've been putting more care into the pictures I take and upload and I am going to be sharing how I do this. As you may have seen in my Goals for 2021 blog post, growing my Instagram is one of my main blogging goals this year.
I will also write a post all about how I am growing my Instagram in the near future too because that's the channel that is growing the quickest for me. But for now, I will just be sharing some tips on how I take my pictures. This could work really well for you or not work for you at all, it's just interesting to see different approaches in my opinion.
Tips on how to take pictures for Instagram
1. Upload content you love
2. Try to create a theme
3. Use Adobe Presets
4. Treat everything as a photo opportunity
5. Show your face
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This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product through these links I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, visit my disclaimer.
I did actually write a goals and wishes post for 2020 too but it's been such a weird year I feel like it was hard to achieve them. Although, this has been my best, most consistent year for blogging yet. All the lockdowns actually helped my blog so there's one positive from 2020, but I really am looking forward to 2021. Hopefully things will be more normal but we'll see.
Blogging goals
1. Reaching 5000 views on a single blog post - not as of yet.
This is a stretch but so far the most views I have on a blog post is 3400. At the beginning of 2020 the most views I'd ever had was 1400 and that was a complete fluke. I used to get 200 views if I was lucky so if my blog keeps growing the way it has been, I really hope I can reach this goal.
2. 5000 Instagram followers - close, I got to 4200 at the end of 2021
I am going to really try to grow my Instagram this year. At the start of the year I had 1700 ish (I can't remember the exact number) and I'm starting 2021 with over 3000 followers. Again, it's a steep goal but I am hoping to achieve it. I will write some posts documenting my journey on how I am intending to gain more of a following. One thing that's important to gaining followers is consistent branding. Check out these social media canva templates to help with branding across all of your social media channels.
3. 20,000 monthly blog views - sadly not
Again, another steep goal but the most views I've gotten in a month so far was 15,000 views back in November - so hopefully not too far off. See how I got over 10,000 monthly views this year.
4. 100,000 yearly blog views or over for 2021 - DONE
This year I reached 78,000 views on my blog for the year and I only really started properly blogging again in April, so I'm hoping with log views starting from January this time will make this a realistic goal for me. I'm definitely going to have to plan my blog and content more effectively too. Check out THE ULTIMATE yearly blogging planner to help you plan yours.
5. Make money through blogging - DONE
I love blogging without making money from it but from seeing what other bloggers can make with their blog I may as well try. It would be so amazing to be able to make even a little bit of money through a hobby that I love but I still feel like I have a long way to go for this goal. In 2020 I have done several gifted ads so I just need to go that one step further. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
6. Work on SEO and increase my DA score - DA has improved
This is kind of goes hand in hand with goal number 5 because I feel like most paid ads require a high(ish) domain authority score. I will be the first to admit that my SEO needs a lot of work so hopefully this is something I can improve in 2021. Again, any tips would be amazing. For those of you who don't know, a domain authority (DA) score is a score out of 100 that is to do with your SEO (search engine optimisation) and the higher your score, the more likely you are to rank higher on search engines like Google. A lot of brands will only work with you if your DA score is over 20 but some don't mind.
One resource I have started using already to help with SEO is the Google Analytics Cheatsheet mini E-book.
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