• Lifestyle,  Single Life

    HOW TO: Survive Christmas (while being Single!)

    So it’s that time of year again where everyone is merry & jolly but what do you do when you are facing Christmas alone? I am a great believer in being single, as I am myself, but I know how lonely it can get especially on holiday times. This is my guide on “How To” survive the Christmas period.

    Go & see relatives (local or abroad)

    This is a no-brainer. If (and I hope you do) have relatives in the country or abroad make it your mission to go and see them, especially over the holiday period. You can reminisce on previous holidays and events where uncle Sam played the piano wrong or cousin Susan got too drunk on her 50th.

    Invite friends over for a festive meal or drink

    This is my second choice. If you live alone and feel as if the place needs some noise, why not send an invite to close friends for a night over yours or a meal in the day with festive entertainment (such as games). I am sure a lot of people would love to have fun with friends over the holiday period.

    GO OUT & GET DRUNK

    This is not advised for people who do not usually drink excessively. This is for the party animals who love to drink on the weekend (…or if they are not working!). This is a risque choice as you might not be able to afford it or handle your drink… but at least you had a good time, right? You can go to the local pub (which may close early over Christmas) or go clubbing (like Uni students) – Please be safe & aware but have a good time!

    Single parent? Visit Santa!

    Basically if you have a child (or more), why not go to see Santa. I’m sure your children would love to join in the festivities over their school holiday. Also it’s a good chance to meet other parents who might be able to briefly give you some company over the holiday period. Im sure you will all enjoy yourselves too!

    Offer to work overtime over the holidays

    This option is for all you Scrooges out there who are single and don’t like the holiday season. This time of year is perfect for doing overtime at work – no-one else wants to because they have plans & most places pay extra over certain holiday periods such as Christmas, to entice people into work rather than booking time off. Extra money AND not having to worry about the holiday = Win-Win for you!

    I hope you enjoyed my list of choices for you to do over Christmas time. I hope one suits you & you enjoy the holiday (or lack of, if you are working). This is a varied list & suits all types of people; from the rich to struggling uni students.

    Happy Holidays Everyone!

  • Blogging

    HOW TO: Start a blog (& maintain it)

    This is a common post most bloggers end up creating – about how they survived the first few months blogging. It is crucial that in the first few months you don’t give up as they are the most challenging of all the months. After you have established a brand or started working with brands hopefully it will get easier. I’m not quite at that level yet but I am actively searching for brands to collaborate with, in 2019. Anyway, here’s my top 5 tips…

    1. Make sure you have content ready BEFORE making your blog.

    This is important because when you first open your blog and ask people to view it, you want to have some content already so they want to come back for more in the future. I know from experience when I first started uploading content people were confused by it as they didn’t know what I would post next & if they would like it (I’m sure some still do wonder where this blog is going, I’m working on it – I promise!). The more consistent content you have the more a person is likely to follow it as they want to read more in the future.

    2. Find a topic YOU love talking about, a lot!

    This is a decider on whether your blog will thrive or fail. If you have a topic you love and can’t stop talking about that’s what you should talk about on your blog. I know from experience that I choose a topic and ran out of things to talk about because I wasn’t enthusiastic enough and had no more conversation to write about. I have since changed my blog name & topics to suit what I like and it works much better.

    3. Decide early on, what themes you like

    This is something you should do preferably before you promote your blog. It is important that a theme shows your uniqueness in a rapidly growing world of blogs. Your theme should be something you would want to read & is drawn to you. To put it bluntly, if it is a shit theme & does not follow what you’re saying, people won’t want to read it anymore … of course, you can always change your theme after and make it better in time.

    4. Get solid advice from other bloggers and friends

    This is a tough one if none of your friends and family blog or work in IT/graphics. It will be crucial that you view other blogs that you admire or want as a base to start your blog (however you can not under any circumstances copy them… EVER!) My advice would be to create your site but do not publish it until you have asked others you know to look over it, even if its just the menu’s don’t look quite right or the theme doesn’t show your personality (see above), in the long run, you will thank them!

    5. Think of an AWESOME blog name

    This is a really interesting one. Although if you stick with a hosting site (I will talk more about what that means in another post or Google it now!) you can change your name multiple times if you don’t like it. the best blog start with a unique name (or the bloggers own) which get them noticed. When you eventually go self-hosted (IE a .com site) you want to stand out from the crowd and be noticed as an interesting name for potential readers to remember and brands to want to work with.

    That is the end of my ranting and raving. I hope these (admittedly brief) tips and tricks will help you create your very own blog like mine (or better, who knows). If there is a trick I mentioned above that you used tell me if it worked.