Hello my lovelies and welcome back to another post! I hope everyone is well and had a nice weekend. You may have noticed that a couple of things have changed around here. No nothing major apart from a brand new blog theme!
*confetti canons explode and streamers fly everywhere through the air*
This theme was once again kindly made by one of my best friends, Charlie. He also made my last one for me. We were talking about logos and things the other day and we both agreed that my blog theme and vibe was a little bit out dated and it just isn't as exciting anymore. So we decided to go for a brand new theme of gold and pink and I absolutely love it. I love my new logo of 'klj', i.e. Katie Louise Johnson in this more handwritten theme with the strokes of pink/purple and gold paint. You will notice that the grey is still apart of this new look as the writing is grey and we've got a brand new grey heart for the end of my posts as well. We've also added some extra's down the left hand side of my blog for you to enjoy. The tabs are different, instead of my social media being in the tabs we've taken that away and we now have a few categories. So we've still got Home where you can find all of my posts I've ever done, we've got the About page like always, but now we have a page dedicated to Lifestyle, Reviews, Coffee Chats, Mindful Mondays, and BORN TO BE. We decided to have pages dedicated to those categories in particular because they're the posts I do the most of now, especially my own series of Coffee Chats, Mindful Mondays, and now BORN TO BE. So if you ever want to find a post in particular in relation to those categories then you can click on the tab and it will take you to all of those posts. There's a couple in each tab right now so go and check them out if you fancy.
Under my logo we now have a bit of a tagline as well, treating ourselves. Charlie originally had the tagline as 'beauty, fashion, lifestyle' and if you had asked me 3-4 years ago if that's what my blog was about I would've said yes. But I feel like my blog has developed as I've grown up. So we were thinking about it and he asked me 'Well what would you say your blog is about?' and honestly I couldn't answer it. So he scanned through the different styles of posts I've done most frequently over the past year and he came up with 'lifestyle and positivity' and I love it. Lovelies you all know that on this blog we talk about a lot of life related things and I'm always trying to stay positive and help you all find the positives in life situations. So when I really thought about it, the tagline couldn't of been more perfect. Another little extra thing he kindly did for me, on the tab of where it says what web page you're on, you'll see that next to the 'KLJ - Lifestyle & Positivity' there is an icon of a 'K' against a pink square instead of the 'B' which you normally see on blogger accounts. Honestly I can't get over how awesome that is, don't ask me how he managed that because I've got no idea but I am so grateful.
And the final thing he kindly made for me as a bit of an extra. For my two series, Coffee Chats and Mindful Mondays, he has made me two logos specifically for those two series. Honestly I am beyond grateful, I love them and I can't wait to share them with you all. You'll obviously have to wait to see those until I do a new post in those series (hopefully soon) but I'm sure you will love them as much as I do.
Honestly I really can't thank him enough. He does so much for me and my blog design wise and I wouldn't know what to do without him. Thank you so much Charlie, I love you to pieces.
And now finally, it's time for what this blog post was actually intended for.
Whatever you do, at some stage we all go through a rut. Whether that's writers block or we lose passion for whatever it is we're devoting our time to, or we just feel a bit bored and unmotivated with what we're doing. Being a blogger and from having a massive shift in my life (moving home from uni) it has meant that my way of life and my emotions have been a bit all over the place because honestly moving home from uni has been a lot harder than moving to uni. But that's a discussion for another day. Anyway because of that traumatic experience (believe me I am really not exaggerating) it has meant I've needed to figure out ways to find inspiration for things again. As I've found I am less productive at my parents home because I associate my home-home with being a teenager again I suppose and just not really doing anything when it comes to work based things. And I associated my life in Chester as my young adult life because I ran my own life every day and did the things I needed to do and went out when I wanted to without any judgement or explanation needed etc. So I'm not going to lie, going from everyday independence to living back at home under the house "rules" has been really hard to settle back into which has affected my ability to be inspired and find ways of focusing. So I figured if anyone is in a similar position to me right now maybe this post could be beneficial and even if you're not in a similar position to me, hopefully the points in this post can help you refocus your mind for inspirations.
I've been on the hunt for a job recently and it is mentally exhausting. When I lived in Chester I'd go out regularly, about 5 or 6 times a week, whether that be with friends or by myself. But at home I'm finding I can't do that as often, one) because of money, two) because my friends at home don't all live with me like we did at uni, they also have jobs, and we actually have to travel into places to see one another. It's not like when I lived in a city and we were all in walking distance of one another. And three) because my parents always want to know where I'm going and what I'm doing. I know it's only because they care and they want to make sure I am safe but sometimes I feel like I can't go out and do anything without permission. Anyone else feel me?
Due to all this lately I've found it harder to find inspiration and motivation for life in general. It's only recently (within the last two weeks) where I've been able to figure myself out a bit again.
So tip number one is to find the right balance of going out and doing things and being busy etc for you. You have all heard me say countless times that I am a very balanced person and if I don't have the right balance of time to myself and time with other people and going out etc, it affects me massively. I also need time to myself at home as well as time to myself when I'm out and this brings me to my next tip.
Number two, find something you enjoy doing by yourself and for yourself. It's good to spend time out with yourself. You don't have to make it a big thing or anything major. For myself I like to go out to cafes (we all know it's usually Costa) and just sit and relax or read or write and plan posts etc. I just find it an activity I love to do with myself for myself and it's another way of self care and self love for me personally.
I know a lot of people don't like going out on their own and I really can't figure out why. I'm not judging my loves as everyone is different but I can't imagine not going out on my own now. Maybe it's an independence thing or self confidence thing in general, I don't know. I once went for dinner on my own which I know is a big deal for some people. Try it, push yourself, it's quite liberating.
Number three, take yourself away from whatever you're doing/ working on. Breaks are always important in life. In our day and age we always feel like we have to do everything right now which I am 100% putting down to society. Your early 20s is an odd time because it seems there are two categories. You're either getting married, having babies, working full time, getting a mortgage etc. Or you're going to university and living your life surviving off minimal funds and going out every Friday night. I feel a tremendous amount of pressure to find a job right now and have my career sorted and stable when in reality life isn't like that. Everything will fall into place eventually and you've got to have faith in yourself as well as faith in time.
I've noticed recently I've been trying to focus on too many things at once - doing things for my blog, trying to find a job, trying to settle back into a completely different lifestyle, trying to keep up with friends, keep up with content on social media, and honestly all of that 24/7 gets exhausting. So learning to take a break and to not quit everything is one of the best adulthood lessons because as you get older you cannot quit everything just like that. You can't quit your day job if you have bills to pay and a family to provide for etc. A lot of the time in life some things have to instantly take a back seat if you've got other things that are demanding your focus and that's okay, that's life.
Another good reason your taking a break is if you lose your passion for whatever it is you're focusing on. Whether that's a few days or a few months (depending on deadlines and things). I've had to do that with my blog a lot in the past year; you do your best work at your happiest, most inspired, and most motivated. So try and consider that when you don't feel you're doing as well as you want to be.
My fourth and final tip for you all is to stay up late at night. This one will not be for everyone as I know some people who go to bed before 3:00am. I can't relate, what's that life like friends? I'm always up late just because naturally I don't fall asleep until around 2:30am or 3:00am even if I have to be up early the next day.
Personally I find that some of my greatest creative ideas, post ideas, and thoughts come to me when it's late at night. There's something really special about being up late with the fairy lights on or a candle burning with inspirational or thought provoking music playing in my ears and just sitting and thinking. It feels like you're the only one awake in the world because of the surroundings you're amongst at that very moment. I find that really inspiring and I can't completely describe the sensation it brings, you just feel something different ignite within your body and within your mind. Anyone else experience this?
As I never go to bed early because I physically can't I use the late night vibes to work creatively as I'm more productive in that sense than I am in the day time. It's not always the best as sometimes after a late night blogging session I'm much more awake and my brain is more alert which results in me not wanting to sleep at all. So I wouldn't recommend it all the time but it's good the engage with every so often.
I've found that lately doing all four of these tips have improved my creativity and my want to make content that is different and interesting. Also doing all four of these has also improved my mood, I've noticed I've been a lot happier, and when you're in a happy mood you're more likely to engage in certain tasks more often than you would when you're feeling down or anxious. So I'd recommend for you all to give these a go for when you're feeling unlike yourself or you're feeling demotivated or you feel a bit lazy when it comes to whatever work you do etc.
Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
You can follow me on Twitter @katielouj0hnson, Instagram @katiej0hnson, Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson.
Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow.
Love,
Katie
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