Tag Archives: Lifestyle Blog Cheshire

How to Switch Off Work as a Freelancer

November 25, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , 54 Comments

We all hear a lot of great things about being a freelancer: ability to travel and work anywhere in the world, more time to spend with your family and friends, and even better pay. But although all these are true, there is another side to the freelance lifestyle that very few people talk about.

 

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Freelancers can get caught up in loads of work and even though we are in control of our time and work conditions, most times we find ourselves spending almost 12 hours a day working!

Working long hours to get your freelance projects done may get you a lot of clients and more projects, but in the end you won’t have time to do the things you enjoy doing.

Here are 5 ways you can switch off work as a freelancer.

 

  1. Take the weekends off

Now this is so hard. I can’t remember the last time I took a full weekend off. I usually try to catch up on more work over the weekends when it is quiet but I know I should try to switch off work more often. So going forward, I will be dedicating an entire day in the week (most likely a weekend) where I won’t do any work. Everything that needs doing would be automated, and everything else like emails and the works would have to wait.

Taking time off keeps you refreshed and relaxed. And you can use that time to do things that you love.

 

  1. Have a schedule and stick to it

The fact that you work at home (or anywhere you want to work) doesn’t mean that you can’t give yourself office hours. As a freelancer, you’re also a business owner.

Create a schedule and stick to it. Make sure you include the time you start work and the time you close from work. When you plan your time this way, you’ll always have time to dedicate to other activities that are important to you too. Getting your head buried in work will only make you feel overwhelmed and stressed out. Trust me, I had to learn this the hard way.

 

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  1. Make breaks non-negotiable

No matter how much work you have, you need to give yourself a break. If your freelance work is such that you can’t take the day off, you need to at least give yourself some time off.

For every hour you work give yourself a 20-30 minute break. Use that time to take a walk, grab a drink at your favourite coffee shop or simply take a power nap. Whatever you do during that time should be something that will give you the opportunity to take a breather.

 

  1. Set clear cut boundaries

The main reason why you spend hours working is because you have so many clients to attend to. You can’t take up every job offered to you. You need to learn how to say “no” when you have more work than you can handle.

It’s so much better to cut down on the workload than to take on more clients and struggle to fulfill their orders.

 

  1. Give yourself some personal time

As a freelancer you may have the tendency to forgo the time you would have spent for some personal time. Don’t let your work rob you off the time to enjoy your own company. Setting aside time to for yourself, will give you the chance to switch off work.

Take time meditate, pamper yourself or simply devote to developing your mind. Just a few minutes spent doing something that will make you happy and fulfilled will make all the difference in the world.

 

How do you switch off work?

 

Online Shopping with Pouch

November 23, 2016 By in Fashion, Lifestyle Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 37 Comments

With the Christmas shopping in full swing, I am on the look out for vouchers and discounts that would help keep the cost of my Christmas shopping as low as possible. I still have quite a few items to get, but I on it and hoping to round-up all my shopping by the first week in December, so wish me luck.

I am doing ALL of my shopping online because I love shopping online and I find it so easy. Shopping online from the comfort of my home, anytime of the day is pure bliss for me. I don’t have to deal with the crowd and general rush going on at the moment.

So you can imagine how excited I was to come across a new shopping browser extension called Pouch.

 

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Pouch is a browser extension that gives users access to the best available voucher code discounts straight to their shopping baskets. You don’t even have to actively search for voucher codes. Once you download the free browser extensions, it appears on your browser tab, and searches for voucher code discounts on retail sites you visit. Pouch ensures users never have to actively search for a voucher code again. Isn’t that the best online shopping tool ever? I think it is.

I downloaded this browser extension some days ago and I found it very user-friendly. It was very easy to download, no registration required. I just went on the website, and clicked on the “Download on Desktop for Free” tab. The download was completed in under 1 minute, and it has worked amazingly well ever since. It sits on the right hand of my browser. Once I click on the icon to check for available voucher codes on a website, all I need to do is simply paste the voucher code I want into the promo code box on the retail website I am shopping on to get the discount.


There are huge discounts available on thousands of UK websites like Marriott, The Body Shop, Adidas, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and many other stores. And these discounts here and there all add up in the end, and help save some money. I got 2 voucher codes on the Sainsbury’s website thanks to Pouch, some days ago.

 

 

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As an online shopping lover and a very busy woman, I love the fact that Pouch would save me time and money without the hassle.  Once you download the very smart browser extension, it recognises the exact website you are on. When you click on the icon on the browser, it then presents the best available voucher codes for that website. It pretty much does all the work, you don’t even have to think it through.

I think Pouch is a great idea. The technology behind it still amazes me. I like the fact that I don’t have to go from 1 website to another in search of discount codes. And it is also completely free, and always will be.

How is your Christmas shopping going? Have you heard of the Pouch? What are your thoughts?

You can check Pouch on social media:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/JoinPouch

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JoinPouch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/joinpouch

 

*This is a collaborative post.

How to Grow your Social Media Followers

November 22, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , 47 Comments

Social media is a great way to increase your reach and promote your brand/business. But to enjoy the full benefits social media has to offer you need to build your social media following. This could take months/years, and the growing process never truly ends. I have written a post in the past about the power of social media and my book – How to Cash In as a Blogger covers this as well.

 

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It’ is important for you to note that your aim should be to gain quality followers who love your content and will engage with you. Some people follow the wrong approach when it comes to gaining followers. Instead of winning their hearts, they buy them. Buying followers will lead you nowhere. The followers you pay for hardly engage with you, rather they’ are just numbers.

 

If you want to gain quality followers and raving fans, then applying these steps will help you achieve that. Whatever method you decide to use, you need to make sure you apply it consistently over a long period of time. Growing your social media followers is hard work and it does not happen overnight. But if you put your heart and soul into what you do, but you’ will eventually begin to see results over time.

 

Find, follow and engage with people in your niche

The main aim of social media is to actually socialize with people. In order for you to do that you need to find people, follow and strike a conversation with them. Make sure the people you follow are those who would be interested in your content. This will help to ensure that both of you benefit from the connection. If they find you interesting, they wi’ll surely follow you back.

Pro Tip: Go to the social media account of an influencer in your niche. Check out their list of followers and engage with them. You’ are more likely to engage with people who would be interested in your content.

 

Be a source of valuable information

People are always in search of information. Make sure you post quality information consistently. The information you share doesn’t always have to be yours. You can share other’s posts, images and tweets that you think your followers will find valuable. The re-shares would likely get you more followers in return.

Pro tip: Follower people you are genuinely interested in. Avoid “follow for follow” as much as you can, so you are not stuck with a boring timeline you have no interest in.

 

Use hashtags

Hashtags will help increase the visibility of your posts. As more people see your posts then more people will be inclined to follow you especially if you post valuable content regularly.

Pro tip: To effectively use hashtags, you need to make sure you choose hashtags that the followers you want to attract will use. For example, if you’re a wedding planner or a wedding photographer, you’ll attract more followers if you used the hashtag #GettingMarried or #WeddingInspiration.

 

Blog about some of your social media conversations

If you have a steady flow of readers to your blog, this tip will work really well. Blogging about some of the conversations you had with your followers or about the posts or comments your followers made will let your readers know that you acknowledge their presence. This will encourage more people to follow you on social media and engage with you.

Pro tip: After writing a blog post about a conversation you had on social media, make sure you tag the people you mentioned. This will encourage them to share that post on social media. As more people read the post, this will increase your reach and your following.

 

Are you into social media? How do you grow your following?

 

 

 

 

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