Blogging Lessons.

So LydiaLulu is almost four months old. It's weird, it feels like I've been blogging for much much longer than that. (My half-hearted Tumblr attempt doesn't count here). It's probably because blogging has taught me a lot about myself and how I work best. It's given me confidence in my writing ability, and I love the fact that LydiaLulu is growing with me. I've got some big life changes coming up in the next few weeks: my final shift at work, a very exciting theatre trip, moving to Southampton, and starting university again. I can't wait to document all these changes on my very own corner of the internet. But in the four months that I've been doing this, here are some tried-and-tested blogging lessons I've learnt along the way.

Making Time.

Working a full time job and writing a blog is extremely difficult. Before I started LydiaLulu, I wasn't doing much with my spare time if I'm honest. I would come home after a long day and just slob out in front of the TV. Now I get home, have a quick scroll of my Bloglovin' feed and get to work. I've been really pushing myself recently to produce good quality content everyday and I'm loving the challenge. But it isn't all hard work, sometimes I need to have a bit of lazy time before I can start writing. It's simple really - if I spend some time catching up with trash TV when I get home, then I'll start later and finish later. Take this evening for instance, I didn't get home till 18:30 and then went immediately out for dinner with the family. That means I'll just catch up when I get home. For me, it's all about achieving balance and managing my time effectively. Even if it means some late nights. It all becomes worth it when a post you worked so hard on is received well.

Staying Motivated

Again, this is tough when you work full time. Whenever I'm feeling stressed out or like my blog is a failure, I just remind myself why I'm doing it. I love writing and I love the creative freedom running LydiaLulu has given me. If it ever gets really bad then I'll cut myself some slack. Forcing yourself to write when your creative juices aren't flowing is not an easy task and usually won't go so well. It's better to come back a little later when inspiration strikes. There's nothing motivating than having a couple hours break to relax and then coming back to a post refreshed and ready to write.

Creating a work environment.

When I was an incredibly stressed out student studying for A-Levels, I came to realise the importance of a good work space. An environment that's calm and familiar can work wonders when you're obsessing over a piece of work. The same counts for blogging. When I'm suffering with writer's block, I always light a candle, turn my fairy lights on, make a cup of tea, and put on my favourite tracksuit bottoms. It's my secret weapon that helps me focus.

The followers/statistics obsession.

This is a tough one that I'm sure every blogger goes through. When you devote your heart and soul to your little space on the internet, it can be so hard not to become preoccupied with your follower count. In my early weeks, I would take losing a single follower way too hard. It's hard not to notice when you have less than 20 people subscribed to your blog. I would obsess over what I did to make them unfollow me. But I'm matured a bit since then and try and focus on the positives - the fact that LydiaLulu is continuing to grow and that I'm even more devoted than I was at the start. 

With a sparkling new blog design and some massive life changes coming up soon, I'm so excited about the future of LydiaLulu. Stay posted.