self improvement

How To Keep Busy In Isolation

blog, books, event, inspired, instagram, life, lifestyle, lockdown, london, mindfulness, news, reflection, self improvement, social media, socialdistancing, trend, twitter, UK, Uncategorized, writing

Okay, so it’s been about three days since my place of work was closed for the forseeable future. At this point it feels a lot closer to three weeks. The days have all blended into one and weekends are but a social construct that fail to exist in this modern world!

Basically, I’m hopeful but deluded. I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet that this is just the start of a minimum, 6 week ‘holiday’. I keep waiting for Boris to pop up on the telly at 5pm and tell us we can all go back to work, Covid-19 has magically cured itself.

Of course, the reality is that this is a prolonged period of unknown and unnerving times. I fully expect it to be a rollercoaster of emotions. In preparation for the weeks ahead I’m following advice from Joey in that episode of Friends when he spaces out his to-do list over a full week. *I honestly don’t have the desire to find a quote or clip so if you don’t know what I’m talking about, take it up with Google*.

Over the next few weeks my priority is RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’m currently working my way through Season 10 and expect to be up to date within the week. Not only is it light-hearted and funny, the repetitive nature of the show provides my take on a routine. Let’s be honest, we aren’t all going to be setting our alarms for 7am or colour coordinating our calenders with frivilous tasks like showering!

I have begun to investigate online courses but I’m apprehensive to rush into something just for the sake of it. Whilst I want to value this time and make use of it in order to better my life and skillsets, I think it would be easy to pick something and then find it of little value past keeping me entertained. Like I said, we are in this for the long-haul so save the books and crochet and have something to look forward to in two weeks from now.

Baking. I’ve already seen so many people on my instafeed turning to their ovens in this hour of need and I think it is a fabulous way to occupy your mind and master a new skill! This leads me seemlessly into what is arguably the biggest part of this social distancing palava. Social media.

In recent years, social media has been the subject of much debate and argument. We’ve seen how it has transformed from an exciting new form of communication to a complex maze of mental health issues and cyber bullying. From my own experience, I can say that in the last few days I have spent more time enjoying the likes of Instagram than I have in years. Seeing friends and colleagues rally round to support eachother, share silly memes and spend time standing up for their industries and fellow workers has been nothing short of wonderful. It has demonstrated to me how we can use our pages for good. I can only imagine how difficult it would be if we were to remove the internet from our lives in these trying times. Despite being in ‘self isolation’ we are arguably more connected to one another and our emotional well-being than ever before.

If you have any suggestions for decent online courses or things to do, please do share them with me. You can find me frequently refreshing on Twitter and Instagram @sophieaiken.

Sophie x

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What I learnt from posting every day for a week

blog, celebrity, inspired, life, lifestyle, london, makeup, mindfulness, question, reflection, review, self improvement, social media, trend, Uncategorized, writing

If you’re up to date with my most recent posts, you’ll know that I set myself a goal to upload content every day for one week. I’m pretty proud of myself for managing to stick to it! Here’s how it went…

Previously I’ve been somewhat inconsistent with blogging, a wave of inspiration every few months passing quickly by. Setting this goal gave me the kick I needed to dig a little deeper for content ideas.

Going forward, my aim is to post twice a week. Whilst it was fun to focus on writing each day, I found that I was compromising on the quality of content I was putting out. Being particularly proud of this social media piece, meant I felt like other topics couldn’t compete.

Having hoped to find a little more direction in terms of the type of content I want to create, I think I’ve found this but am keen to continue to write about whatever it may be that comes to mind on that day. Essentially, I’ve settled on the concept of a lifestyle blog in order to be able to cover a broad spectrum of interests.

Mostly, I found it rewarding to have a focus each day that was soley for my own personal gain and enjoyed the sense of fulfillment that came from completion. A little bit of structure can be a great thing and I’d like to redo this challenge further down the line, perhaps with a little more planning next time though.

What do you think? Are you a Queen of procrastination like me or is your diary brimming with tasks? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for staying on track!

Sophie

Writer’s Block

beauty, blog, inspired, life, lifestyle, mindfulness, question, self improvement, Uncategorized, writing

In case you hadn’t realised, I have been attempting to post content every day this week. I spent today trying and failing to write several different posts and couldn’t seem to complete any of them.

So in the end, I decided to write this one. Basically, I’m cheating my way into being able to say that I’ve posted every day for a week. I felt this was the only way to really get myself back into blogging on a regular basis. The truth is, it’s hard to constantly be coming up with new content whilst simultaneously finding a direction to take my site in. I think moving forward, a realistic approach would be 2-3 blog posts per week.

Do you ever struggle with motivation when it comes to hobbies? It’s a strange thing to not be able to come up with content when a million ideas hit me on an hourly basis! The difference between that initial thought and actually sitting down to write a post is vast to say the least. I’m keen to know what you guys do to get yourselves out of a ‘writer’s block’ or whatever your equivalent may be. Help me out and give me some suggestions!!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more interesting.

Sophie

Boots First Feel Good Session

beauty, blog, celebrity, event, inspired, instagram, life, lifestyle, london, reflection, review, self improvement, social media, trend, Uncategorized

Last week I was lucky enough to win a ticket to the first ever Boots Feel Good Session thanks to an Instagram competition ran by the wonderful Megan Jayne Crabbe *bodyposipanda*.

Upon arrival I was greeted by some lovely ladies who pointed me in the direction of a wall of positive quotes. I grabbed one of these in exchange for a free drink at the bar and readied myself to take part in a Body & Image Workshop.

This particular workshop was hosted by Natasha Devon MBE. Natasha is a body image activist, writer, speaker, campaigner and all round genius to be honest with you. In just fifteen minutes, she gave us a run down of how our brains work and the ways in which we view ourselves. In my last post, I told you all about how I filter my social media, below is a list of body positive influencers composed by all those who attended the workshop. So if you feel like you want a bit less filtering and facetune and a lot more real life, check them out.file-2

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend thePhotography Workshop hosted by Alex Cameron. Alex is a renowned confidence photographer who focuses on the use of natural light in her work. She has a beautiful portofolio and is well worth a follow!

We then moved on to the main event in which Megan, Natasha and Alex were joined by Youtube sensations Hannah Witton and Gary Thompson as well as Scottish footballer Claire Emslie. The panel spoke all things confidence with a particular focus on social media. The discussion was open and varied and really reflected the common concerns of six prominent figures. A big take away from the day was about learning to live in the present and making the most of where you are right now. As I mentioned earlier, there was also a focus on the use of social media and the ways in which we can make our own platforms as positive a space as possible.file-4.jpeg

And now for the best bit. The goody bag. As I looked through the contents, I couldn’t help but feel like some kind of trendy influencer. Full size products from the likes of Urban Decay and The Ordinary. Absolutely over the moon with that and I cannot wait to give them all a go.

I’d really recommend taking the time to watch the full panel discussion here.

If you do watch, let me know your thoughts!

Sophie

Why You Should Filter Your Feed

blog, celebrity, contour, inspired, instagram, life, lifestyle, reflection, self improvement, social media, twitter, Uncategorized

Something I’ve become increasingly aware of over the last couple of years is the need to filter the media we expose ourselves to. For me, this began with making a connection between the television I consumed and my overall mood.

I spent years as a self-confessed Soap Queen. Eastenders was my vibe and I lived for the Christmas Day tragedies. Nowadays though, the thought of sitting through an omnibus leaves me feeling like Shirley Carter upon finding out about the murder of her beloved Hev. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a total avoidance tactic, simply a curation of content. For instance, after watching the hit series ‘You’ on Netflix, I moved on to ‘Brooklyn Nine Nine’ for an easier watch. It may sound bizarre to some but I find it important to seek out lighthearted content in order to maintain a balance. It’s like when you watch a horror film before bed and have to follow it up with an episode of Friends after.

What began with television and film has now evolved for me and I am working to get to a point where my social media reflects a realistic yet uplifting view of the world. So with this in mind, I figured I’d share some of my methods for achieving a better relationship with the media.

As a former journalism student, for many years Twitter was my go-to place for news. I felt like I had to know about every major event going on in the world and be prepared to discuss such in great detail. I then realised that the news very rarely consists of positive stories. It’s okay to disconnect from these stories if they are having a negative impact on you. I find it best to follow broad news accounts such as BBC News and Reuters in order to know the top headlines without being overwhelmed by the details within them. Twitter is terrible for people Retweeting sad, disturbing or offensive content. I see people complaining all the time of the level of ‘trolling’ and scrutiny on this platform. Personally, I don’t see much of this side of the app thanks to my fondness of the unfollow button.

Instagram is amazing, I’m definitely a little too invested in it right now but I’m okay with that as long as I’m following the right accounts. I am particularly partial to a dog account, @tunameltsmyheart is a firm favourite. I’m making a more conscious effort to follow accounts that represent ‘real’ people with less facetune and more desire to inform and inspire. I can love the Kardashians and at the same time be totally aware that their fame and success have given them a platform unlike any other that we as ‘normal’ people could begin to comprehend. Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with every sponsorship or brand collaboration they post, I am more than happy to support them for the monumental business empire they have created as a family.

One tricky thing to tackle when filtering your social media is real life friends. Often I see things being posted by people I know in actual real life that I disagree with or find to be somewhat negative. I’m sure there are those who feel the same about my pages too and that’s okay! There are many reasons why you may still want to maintain a connection with these people and so in that respect, an unfollow is probably not the right option. Instead, mute them. They won’t know you’ve done it unless they suprise you with a random Instagram related pop quiz and you can continue to flick through instastories without seeing their billionth Brexit related post.

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this. The block, unfollow and mute buttons are your best friends. Your social media is exactly that. It’s yours. Don’t let it be dictated be the views of others. I really do believe that social media is a wonderful thing if we just learn to use it in a more positive way.

Sophie

Going It Alone

blog, inspired, life, lifestyle, london, mindfulness, museums, Musical Theatre, reflection, review, self improvement, Theatre, West End

To some, the thought of going to the Cinema alone seems proposterus. To me, it’s therapy.

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to be able to enjoy my own company in public, the only thing left on my checklist is having the balls to walk into a restaurant and ask for a table for one (not there yet). I set myself this goal to shake the social anxiety that comes with needing to have people around in order to enjoy life. It worked.

These days, I regularly go to the cinema alone of a quiet afternoon and I bloody love it! I can get there nice and early to watch the adverts without anyone complaining that they’re bored, I can see films like The Greatest Showman more than once and really just switch off from the outside world for a couple of hours. It’s lush.

It doesn’t stop at the cinema though, I’m also partial to a museum expedition. I will say at this point, it’s best to be savvy with timings in order to avoid masses of school trips. I found the British Museum to be an utter flop thanks to the large volume of young children being marched around in high vis jackets. They were totally bored due to the lack of interactive exhibitions and were acting up accordingly. Personally, I like to get there early and be done before the mid morning/early afternoon rush.It is particularly brilliant that the majority of museums in London are free, you can literally walk straight in to the Natural History Museum (do take the time to drop something into the donations box if you can).

One of the best things about independent expeditions is the people you meet. For my birthday last year, I went to see Hamilton. An older, very well dressed lady sat next to me and we got talking. She was Canadian with an excellent life story and a strong dislike of Donald Trump. We chatted politely before the show and during the interval and it was so interesting to learn about a total stranger whilst sharing a common interest of theatre.

More recently, I won a ticket to a Boots event. Whilst I was slightly anxious about heading in solo, it turned out to be an amazing experience, I left feeling so inspired and proud of myself for going. I really think it’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone every once in a while. I plan on writing a seperate blog post about this event but given my track record with blogging, don’t hold your breath!

The point is, being able to enjoy the things you love in your own company is so rare these days. In a social media obsessed age we seem to be unable to disconnect from the internet at all. Our phones have become an extended part of us. Take a look at your little finger, does it have a dent in the side? That’s the ‘Smartphone Pinky’. And to prove it, here’s a super legit, scientific article from the wonderful Daily Mail.

So if you’re wanting to give this a go, start with the cinema. My top tips are to pre book your ticket, go to an earlier showing where there will be less people and turn your phone off as soon as you sit down. Take a break from the world for a couple of hours and just enjoy your own company.

If you give it a go, let me know how you get on!

Sophie

Happiness

books, life, lifestyle, mindfulness, self improvement

I’m a girl that loves a bit of mindfulness! (I also appear to be fond of an exclamation point or five!!!!!) Whilst I don’t always practice what I preach *does anyone?*, I do find that it makes a massive difference to my mood and mentality.

If you’re looking to get into the world of mindfulness and/or self improvement I would seriously recommend a book called ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ as well as ‘The Path’. If reading isn’t for you, try an adult colouring book or one of the many apps that teach you meditation (personally I have never been able to get into these).

This is one of those topics I feel like I could discuss for hours upon hours and it’s something I definitely hope to share more about in the future. But I truly believe it has dramatically changed my outlook on life.

For Christmas, I received a copy of Fearne Cottons book ‘Happy: the Journal‘. Fearne is a British television presenter with unbelievable style and a lush Instagram page to match.

We always hear how writing things down can be a wonderful outlet. ‘If you’re angry at a co worker, write an email but don’t press send’. As someone who genuinely spends hours pondering over whether a craving for watermelon makes you hungry or thirsty, this sounds like a terrible idea. The thought of losing focus and accidentally clicking Send like in one of those cheesy American comedies is far too fear inducing!

An old school ‘Dear Kitty’ style diary might work for many but it can be hard to know where to start. This journal is structured enough to guide your train of thought without being rigid in its’ questioning. Yes, daily entries can be a challenge for us procrastinators, but I find it just as effective when I fill out a few in one go.

blog9.PNG‘Happy: The Journal’ has really helped me to take a minute and deal with all the changes going on around me. There are very few things in life that we truly have control over, being able to write a few sentences about how you plan to move forward this year or what your biggest worries are can really help with perspective.

See now I’m a big fan of perspective. When people around me are being negative I tend to be the first to pull out a cliche about how lucky they are to have what they do. It is however so easy to be sucked into these thoughts and feelings. Who you choose to surround yourself with seriously does have an unbelievable impact on how you approach your day!

So when I have been lured into the metaphorical snake pit of negativity, taking 5 minutes to jot down a few thoughts can totally re balance my mind. Thank you Fearne!

How do you guys approach life? Are you into self improvement and mindfulness or are you a typical British cynic?

xoxo