During lockdown I took a break from blogging as I was focusing on studying for a lot of it. I got to a point where I really struggled with motivation and felt constantly exhausted. Therefore, It didn’t make sense to me to work on any content when I wasn’t going to be giving 100%. But recently I’ve reclaimed my love for writing, and shockingly I’ve even got back into Instagram again.

LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH INSTAGRAM

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ll know I have a strong love hate relationship with Instagram. I knew that I had to find a way to enjoy the app or to just delete it altogether. I started by unfollowing all the accounts whose posts didn’t feel me with joy, positivity or love. Instead I replaced these accounts with body acceptance and more down to earth posts that have a more real look.

The difference in my mood whilst scrolling through Instagram has been infinitely amazing, I’d definitely recommend you doing the same. I also recently archived all my old posts so that I can start afresh with my account. I’ve got a plan for my grid, including a theme that I think will actually stick to for the first time ever. I’ve even been more confident in posting body photos with my curvier parts on show that I’d have previously hidden.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Along with giving my Instagram a much-needed refresh I’ve been doing the same behind the scenes with my two blogs. I’ve been wanting to change The Live Review’s theme for a while now but haven’t found the right fit. Last week that suddenly changed when I found a free WordPress theme with a premium customisable paid option. It’s now live and I’m so happy with the new look and now I’m ready to jump into London posts.

On Glam Glitz Gloss things have been a little different as I decided to go back to the very beginning. I’ve gone back to my very first post and I’m slowly working my way through updating every single one. My aim is to hit green on both the SEO and readability tracker on the Yoast plugin. I’ve been bulking out smaller posts, re-writing tragic posts, updating poorly taken photographs, fixing broken links and more.

PRESS INVITES

I’ve been extremely fortunate during my years of blogging so when everything suddenly stopped it was a bit of a shock. With one of my websites solely focused on what’s happening in London I was regularly attending events and reviewing events. It was strange to go from being out three or four evenings a week to absolutely nothing.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a few virtual events during lockdown like The Big Czech Night In. But I’m so excited to say that I’ve had not one but two invites to events outside of the house. Both brands have got COVID precautions in place and have been very clear on their safety rules. Make sure that you feel safe and comfortable before agreeing to any events and ask for more information if needed.

It will be interesting to see how the health and safety guidelines actually play out in person though. I hope that people will adhere to the guidance and won’t ruin it for others by breaking those rules. Let me know if you’d like to find out more about what it’s like attending events right now. I hope that this is the start of the journey back to normality and that life begins to feel familiar again. Have you been more or less creative during lockdown?