Will 2023 be the year when my blogging career takes off? Just joking! Of course, I’m not planning on becoming a blogger out of nowhere. I’ve decided to stop blaming myself. That can’t be healthy. Instead, I’ve decided to analyse if procrastination is putting me off blogging, as I suspect. Stay with me while I ramble examine it.

Is my perfectionism preventing me from blogging?

I always considered myself to be a professional procrastinator. I assume it. I always leave the hardest and most tedious tasks for the end… just the opposite of what you should do to be productive. Yes, I was that student typing last-minute my reports and, of course, fighting the printer to get the assignment printed just a few hours before it was due.

Then, I always thought it was laziness. However, talking about this matter with my workmate Rachael, she suggested that perfectionist people often see themselves as lazy or prone to procrastinate when it’s actually their fear of failure that’s preventing them from doing what they should be doing.

This idea resonated with me

Soon after our conversation, I came across an episode of the podcast “I shouldn’t say this but…” and my mind exploded. Katy Leeson, the author of this (rest-in-peace) podcast and self-confessed procrastinator, examined all the major reasons for purposely delaying or avoiding certain tasks.

There it was, once again, the combo of perfectionism + fear of failure was number one on the list.

It turns out I am a procrastinator because I care too much about what I do, and consequently, I don’t start something when I’m not sure the results will be good enough for my standards.

It turns out I am a procrastinator because I care too much about what I do, and consequently, I don’t start something when I’m not sure the results will be good enough for my standards. I mean, it’s nothing new that I’ve got a thing for things well done (I drive my husband crazy, LOL), but it never occurred to me that the reason why I do it is that I care too much. Damn it!

If you want to listen to this podcast, you can find the episode here: Spotify / Apple Podcasts, and I can’t recommend it enough. I loved listening to it while I walked around the park or the local cemetery. Yes, I walk a lot around Macclesfield cemetery, but that’s a topic for another post.

Where was I? Ah, I know.

So, it turns out I’m not a lazy person after all.

This got me thinking…

Do I no longer enjoy blogging?

I used to think that I didn’t take the leap and create content for my blog because I was too busy. Being a new mum, though, I laugh at myself thinking about this because, let’s assume it. I’ve had plenty of time.

Was it a lack of motivation, then?

Sometimes you like the idea of something, but then you don’t like doing it. I have often felt like I needed to create content to prove that I could do it. But since I was never in the right mood for doing it the right way, with the right mixture of good content and smart-placed keywords, with perfect SEO and readability scores on Yoast, with good quality but optimised images, alt text, the right internal and external links, the right anchor text… should I keep going?

I even wondered if travelling and food were something I no longer felt passionate about. If you talk to me for more than five minutes, you realise this is nonsense. I would take my one-year-old around the world if I had the money/days off to do so. He’s the best travel companion, although you need to be overprepared with extra clothes and snakes. You can’t have everything.

Can I overcome blogging procrastination?

So, how do I fix it? Do I force myself to write with the hope that I’ll create a habit out of it and find my lost love for blogging? Do I let it flow? I don’t know if I’ll be able to overcome this issue or if my procrastination will keep putting me off from becoming the blogger I once dreamed about.

I started this article in 2022. That’s how bad procrastination hit me. So, this time I’ll start by forgiving myself for all the times in the past when I felt guilty for updating my blog. I’ll start small, too, posting this unoptimised blog article. It might not be perfect, but it’s mine.

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Ten things you should add to your 20s bucket list

1. Travel – Explore the world and experience new cultures and ways of life. If you’re reading this, you probably have an interest in travelling, so well done, you!
2. Take a risk – Step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Listen to this: your 20s are the ideal time to do it. Don’t fear of making mistakes; that’s how you learn and grow. And what if it works?
3. Get financially savvy – Start planning for your future and build up your savings. Don’t do like me and spend it all on your travels, going out and getting wasted. Put some money every month aside in a saving account and don’t touch it until you’ve turned 30. You’ll thank me later.
4. Invest in your well-being – Take care of your physical and mental health. Over the years, you’ll learn to stay away from the toxic people surrounding you in your early 20s. Remember: true friends and loving partners don’t treat you like you are spendable. Caring is loving.
5. Read widely – Broaden your horizons with books from all genres. The more, the merrier.
6. Invest in yourself – Invest time and money in learning new skills and gaining knowledge. Don’t worry about the certifications but the actual value you get. Every new skill you gain will help you through life, either professionally or personally. With a bit of luck, both professionally and personally.
7. Declutter – Get rid of things that no longer serve you and find more joy in life. You don’t need so many clothes; that is for sure -said the person with Diogenes disorder-.
8. Develop a hobby – Develop a passion and find something that you can enjoy and excel in. Mine is blogging, can you tell?
9. Form meaningful relationships – Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you (go back to point 6 and read again).
10. Live life to the fullest – Make the most of every moment and appreciate the little things.

We only get one chance at life, so make sure to make the most of it

I am closer to my 36s than my 35s, and I’m still working through this list. I hope my tips help you realise how much you can achieve before you turn 30. Or, if you’re already past your best life, leave me a comment. Is it true that the 30s are the new 20s?

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We were practising social isolation even before the UK was placed in a lock-down, leaving the house only for the essential and not meeting any of our friends. You see, while, in the UK, things were quiet, deaths by Covid-19 in Spain were growing at alarming rates. With all my family and friends in lockdown, we got very concerned. In a matter of days, I went into panic mode and started to cancel all our travel plans and get ready for isolation.

I was meaning to take my time off work and in confinement to update this blog with fresh new content. I had run out of excuses not to blog about my trips. However, reality hit hard. Once I had all the time in the world to blog, I felt like there was nothing I felt like sharing. The closest I’ve done is to update an Instagram story a day. I’ve saved them all stories in a highlight called it ‘Lockdown diaries‘. Yes, I’m super original!

So, the first thing I’m going to do is….

To actually update my blog more often

Yes, I really want to create a content calendar, with some planning on what I’m going to write, some nice images, etc. All I need is to stick to the plan once I’m back to work. I always struggle to find the energy and the time to blog after a day of work. However, I really miss blogging. I used to blog in my early 20s and I totally abandoned it for Facebook and, more recently Instagram.

I also recently got rid of my Spanish Twitter account. I love reading about politics, but Twitter is a hateful place and I’m not really in the mood for those visceral tweets that make me angry. Is it just I or Twitter is full or resentful people? With Twitter gone, I’ve got less time for memes and more for blogging. Yay!

To go for a walk every single day

One of the perks of living in Macclesfield is the number of amazing paths and natural areas. You don’t even need to drive; there are lovely path walks just about 5 minutes from our home. I’m often too tired or too lazy to go for a walk after work and I’m definitely not a morning person.

Nevertheless, I’ve been going out for a walk or a run almost every day for the last month and I’ve loved having some time not to think about anything, away from my iPhone, iPad, computer or the telly.

Besides the walks, I’ve been doing some 5-10 minute video workouts at home and playing with my old Wii Fit. If you’ve known me for more than two minutes, you must have realised I’m not the most active person. This is precisely why I want to keep a routine.

To read more books (and to watch less Netflix)

Back when I was living in Madrid, I used to devour books. I remember reading on my way to uni and then, back at home, keep reading for hours. Then, when I moved to the UK, I moved to study English on those gaps and I, somehow, lost the habit of reading before bed. I blame it on Netflix.

When I’m tired, I tend to consume easy content (this is, re-watched movies or series), rather than reading a book, which requires more energy, especially when I read books in English and I’m tired. Still, when I travel, I always carry a book or my kindle. In the last two or three years. Being off work, I’ve used my free time to catch up with my readings and I’m absolutely obsessed with Patria, a story about two families antagonised because of the Basque conflict.

To spend some quality time with my family and friends

I’m all about travelling to see my family, but living in another country means than we often have to decide whether we go to visit my family, my in-laws (on the other side of Spain), or we go on holiday somewhere else. It’s tricky and we sometimes feel guilty we cannot spend as much time as we’d like with family and friends.

For once, I’m absolutely looking forward to spending some time with my family and relaxing with a glass of Toro red wine. Video-calls with my friends aren’t the same as face-to-face, especially if all they’ve done for the last 45 days is staying at home. I had two family trips planned before the lockdown was enforced, so we can always travel and enjoy each others’ company when it’s allowed.

So, these are the for top things in my list. If we can get something good of this nightmare that’s the Covid-19 pandemic is that most of the things we are worried about (eg. having a new car, cool furniture, stylish clothes, the latest iPhone…) aren’t really that important.

What do you plan to do when confinement is over?

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This was the fourth time I had tickets, but the very first one I was able to attend it. In the past, I had donated my tickets to other people, unable to attend because of work or personal trips. Also, the last April Brighton SEO session happened to be on Easter. And yes, I was travelling!

So, was it good? Yes, it was! What did I learnt? Let’s see…

I know more of SEO than I thought

Am I too hard on myself? I don’t think it’s a matter of being too modest, but, instead, being a little insecure sometimes. The fact is, I hadn’t realised I knew a lot about SEO until I attended some of these talks.

On the one hand, I was able to understand everything (which doesn’t always happen when you don’t have a technical background. Exactly my case). Also, I found some of the talks too simplistic and closer to a sales pitch than an educational talk. I’m critically analysing the talks. Hello, ego!

According to the comments of other professionals, I’m not the only one who thinks this. There’s nothing wrong with trying to sell your work and the positive outcomes of it, I think. What’s your view on this?

Back to the topic, I was super proud of myself. All those hours invested in reading articles online, all those talks with Rachael at work… all that has finally paid off. I won’t bore you with the technical stuff. Truth is, I still have to keep working on learning, but I am more encouraged to do so.

Social Marketers and SEO Geeks are clearly differentiated personalities… or do they?

I mostly attended talks on PR and SEO. Why would a Social Media manager prefer to attend PR and SEO talks like I did? Well, because I want to learn more about these two huge areas of marketing. I already read about Social Media and I’m sure I’ll go through the Social Media talks online at some point.

There’s something I noticed. SEO talks were crowded, but, as soon as they finished, everyone left the room and little or no questions were made. Even when there were questions, people were leaving the room and they were anything but quiet. How rude, right?

When I attended a Social Media talk in the afternoon, I realised everyone was chatty and loads of questions were asked at the end of the session. Nobody left while the experts answered them. There was a different vibe in the room.

Are Social Media geeks more sociable and chatty than SEO geeks? Sure they are! I want to appreciate, though, that PR people seem to be something in between, which is something I felt very pleased to find out.

And talking about PR…

My previous idea of how a PR note works is totally wrong

What on Earth was I thinking? Truth said, my PR skills are limited. I was interested in PR when I was doing my Masters degree, but then I went into Social Media, then SEO, and I think I lost track of what’s going on in the PR world.

Luckily, the talk of Carrie Rose opened my eyes. I have scheduled a meeting with my Marketing Director and the Marketing team to discuss a new action plan. To use Carrie’s words, we need to create ‘Sexy AF’ PR pitches in order to land sexy AF links. AF meaning As Fuck. Pardon my French.

I don’t know if I’ll be there for BrightonSEO 2019, but I’m sure going to do my best to put into practice everything I’ve learnt with a new positive attitude.

Did you also go to BrightonSEO 2019? What did you learn at BrightonSEO 2019?

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The kitchen

Thank God we have any possible thing you may need for cooking. Some people get excited while checking out ASOS new arrivals or walking through the aisles of Zara. I have the same excitement when shopping for cookware. I avoid visiting Lakeland and I’ve promised myself I won’t buy anything in IKEA’s kitchen section, but I have my eye on some saucepans…

Survival kit for an empty kitchen:

• IKEA’s set of plates
• Supermarket’s random 3/4 pint glasses
• Supermarket’s random 24 cm frying pan
• A saucepan big enough for cooking pasta
• IKEA’s cooking tools (under £1 each)
• Cutlery set: mine is IKEA’s, but you can find cheap ones in Wilko.
• Chopping board
• Set of kitchen knives
• Tea towels

We need a new fridge, dryer+washing mashing and a dishwasher (boyfriend is super happy he won’t have to do the dishes). We’re going for either Curry’s and we’re allocating around £1k budget for this. Looking for the right electrics has been a little bit of a nightmare. Don’t want to get you bored, but we ended up with a fridge too big for the space we had. We had the measures right, but we forgot something: the fridge’s door needs room to be able to open. That’s one of the many issues you’ll find when moving into an empty home.

The bedroom

White Hemnes bed. King size. In IKEA. What’s more to say? I just love absolutely everything in IKEA’s Hemnes range. I can’t help myself. We have a matching drawer we bought on sale. Yes, we drove to IKEA to save £25 but, between you and me… what’s life without meatballs? New bed size means new bed linen. We’ll probably buy it in Tesco’s. They always have a new home range around September and March, which means a few pounds saved here and there. Every little helps LOL.

The dining room

This room is going to be a little boring for a while. We have fours chairs we bought two years ago in IKEA, £18 each. We’re buying this cute table. My parents have the larger version and they only have good words towards it. In the future, I want to build a storage set in this room for all our stuff. For now, it will be the table, the chairs and a £10 lamp. Easy pease.

The living room

We have a telly! What else does a living room need? A sofa! After a very productive search, we’ve discovered that:

1. We can’t afford Harveys sofas
2. Everybody says M&S sofas are shit. After trying them I can confirm this
3. A Next sofa it is. After all, they seem to be the best quality for the price.

I cannot emphasise enough how much I love Next’s living room ranges. We’re going for the Next Brooklyn range, as it’s closer to our budget than the other ranges we love. Next offered a discount when you were buying two or more pieces, which also helped us make our choice.

**2020 update: I’ve seen this range has since gone more expensive and it’s available in a lighter colour. I still like mine more!

Why I’m not freaking out

Budgeting is the key. Think of how much you can spend and don’t try to have the perfect house from day one, unless you’re willing to give up all your hobbies and social life. Do budget for painting and wallpaper. Try to save up for any last-minute issues. And remember: flowers or a plant can brighten up a room and upgrade your mood.

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