A hobby which I'm sure is getting many of us through lockdown is reading. so I thought today I'd share some book reviews and let you know what's next on my to-read list.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

 Okay, technically I still haven't finished this one. I know, it was the January books for #chloeharrietsbookclub, so extremely poor effort from me. However, my boyfriend and I decided it would be nice to read together - when we fancy it, we take it in turns to read a chapter aloud to one another, it's lovely... but also takes forever to get through a book. It's only now that we're finally coming towards the end of this, and as expected I really enjoyed it.

The story takes place in a small town in Ireland and follows the relationship between two characters, Marianne and Connell. As go from high school to university, their relationship constantly moving up and down the sliding scale, from a friendship to a romantic relationship over and over. You see their relationship affected by poor communication, social class, environmental changes and more. It feels like a very real modern relationship.

Between each chapter, there's a small-time jumper, usually somewhere around 3 to six months so the narrative moves along quickly, despite being quite circular due to the back and forth of the relationship.

I find the writing style to be simple, making it easy to follow, but there's still a poetic feel to it.

I'm enjoying this book and the characters a lot, I'm excited to finish it.
★★★★☆

The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

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Recently I've been spending a lot of my time at home job searching, but the current situation has pressed the pause button the job search. I have also found myself stopping a lot of the things I could keep up, seeing lockdown as an excuse to stay in my PJs all day and play sims - now as fun as that is, I'm writing this two days into lockdown because I'm feeling a lack of achievement and very unfulfilled. So I've decided to change my perspective. To see this time at home as a gift. To challenge myself to see what I can do with this time, so naturally, I've set myself some goals.

Finish writing my book: 

A few years ago, I began writing a book - it sat at just the first chapter for about a year, finally, I got around to finishing the first rough draft, and then the fear crept in. Once again it went untouched for months. During this time I'm going to edit those chapters, finish a draft which I'm happy to send to publishers. My book won't finish writing itself, and I can achieve my dream of being a published author without that part.

Exercise every day:

I go through phases with exercise. I either pretend it's not a thing or become obsessed with it. I did yoga every day in January (blog post on that here). Since I've done the odd bit of yoga and running but it's not been such a priority. In this time I want to improve my fitness, I want to take advantage of the option to exercise outside and run in the fresh air (which I've done most days so far), on the days I'm not running, I'll be doing yoga because I find the meditativeness of yoga is good for my mind,  and I could do with improving my flexibility and balance. Alongside this I'm completing weekly online sessions with my old personal trainer, @laurenalicefitness on Instagram who is being kind enough to do free sessions on Instagram live during this time - I would recommend following if you want some more challenging strength workouts.

Actually, try to grow my Instagram and Youtube platforms: 

I'm bad at Youtube and Instagram. Maybe bad is the wrong word - I'm not very good at trying to grow them. If I tried a little harder, I could have a larger following, instead I just kind of let them exist as they are, with a very slow organic growth. Sometimes I forget to posts on Instagram, and I'm rubbish at engaging with others. However when I'm putting my time and effort into creating the content, I should want it to be seen, and it should be seen - so I'm going to spend more time engaging online, posting more regularly to Instagram and being consistent with Youtube. To encourage me to actually put the effort in, I've set specific goals which I can track, so by the end of this lockdown, I'd like 200 subscribers on Youtube and 1000 followers on Instagram (if you can help a gal out, that would be fab).

Find new ways to connect with friends:

We are so used to be able to meet up with friends, putting effort keeping friendships alive in this time is more important than ever. I want to check in with friends more often. I've been rediscovering my love for a phone call, I'm trying to take advantage of facetime and at some point, I plan on giving a Netflix party a go.

Get ahead with my blog posts:

Most of the time, despite having blogged weekly for years and despite usually priding myself for my organisation skill, I still find myself writing my blog posts a few days before they go live. I'm bad at remembering to proofread them because I'm so relieved to finish them in time to fit my schedule, typos and all. But with all this extra time at home, I'm going to try to spend some time each day working on blog posts in an attempt to organise myself to get a month or two ahead. I'm going to have to get pretty good at shooting photos around my house, but I'm excited to see all of my posts scheduled and ready to go ahead of time for once.

Improve my blog DA:

If you're a blogger, you'll know that when it comes to working with brands, your domain authority can either be a help or a hindrance. Sadly, mine is the latter. My blog DA is much lower than I believe it should be because I spent years blogging with little to no understanding of SEO. As I'd like to work with more brands and for more people to see my blog, I'm going to spend this time editing old posts trying to get that DA number up. Fixing broken links is my first step.

Read more:

Reading is something I always want to do more of, now I actually have the time. I will also be recording what I'm reading more, writing book reviews on here and Instagram. If you want to read along with me, you can join #chloeharrietsbookclub, head over to this blog post to find out what my book picks for the next few months are. Next week I have a book review blog post catching you up with my thoughts on all of my book club books from the year so far. I'm trying to get as much reading done as possible so between the book club books I'll picking overs from my shelf to make my way through, I'm currently reading (and loving) My Life in 37 Therapies by Kay Hutchison which was kindly gifted to me (and I will also be reviewing it soon)


Have you set any goals for this time?

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Without a doubt, motivation is something which ebbs and flows. Somedays I've made it through my to-do list by lunchtime, and other days, just making out of bed by lunchtime feels like an achievement. Sometimes we just need a break and sometimes sh*t happens. For lately the combination of the two, has left my blog a little quiet, I have a list of excuses from a kidney infection to interview prep taking priority - but this post isn't about the excuses, it's about moving forward after them, and finding motivation after that break.

Self Care 

Chances are, if you had an impromptu break from blogging (or whatever it might be for you) there was probably a reason - whether it was the work piling up so much that the only logical things to do about it, is to ignore it (yes, I genuinely get this sometimes) or maybe you've been feeling under the weather. Either way, the break was probably needed, so before you dive back into getting stuff done, check-in with yourself. Are you feeling refreshed? Have you given yourself the self-care you need and deserve? If not take some time for yourself first. For the best results, you want to go in feeling like the best version of yourself. I have a new Youtube Video on How to have the ultimate selfcare day when you need to get back to feeling like yourself, you can find it here, or at the bottom of this post.

Get organised

 Get a diary, notebook, bullet journal or whatever and get those ideas out, onto paper, when with have ideas swirling around in our heads, it can get a bit overwhelming, ideas get lost and warped, and we can feel bogged down. Write down your ideas, figure out your deadlines and a schedule, mindmap, plan and find the excitement in seeing the map you've just made of all the things you'll create.

Look to those who inspire you 

One of my favourite things to do when I'm lacking motivation is to look to the work of others. I'll watch a youtube video that inspires, read my favourite blogs and flick through magazines. Surrounding myself with content I love inspires me.

Know you're why

 If you don't know why you're doing the stuff, the likelihood is, you just won't do it. If you have a blog, know why it's important to do if you're writing a book, know why you want to tell that story. Give yourself a reason to put the work in.

Revise your to-do list 

Take a look at your to-do list, do you find it helpful or overwhelming?  Remember the purpose of a to-list is to help, not to set off panic sirens in your brain. Is there something on your list which just get pushed to the next day? If you haven't done it yet, is it really necessary? Take out the things which are using up space and stressing you out, and narrow it down to the essentials. Once your to-do list looks friendlier,  ticking it off will be easier.

Set goals 

I find setting short term goals helps set the wheels into motion. For example, today I've decide this very blog post needs to be drafted before lunchtime, and here I am, typing away to meet my made-up deadline. Goals, of course, can be both short term or long term, I like to set both, so I have an idea of the future I'm working towards, and some goals to motivate my day.

Make it nice

Make doing the work as nice as it can be, check your space is organised and inspiring, maybe have you favourite drink and some nice snacks, light a candle if you're feeling wild. Work with friends if that helps, or make your way to a coffee shop if you like background noise and a latte. Little tiny luxuries make all the difference as to whether you associate being productive with positivity or negativity. You don't want to waste time looks for the scissors and distracted by a funky smell - your environment is everything, so make it nice.

Do the work

 Once I watched an organisation video on Hannah Witton's Youtube channel, and her last tip, was most obvious, but also the most helpful, so I'm just going to repeat it here. Do the work. Things don't do themselves, you actually need to sit down and get stuff done. Just start, that tends to. be the most difficult part. Once you've started, you're on your way.

I'm so happy to be back to blogging, and these things have certainly got the motivation flowing. What are your top motivation tips?

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I feel like me for the first time in a long time, and I'm so grateful to have that back. Although, thankfully nothing major has been wrong with me, I found myself, whilst binging Netflix in the name of recovery feeling very grateful. Grateful for, well, all sorts of things. So today I thought I'd share a gratitude list with you, as a little gratitude goes a long way.

The little (and big) things from the past few weeks which I'm thankful for:

- My mum and stepdad: living with me the past few months couldn't have been easy for them, yet they offered me support time and time again when I found my skin on my face so sensitive that looking in the mirror would reduce me to tears, and they made sure got treated for the kidney infection which was keeping me up all night.
- My sister who was checking in on me daily. I think the picture of my face I sent her when in hospital shocked her into needed regular updates on how I was feeling, and how my skin was looking. Something as simple as a text can go a long way when times are tough.
- My boyfriend who besides being as caring as ever, sent me popcorn to cheer me up (it's this one, and it's incredible).
- A friend who sent me flowers. Receiving a box from Bloom & Wild through my letterbox made my day. It's just so thoughtful, and the flowers are so beautiful.
- My auntie who bought me a jumpsuit when I needed cheering up. I felt truly spoilt.
- My pals for made the effort to check in with me. Like I said, a text means a lot
- The dermatologist who helped me get my skin under control. For the first time in months I can look in the mirror and not be upset by my reflection, itchyness isn't keeping me awake, and existing in my own skin no longer feels like a burden.
- A tidy bedroom. The process of tidying my bedroom, because nothing makes me feel like I've got my life under control quite like making the space around me feel lovely.
- A new plant - need I say more?!
- Feeling healthy enough to go running. The first one did exhaust me so much that I ended up napping the entire day afterwards, but I've been for a few since and other than feeling a little unfit, they went well.
- Yoga: I talk more about my new found love for yoga in this post.
- It takes three network - this podcast network just makes me feel less lonely. I feel like I'm with friends when I listen to it, friends who love the same TV shows as me. I talk more about it here
- My sleep pattern returning to normal after months of insomnia
- My eyebrows. A bizarre one, I know, but my skin issues left me with 0 eyebrows (and chunks of hair missing on from my scalp). I'll tell you, not having brows really affects your appearance (and a chunk of time to your makeup routine) seeing those hairs grow back is making me so happy (I've been using this to speed up the growth process)
- Being able to go places and not feel self-conscious. My skin was doing things, which alongside being painful, also didn't look nice. A lot of the time wearing makeup was a no go, and for months I felt so anxious to go anywhere because of how it looked. This week, after the magic the dermatologist worked I was able to leave the house, makeup-free without wondering if anyone was looking at my skin.
- The NHS: If I wasn't lucky enough to have the NHS here in the UK, my overnight hospital stay alone would have been expensive enough, let alone the follow-up dermatology appointment and all the prescribed lotions potions and tablets which have got me on the road to recovery.


What are you grateful for?

A bit of housekeeping:

Thank you for all being so patient with me during the lack of content. I'll be back to posting weekly again, with blogs going live each Monday morning at 9.30am. My Youtube channel will be back  Sunday 22nd March once I've got the all-clear to wear makeup from my Demotologist to wear makeup again - please make sure you subscribe if you haven't already, my impromptu break has had my subscribers dropping like flies.


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If you read my 2020 bucket list, you'll know something I wanted to do this year was to complete a 30-day yoga challenge, and as of January 31st, I'm happy to say, I am able to tick that one off the list.

I made the last-minute decision to begin the year by participating in the Home 30-Day Yoga with Adriene challenge. I'll be honest, when I first decided to do it, I expected to last a few days before I came up with an excuse to skip a session, however, I surprised myself by making it to day 30 without missing a single day, and I'll be honest, I'm pretty damn proud of that.

The thing about daily yoga, is that does take dedication and time. So if it's something you're considering, like me, in the back of your mind you're probably questioning whether it's worth it - so in the blog post I thought I'd share my review of the challenge which will hopefully offer guidance on whether it's suitable for you.

The Sessions: 

The sessions ranged from 16 to 40 mins, averaging around the 20-minute mark, so it didn't actually take too much time out of my day and was possible to squeeze in somewhere on those busy days.  On the days I was lacking the motivation to make it to the mat, the thought 'it's only 20minutes' convinced me to take part in the practice, a decision I never once regretted.

I thought I might feel out of my depth completing the challenge. I'm pretty new to yoga and have only ever practised at home from Youtube videos. I also have pretty poor balance and flexibility (something I blame on being born premature... but it could be that up until now, I've never pushed myself in those areas). Although there were definitely certain poses I struggled with, and a few a couldn't do, I found Adriene was great at making the sessions accessible for all abilities, offering alternatives depending on where you're at with your yoga journey.

Throughout the journey, Adriene keeps in mind where you're at, adjusting each practice to align with what you've already done, and allowing you to push yourself when necessary without jumping completely out of your comfort zone.

Some sessions definitely edged toward to mediation side of things with a lot of concentration on breathwork (for example day 12 and day 25), and others felt far more physical, like much more of a full-body workout (such as day 6). For me personally, I preferred the more physical sessions as I can find myself easily distracted when the session is more focused on breath than movement.

My Experience:

Finding Motivation:

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