If you read this post or follow me on Instagram, you'll know I recently launched my Etsy store. One aspect of becoming a small business owner I didn't expect to feel like such a big deal is the packaging - I mean obviously I realised orders would need to be packaged, but I did not expect that I'd spend so much time considering my best cardboard packaging option or to fall in love with that part of the process carefully packing orders while simultaneously taking my time to figure out the best way to do it. Launching my Etsy store has been a learning curve, and the packing is most definitely included in that.

Here are the steps I take to create the perfect unboxing experience:

Remember that time, way back when... Instagram was fun?!  Back before you used to obsess over numbers and photo edits? When it didn't need to reflect a perfect life, just the one you were living? Well, I have gone back to that and I'm loving it.

A few weeks ago, I decided, I had two choices when it came to Instagram - to find a way to start enjoying it again, or stop bothering with it altogether. It simply wasn't fun anymore and why put my time into something which isn't fun? So I decided to make a change. I'm not a quitter and I didn't really want to say goodbye to those little squares that I'd spent the last few years curating.  So instead, I looked for the positives. I searched for the joy the app used to bring me, and I found it - in today's blog post I thought I'd share how.

So for those who are stuck in an Instagram rut, like I was, here are my tips for enjoying it all over again:

- Lean into the bits you like:

There are so many things we do can do with Instagram - from photography to caption writing, to curating a feed, posing for pictures, video editing and the list goes on. Naturally, when given that long list of things, there will be the parts which you're doing because you think it's expected, and the parts which get you excited. Lean into those exciting bits. If you love the photography, then use Instagram as an excuse spend more time with your camera, if writing is a hobby of yours, show that off in the captions, or post your writing to your grid. The bits you enjoy, that's where you get to have the most fun, be your most creative.

- Step away from the bits you don't:

 As well as leaning into the bits you enjoy, you need to step away from the bits you don't. Do you find it a hassle editing your photos, then don't do it. Can never think of any cool captions to write? A couple of emojis will do. You shouldn't have to put your time and energy into the aspects of a phone app which feel like a chore.

- Photo challenges: 

Now, this will only apply to those that are in the love photography camp. Something which has got me back to loving Instagram is photo challenges. They've inspired me with what to post and I've found myself snapping things I wouldn't usually. Following in hashtags for these challenges have helped me find new great accounts to follow, and I've felt a sense of community on Instagram again. If you're curious, I've been doing the Zoella #comewhatmay challenge and occasionally the Shotfromthestreet #shotwiththetheme challenge.

- Unfollow:

The obvious one. Not only do you want Instagram to a fun place to post, but you also want it to be a nice place to hang out, where scrolling doesn't leave you feeling inadequate. Firstly, any accounts of people to who trigger that comparison side to you. just unfollow them. You definitely should not be comparing or obsessing over anyone else Instagram accounts (and not your own too). I think I've got the not comparing things on my own Instagram down (how is coming in the next bullet point) - however, it's something I've been struggling with when it comes to my new Instagram account for my Etsy store, where my account is new and I'm still finding my footing - so I've figured out, there's an account, who hasn't done anything wrong, but somewhere in my mind I set up a competition between us, and because of that I've found myself sad, that I wasn't winning the imaginary competition. - which is ridiculous. So I've stepped away from that account. I don't need to watch their stories or check how many followers they have - it's not serving me. Over the next few weeks, be a bit stricter with who you're following, anyone who pops up on your feed that you find yourself uninterested in, unfollow them too. Laura Jane Williams once said to me "Instagram is a magazine which you curate yourself" Don't have content in that magazine that you don't enjoy.

- Ignore the numbers: 

If you're going to change one thing about how you do Instagram, make this it. I know, when you're a bloggers/influencer as numbers can translate to jobs- but I've always found when I don't think of, or obsess over my follow count it grows anyway. When you stop worrying about the number and how to make them grow, it makes it easier to lean into the bits you like and step away from the bits you don't. Follow counts and numbers of likes you get does not translate into your worth - so obsessing over them - it's not helping your account anyways.

- Engage with your community:

 I've made friends on Instagram, and it feels like a place with shoulders to lean on. A community of people who inspire me. That's how you want it to feel. Engage with your community, get to know your followers and appreciate the time they take to engage with your content - you never know, you might also make a few friends like I have done.

- Remember, your feed doesn't have to be a masterpiece:

 If you want to post something, whether not it fits with your feed you should be able to. Remember you are one person and it's perfectly normal that you don't have a professional photographer follow you around on the daily. It doesn't have to be perfect, you just have to enjoy it, otherwise, what's the point?!

 Remember, you get to choose how you use this app, there's no right or wrong way. Any pressure there, you've probably put on yourself, so instead be gentle with yourself, and open your eyes to the enjoyment Instagram can bring you.

I'll be honest, recently I've been feeling like a bit of a fraud. In my bios, my blog description and online something I go on and on about is intentional living, and I've had the realization that I haven't been living with all that much intention recently. Instead, I've found myself busy, rushing around (which is crazy considering we're currently in lockdown and I've got nowhere to be), distracted and all-around feel quite chaotic. This hectic life which has been playing out for me recently, is not the life I want - so it's time to make some changes.

How I'm going to start being more mindful and living with intention:

- Get back into meditation: I used to meditate almost daily (here's a blogpost on my fave mediations apps if it's something you want to get into!) But as life got busy, it's one of those things which got dropped - but mediations can be as short as a minute, and if I find time to scroll Instagram, I can find 10 minutes each day to meditate. I know my mind feels so much clearer when I do.

- Journal, reflect: I clearly want to be crowned the queen of self-reflection because something I want to do more is to spend more time journaling. I love getting my thoughts out onto paper, it helps me feel at peace, and peace is something I'm constantly on the search for more of.

- Being more organised: I think a lot of the reason that I'm constantly feeling in a rush lately, is because I've been procrastinating, unorganised and leaving things to the last minute, which ultimately leads to things like writing blogposts the day they go live, and not feeling all that zen when doing so. Organisation feels like a key ingredient in the life I want - because when I'm feeling more organised my mind feels calmer, it makes room for the nice things.

- Spending more time in nature: One thing lockdown has reminded me of is that I like going to for walks in nature (I touch on that in this vlog). Fresh air is good for the soul. Listing to the birds singing, taking in the colour of the flowers and feeling the breeze on your skin is something quite lovely - I want to live my life with so much intention that I'm sure to spend time outdoors, and with enough gratitude, I notice these little luxuries which can sometimes fade into the background.

- Spending time away from my phone: Too much scrolling is not good for anyone. Life is to be lived, not spent comparing your lives to what the lives of strangers appear to be from what you see on an app.

- Unfollowing: What we consume is so important, and that includes the media we consume online. We also have full control over the online content we consume. I'm going to start being more mindful of who I'm following and unfollowing those accounts which don't bring me the joy, knowledge or inspiration I like to gain from my phone time.

- Actually relaxing: Something I realised I'm not particularly good at is relaxing. Sure I take the time out to relax, but often I find myself trying to multitask and get something else done rather than remaining present in the thing I'm meant to be doing to relax. Or my mind feels so busy I find myself planning to-do in what is supposed to be my chill time, which of course completely takes out the chill. Relaxing starts to feel more like procrastinating. So I want to find more ways to relax which completely consume me, and take my mind to a new place. This will include more reading, actually letting myself play the Sim without feeling guilty because it's not productive - fun is allowed, it's actually encouraged in my world, I need to remember that. I also want to find some new series to watch with worlds I can get completely lost in and fall in love with new films.


Editing is down goals and to-do lists: Sometimes I'm interested in so much, there are so many things I want to do, I end up doing a bit of everything, but not nearly enough of anything. Nothing is done as well as I want because I've too much on my plate. It's time to edit down. I'm going write  shorter to-do lists, taking out the pointless tasks, and re-asses my goals, figuring out where I want my focus to sit. I can't do everything, and it's about time I stop trying. For a while I think my Youtube channel is going to be on the back burner - running a blog, writing a book and running and making items for an Etsy store is a lot of things for one person - especially when time also needs to go into relationships, exercise, cleaning, cooking and just living. Removing filming and editing videos from my list for a while will make room to put that love in elsewhere.

Turning off phone notifications: Because let's be honest. Life feels more peaceful without them.

You know when you're so completely consumed by something you are watching or reading that you can’t bear to look away from it, you find yourself unintentionally awake through the night because you’re not ready to put the story down, and the moment you finish it, you need to tell everyone you know about it? That exactly how I felt about Five Feet Apart - both the book by Rachael Lippincott, and the Netflix film.

During this lockdown, my boyfriend and I have been having weekly Netflix parties so feel like we get a date night in whilst being apart. One of our most recent watches was Five Feet Apart and it was a favourite for both of us.

Whilst watching, I remembered I’d been recommended the book on Goodreads earlier that day, so ordered it immediately, and then excitedly kept an eye on the post until it arrived.

Both the book and film did not disappoint. Every part of the characters and their story felt so real in both instances.

The Narrative:

Five Feet Apart is the story revolving around two teens with Cystic Fibrosis. Despite being vastly different, the main character Stella and Will, seem to be magnetically drawn together - only due to their illness, there are not able to get within 6 feet of each, as due to cross-contamination of the illness can be lethal - especially as Will also have a bacterial infection in his lung, B. Cepacia, which he is undergoing drug trial for. So whilst Stella in on the waiting list for new lungs, being in close company with Will could also take her off the list, and potentially be life-threatening.

Yet still, they fall completely in love, learning from one another - Will to take his medicine regime more seriously, and Stella to take life less seriously.

After everything the disease has taken from them - from the ease of breathing to trips away, they decide to take one thing back. They take back one foot. Six feet apart becomes five, and that the distance that stays between them.

There is far more to the story, twists, turns and unexpected events, but I won't give too much away.

The Characters:

It really surprised me how much depth there was to most of the character, given the book is only 276 pages. The majority of the characters seem to have light and shade to them, good qualities and bad. They feel like real people, struggling to deal with very real problems. Of course, Will and Stella aren't the only characters, their families, friends, doctors and nurses all play a part in their story, and have their own struggles going on. Their over-protective but loveable nurse Barb was a favourite of mine.

Book V Film:

The book and film we're extremely similar, I've never known a film follow the book narrative so closely before. A lot of the dialogue was the same, and there was hardly any difference in the story. Still, however, I'd recommend both as they were both so well done.

I found the book a lot clearer when it came to explaining each characters illness and why the six feet apart was required. The few bits which weren't completely clear to me in the film we're explained within the first few pages of the book. The book I found was great at getting a lot of information across, tell the story and emoting feelings in very few pages.

The film, however, includes some incredible acting. Cole Sprouse plays Will and Hayley Lu Richardson plays Stella, and both play their part so incredibly well, I never for a second doubt their characters.

Both the book and film bought me to tears, which for me is unusual (I don't think I've cried in a book since the first time I read Dumbledores death).

It's a very fast-paced story, which I liked, but my one complaint would be that I wanted to see more of them falling in love - it seemed to happen so quickly. However, I think that was kind of the point, they don't have the choice to take things slow with a shortened life span, to quote Stella "It's just life, Will. It will be over before we know it".

The book ended up with a six months later extract, which I didn't think was necessary, I preferred the somewhat uncertain ending of the book.

Themes:

This story covers so many important themes including illness, health, grief, romance, family dynamics, friendships.

In case I have made it clear yet, this story really touched me. I would really recommend both the book and the film!
What have you been watching and reading lately? I'd love some recommendations!

Follow