~ Bullet Journal 2021: August Spread ~

Jul 31, 2021Jul 31, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

I realise I’ve been away from the bullet journal side of my blog for some time now, I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over, and that’s not what I want.

I’ve also been a little all over the place since I stopped putting as much effort and energy into my journaling, it turns out that my bullet journal is basically holding my life together… So in order to get myself back on track and into a new (and hopefully improved) routine I’ve created something new for next months spread!^^

Cover Page

I’ve been neglecting my art practice recently, I was missing motivation and inspiration to create, I was also lacking in time for some parts.

Whilst trying to put more effort into my bullet journal and block again I’m also trying to motivate myself to draw more too! So for August’s cover page, I did a lot of research (scrolling endlessly through Pinterest for inspiration…). I didn’t have the energy to do anything too complicated so I went for drawing a pretty sunflower^^

Calendar

Since I came upon this calendar design, I cant seem to give it up! It may be a little fiddly to draw all the boxes out sometimes but, I really love this adorable idea and I find it super useful to have a calendar for each month so I can make a note of important dates for each month and be able to look at them all at once^^

Mood Tracker

My August mood tracker might be my favourite mood tracker so far! I find that I have a lot more freedom of my choice of colour for each mood whilst still keeping to the theme (In this case ice cream). It’s also going to be a lot easier to distinguish multiple colours in one day (for those roller coaster days^^”).

I’m looking forwards to colouring this one in so hopefully that’ll motivate me to keep on top of my journaling next month!^^

Habit Tracker

Some of my previous habit trackers have taken up a lot of time just to draw out every month. A lot of the time I would end up missing out half the month of tracking habits because I put off drawing out the habit tracker until the very last minute…

Soo, I’ve been going through an abundance of different styles until I find one that’s easy and quick enough to draw out each month and that works for me! (I have to like how it looks to be able to use it..^^’)

Exercise Tracker

Exercise logs and trackers are another page I find myself struggling with from time to time. I like to see my progress as well as keeping track of how much exercise I do, sometimes it can get overwhelming with the different kinds of exercise and not wanting to do the same routine every day. To try and combat that conundrum I’ve used a simple exercise tracker that gives me more of an option on what exercise I do. (it also doesn’t look as bad when I don’t complete a day)

I’ve of course also added a table to see my weight and measurements at the start and end of the month to see if I’ve made any progress at all…

To-do List

My to-do list hadn’t changed in almost a year. I kept the same design because I had the same stuff going on every month. A mountain of uni work and too many personal projects that I just can never keep up with^^”.

I changed it up a bit for next month, not because I’m doing things completely different, but because I was beginning to feel like everything was becoming repetitive. This new to-do list design will hopefully stop me from feeling like I’m just doing the same things over and over and over again.

Budget

My budget tracker is another page I’d find myself avoiding drawing out. I had so many different sections and boxes that it was all just a little too much. Instead, I’ve created a much simpler design so I can keep up with my incomings and outgoings without getting as overwhelmed and confused by an overcrowded page.

Brain Dump

I haven’t changed my brain dump page in a while because even when I don’t use the page too much it’s still one of the more useful pages I have each month.

I forget a lot of things, especially any fun ideas I have and things I want to do, create or even to go somewhere so I find it incredibly useful to have a place to write these little notes down that I can easily look back on (without having to search through piles of notes and pages of notebooks!)

Weekly Spread

My weekly spread is probably the biggest change I’ve made for next month. Although I haven’t changed it dramatically compared to my previous months spread I’ve certainly simplified it. I wanted a more minimalistic design that can be drawn easily, but still have my essentials on it (and still look good of course!^^)

Daily Routine

This daily routine is something new I’ve decided to try. I looked through Pinterest for quite some time for ideas for this one. I wanted to find some way to keep track of a small and simple daily routine to help me stay productive and motivated as much as possible.

I’ve drawn out one of these for every week so that I can tailor it each week depending on what work I have to do! Whether I keep these up or not I’m not sure of yet, but there’s only one way to find out how it works for me.^^

Weekly Schedule

To go with my daily routine, I have a weekly schedule to keep track of any appointments I have as well as set myself a timetable each week to complete certain projects or jobs.

I also hope to set time aside each week for reading and writing amongst a few other things I wish to work on.

Month Review

I tend to end up skipping my end of month review. I think this is because, again, I make it too complicated. For next month I’ve decided to try and review just a couple of my more important goals.^^

Lets hope I do a better job of keeping up with it all next month! :))

January to June, my 6 Month Review~

Jul 8, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

6 Months ago was the beginning of 2020, a year in which most of us hoped to be a good one – a fresh start, a year full of promise and progress. Boy were we all wrong.^^” One things for sure, the world is in a much different place than anyone could have possibly predicted 6 months ago. It’s still debatable whether it’s for better or for worse but in my opinion, despite all the heartbreaking losses and chaos that has spilled across the word, I believe that it’s ending a lot better than it started. People have been spending time with their families again and learning to appreciate the little things more, as well as all that, people have been listening to nature again and finally realising how important it is to look after our environment!
All I can hope for is that when this chaos finally ends (which may be soon^^) the world will become a better place again and people wont take things for granted so much.

On another note, 6 months! Do you know what that means!?

It’s time for a fun little review on how my Bullet Journal has been coming along, whats happened so far this year and whats changed. I’m going to share my progress with you all!^^

Then and Now – Bujo Progress

If you aren’t interested in Bullet Journals ten feel free to skip past it, There’s plenty more stuff after this section^^

Cover Pages

This year has been my real first attempt at Bullet Journaling and although I have days or a week at a time where I’ll end up slacking, I always manage to pick it back up again afterwards!

As it was my first attempt, my designs weren’t the neatest to begin with. My 2020 cover page just looks like chaos to me now compared to my recent May cover page. My layouts have become a lot more ‘cleaner’ and a lot more simplistic, I really do prefer it! Not only are the layouts drawn better but my photography has really improved too! (If I do say so myself^^)

Habit Trackers

My habit trackers have also made a big improvement, to begin with it looked pretty plain and the end result was always just plain messy ^^” After a couple of months, I’d only slightly altered it so that I was using pencil instead of pen to fill it in which certainly made it look tidier, but I still wasn’t really happy. This month I’ve used a different design and I just absolutely love it! ^^

March Habit Tracker — January Habit Tracker

Budget – Exercise Tracker

At the start of the year I had a budget planner as part of the reoccurring monthly spread, I never really managed to use it properly, I haven’t really had much of a use for it for a few months so I’ve been trying something new each month. First I tried out having an ‘Ideal Day’ page, but that’s not really something you can put in every month… Next I tried having a Studio Ghibli checklist, which again would have been better as part of the yearly spread(although that month I watched A LOT of studio ghibli movies…) The next month down the line I’d really started to focus on my health and fitness and the Habit Tracker really wasn’t helping me encourage myself to do more exercise, so I designed an Exercise Tracker for myself!^^ And I’ll tell you what, my Exercise Tracker a long with my new Habit Tracker design have really been helping me keep motivated! I’m keeping up with it all so much better now^^

Monthly Challenge

Another big change has been my 30 Day challenge, I honestly don’t think I’ve managed to complete a full months worth even once yet^^” I’ve tried making the challenged easier each month and I still just never complete them all, I can never seem to find the time. This month is actually the first I’ve changed it, I made it a daily gratitude page which I’ve already done a terrible job at keeping up to date with. I actually already have plans to change it for next month already. Ironically, I’m thinking of changing it to a Budget page…

Exercise Tracker — 30 Day Self-Love Challenge

Weekly Spread

The last big design change I’ve made in the past 6 months has got to be my Weekly Spread. I would’t say its changed much but it definitely looks a lot neater and more carefully done than it did in January, I’m a lot more proud of it now then I was then!^^

June Weekly Spread — January Weekly Spread

Pixel Year

So I’ve attempted a Pixel year once before and I didn’t really keep up with it too well ^^” I think I managed about 2 months and maybe a week.. This year on the other hand, I’ve completed 5 months!

It’s been a very up and down year for everyone, a lot of horrible things have been going on and I can only hope that the remaining 6 months of this year be promising!^^

Social Media

At the start of the year I decided that I wanted to try and keep track of any increases and decreases on my Social Media followings.

I’m not usually one of those people to be infatuated with social media in any way, but its become quite important for my career and seeing as I do love seeing progress in numbers I thought this simple design would work perfectly.

As you can see, although small I have been getting a few more followers across the board!^^ It may only be small, but its enough for me~

Year Goals

Looking back at the goals I made for this year, I now see that some of them may have been a little too ambitious ^^”
For one, I haven’t been doing nearly enough on Youtube anymore to gain any subscribers so thats unlikely to happen and going to Japan definitely isn’t going to happen any time soon.

The others though are a lot more achievable, I’m only 3 weeks away from completing my TEFL and I’m due to start an OU course at the end of this year too!^^

Before this pandemic started, I was getting close to achieving a level 1 seller on Fiverr too but work really slowed down recently because of it. I still have 6 months though so theres still a chance!^^

The Biggest Changes Over the Past 6 Months

I’ve been getting a little bit stuck on this recently, so much has changed and I just don’t know where to begin!
All of these changes aren’t just because of the corona-virus pandemic, I’ve been working really hard (almost) every day to improve myself and my work^^

Work and Education – What am I doing now?

At the beginning of this year I was just starting my TEFL course and two Mindfulness courses that accompanied it. I’ve very nearly finished them in fact I would have finished it by now but I got a tad distracted and fell behind again ^^” I got a really good deal on an extension with some other really useful short courses which I’ll definitely be looking through soon! There’s some life coaching ones and a course on how to start a business, maybe they’ll help me learn some more useful stuff for my blog^^

Since my TEFL course is coming to its end, I’ve been looking into what else I need to finally become an English Teacher in Japan. Originally I was going to try to get a job with just my TEFL certific ate but after looking into some really good companies that come with a lot of good bonus’, I realised I should really get a Bachelors degree already, so I am. I’ve applied for an OU course and I’m currently sorting out funding for my tuition^^ I’ll be starting my course English Literature and Creative Writing in October this year!

6 months ago I had no intention of going to university (especially with all the current chaos) I guess I forgot that Open University was a thing. I’m surprisingly pretty excited to start it even though I’m very aware it wont be an easy course ^^” I was always good at English so hopefully I wont crash and burn! I’ll be doing my course full time in attempt to finish it in 3 years so I’ll definitely suffer ^^”

(Is anyone else doing an OU course soon? What are you applying for, I’d love to hear about it^^)

Another drastic change has got to be my work focus! At the start I was always focused on working on my music, but I’ve found more enjoyment recently in working on my Bullet Journal and writing blog posts. I’d like to continue to learn and share things, I’d love to help people who are new to the idea of working from home and be able to give advice so with that I seem to have moved my focus to my lifestyle blog. I do still plan to work on some music and maybe release a song every so often, but I’m not sure its what I want as a job right now (maybe I’ll change my mind again one day)

Health and Fitness – How I’ve Improved

By the end of last year I had managed to gain an annoying amount of weight^^” so this year I’ve been trying my best to get back into regular exercise and become a lot healthier! My Bullet Journal has helped a lot with creating a routine and sticking to it each week or month. I haven’t managed to loose a massive amount of weight but I’ve definitely improved my health by a lot recently!^^ I take vitamins everyday as well as have at least one cup of green tea a day, I do a set amount of exercise 5 days a week whilst trying to hit my step goal every day too! I obviously haven’t kept this up even nearly perfectly… I still get the odd day or even a week where I completely lack motivation and can’t push myself to get a single task done. ^^”

I’m confident that I’ve made improvements! I’ve got a lot more strength and a little more endurance than I had in January, not only that but my Resting Heart Rate has gone down!! I used to have a high average on my RHR so I’m really happy to see that theirs definitely improvement there^^

I also can’t remember the last time I got sick, I used to have a pretty harsh cold at least once a month^^” It was awful. But I don’t think I’ve gotten really sick even once this year yet!

Mindfulness and Mental Health – Has it Helped?

I always used to be quite close minded to the idea of Mindfulness, I guess mostly because I didn’t understand it and I didn’t understand it until I did the two Mindfulness courses that I got with my TEFL course. I’m surprised that I found it so interesting, especially since science never was my favourite thing.^^”

I learn’t a lot about the brain and how it functions when it comes to thoughts and emotions, and that in order to think clearly about something and react mindfully, you need to allow your thoughts to pass the amygdala (the security guard of your brain basically) By passing this guard, it allows you to think before reacting. It’s a difficult thing to get a grasp on, I really had to spend a lot of time learning to meditate and breathe properly. I’m still not great at it but now I at least understand how!^^

It’s hard to pinpoint an improvement when it comes to mental health, by using some of the techniques I’ve learnt I’ve definitely learned how to stay calm and think before reacting, It’s also become quite useful in helping myself to focus on a task and actually get work done^^” This is all a major improvement for me compared to 6 months ago, I can handle stressful situations so much better now and I’m finding it a lot easier to relax every so often too^^

I’ve learnt to understand myself better and how to look after myself better, it turns out something as small as making your bed when you get up every morning really does help give yourself a small boost of motivation to then get even more tasks done!^^

There’s always a lot more I wish I could write about but if i write for too long at one time I really start to loose my focus^^”

Aside from the chaos of Covid-19, this year has been somewhat successful so far. I just hope I can say the same in another 6 months!

I hope everyone else’s year has been going well to some extent, tell something good thats happened to you so far! I’d love to hear about it^^

Thanks so much for all of the support I’ve had so far!^^

How to stay Organised and Focused whilst Working from Home!

Jun 18, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

The new Coronavirus has really been causing some chaos recently, but amidst all of that, I’d like to help encourage everyone to have a go at working from home. Obviously there are some who cant, their occupations simple don’t work that way, but there is a vast majority of people who can!
One of the biggest issues I have with working from home has definitely been keeping organised and on top of everything. It’s so easy to get distracted when you have the luxury of your comfy chairs, a fridge only a room away and complete and utter freedom! If you wanted to, you could Snapchat all your friends all day every day but, thats not going to get any work done so today we’re gonna go through some of my top tips to staying organised whilst working from home! ^^

Number 1: Create a Morning Routine

This first tip is definitely one of my favourites. Almost everyone I know underestimates a good morning routine, they are so much more beneficial then you’d think and that’s for more than just work! Firstly, a good morning routine helps with your mental health, you can have a simple routine such as: Get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, get changed and make your bed and after finishing even an easy routine like this, it gives you a great feeling of accomplishment! You’ve started your day well by already ticking off some tasks and now you’ll be a little more motivated to finish off some more, that’s the perfect time to get to work! A morning routine is also a great way to separate your day between work and pleasure, again as many don’t realise, it is so, so important to separate the two. You can’t fully relax and switch off from work, if you’re still surrounded by it and you cant fully focus on work if you’re too distracted by things like your new game! (I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons non stop help) What I like to do is have my short and simple morning routine, once I complete that routine I focus on getting into a ‘work mode’ I’ll set up my desk with everything I need and remove any potential distractions, get myself a glass of water and then start by making a list of what tasks I want to complete that day!
A morning routine is a sure way to boost your motivation and productivity, so give it a try! ^^

Number 2: Set Some Ground Rules

When working for home, you’re almost always going to have others nearby (unless you live alone) In order to be able to work from home, you’re going to need your space. Something that’s difficult to have if you’re stuck at home (This may be a problem for many, myself included – due to the current Covid19 situation) Setting some simple ground rules could make the world of difference! This may be easier for some than others if you happen to be lucky enough to have you’re own room or office space you could simply put a note on your door saying “Please do not disturb” and it should (hopefully) be respected. For those that don’t have a room they can work alone in it may be a little more complicated as you have to comply with those around you a little more. Just as you want them to respect your space, you must respect theirs too. You may need to be prepared to compromise, there are two easy options. Request that you can have a specific room to yourself for an hour or two a few days a week or every day – depending on your workload, if that isn’t something that can be done then you could ask if they could keep noise to a minimum for a couple of hours each day whilst you try to work, either you or they could wear headphones.Once you have figured out where and when you’ll work you can set your ground rules. Simple rules such as: Do not talk to me unless it is important, don’t poke or pester and most importantly don’t invade your space. If you’ve set out a work area on a table the last thing you want is a sibling or someone sitting next to you and distracting you.
Remember to always be polite and considerate when setting ground rules, demanding doesn’t get you anywhere! ^^

Number 3: Schedule Breaks

My next tip is something I believe should be common knowledge but maybe isn’t yet for all.Breaks, breaks are very important when it comes to staying focused and making progress on work. If you neglect to take breaks you may temporarily get ahead on work but since you aren’t giving your brain a chance to recharge it’s very unlikely to be your best work! Working constantly without taking breaks only wares yourself out, you’ll get tired and stressed and end up not wanting to work at all the next day. Doing this really takes a toll on not only your progress but your physical and mental health too! I suggest either setting an alarm to take a 5-minute break every hour or plan to take a half an hour break after a few hours of work
5 or 10 minutes every couple of hours is still better than nothing!

Number 4: Leave Home/ Go Outside

This tip is usually one of my top ones, but due to the current circumstances, it’s a little harder to accomplish.When you work from home, you need to get away from it every so often. It’s important to try and spend a little time away from where you work in order to wind down and have a good break from the workload. Normally I would go for a short walk every day just to take a breather and remove myself from my work environment, but that’s currently not so easy to do. I’m lucky enough to have a back garden, so instead of going for a walk I’ll go outside and wander around the garden with my dog or follow one of my cats around for awhile:3It’s important to go outside for more reasons that just to take a break, I make an effort to go outside for a little bit every day because getting sunlight every day is so good for your mental health! ever noticed that you get grumpy after being inside for so long, that’s because your body is secretly missing all that fresh air and sunlight! During this isolation period it’s extra important to get as much of it as you can, and for those who don’t have a back garden, try opening your curtains and some windows and sit in front of it for a while and take a break to just look out the window! ^^
Sunlight makes more of a difference then you realise! 🙂

Number 5: Keep a Dedicated Office Area

This is a very important tip for those of us who are permanently working for home, for the temporary ones, it’s equally as helpful but not as important. The reason its important somewhat relates back to the keeping work and pleasure separate, but there is also more to it. Having your dedicated workspace means that’s where you work, its the only place you work it’s almost like going out to work to an office, except its at home. It helps with that separation and organisation, you have everything you use to work with all in the one place so when you have completed your morning routine, you go to your workspace. I find having a dedicated workspace super helpful!I’m lucky again to have a desk in my room where I keep all of my work stuff, and it’s also a space that no one else can use because it’s in my room. I know there is going to be a lot that doesn’t have this luxury so of course, again I have other suggestions. ^^ For those who live in a cramped space and can’t have an area dedicated to work, you could arrange to use something like your kitchen table. Keep a box or a drawer that has all you need for work in one place and when you’re ready to work, lay it out on the table. If you live with others, that’s when you go on to try and set ground rules! If working from home is a permanent and daily thing for you, I definitely highly recommend somehow creating a dedicated office/work area, even if it’s small it helps you keep everything organised and it helps you get into a ‘work mode’ if you have that separate space. It also helps you come out of a ‘work mode’ a lot easier as you can simply move away from your workspace to take a break.^^

Number 6: Make a List of Tasks for Each Day

Something that always helps me motivate and organise myself is a good ol’ list. I love lists, they simplify everything!Every day I start off by making a list of tasks that I want to complete that day, sometimes I’ll even add sub-tasks for each main task and after each is completed I cross it off. I find that being able to go through and cross all of my tasks off my list, really helps me end my workday feeling accomplished! If you want to go that step further, at the start of each week create a list of everything that needs to be done that week and separate them to each day! You could stick it on a wall by your desk or by a calendar as a constant reminder
I like to try and complete at least 3 – 5 tasks a day (depending on the size of each task)

Number 7: Focus on One Task at a Time

You may end up getting bored with one task and want to move onto something else for a while and end up jumping between tasks, this really slows progress down and decreases your focus! Pick a task and stick to it all the way through to the end! If you start getting bored and distracted then take a 5-minute break, go for a walk outside or around the house if outside isn’t an option. If you’re still struggling to focus on the one task then try motivating yourself with a reward. Try something like “After I finish this task, I can play Animal Crossing for half an hour” (I know not everyone is playing New Horizons but maybe, just maybe everyone should) Staying focused on the one task at a time will help keep that piece of work at a higher standard, whereas if you keep getting distracted with other tasks you may just end up all over the place and that’s definitely going to slow you down!
Sometimes I like to start with the hardest/longest task first, so after that, it’s smooth sailing~

Number 8: Avoid doing House Work

Sometimes doing housework seems like the best idea when all you want to do is procrastinate from your work, I know I’ve ended up cleaning the whole house just to avoid doing one piece of work in the past. That made it really difficult to really stay on top of everything, I still somewhat struggle with it now but I also make much more of an effort to stay focused on the task at hand and get it all done! Try to set a specific day of the week, every week to do housework. Get it all done in one day so you don’t have any excuse to avoid your work later in the week!
I’m awful for getting distracted, I’m also a professional procrastinator ^^” But I still try my best, it’s important to stay focused!

Number 9: Tidy your Desk at the End of Every Day

So this tip relates to a few things I’ve already said here today, like ‘keeping a dedicated office space’ and ‘avoid doing housework’ Whether you have a dedicated space or if you use your dining room table, I find that clearing it away or just tidying it all up a little at the end of your workday really help you come away from your work environment. It helps you recognise that “today’s work is done, now I can do something I enjoy!” (Like play Animal Crossing…) Tidy away your pens and pencils, don’t leave anything laying out across the desk, no loose paper, no cups or glasses, try to tidy away as much of it as possible! Tidying your workspace at the end of each day also helps you with preparing for work the next day, as you can then set up your desk each morning, which helps you get back into your ‘work mode’ ^^
I actually really enjoy tidying my desk at the end of every day! It really helps me feel like I’ve gone through a whole workday process and tidying my desk makes it feel like I’m ‘leaving the office’ it also makes it easier for me to find all my stuff the next day!^^

Number 10: Exercise / Move around a Lot

Moving around is extremely important. This also obviously relates to the ‘going outside’ tip but Instead of talking about the importance of sunlight, I’m going to talk about the importance of movement.^^Its pretty straight forwards really, if you’re working from home you’re going to end up sitting still a lot and that’s not exactly good for you, physically or mentally. First of all you’ll get a bad back if you sit in the same place and position all day! Stand up every so often:)You need to keep blood pumping around your body in order to be healthy! your legs might get numb if you sit on them for too long, so get up and do some stretches or even just a walk up and down the hallway or even better, the stairs! (if you have any) If you stay sat down all day you’re going to end up constantly tired and finding yourself with a little extra weight!^^”For those who work on computers all day, moving around is even more important, you need to give your eyes a break from screens! (that’s another good reason to schedule your breaks! Give your eyes a break)
I like to do yoga, so I’ll often get up from my desk and do a few stretches and easy yoga positions before going for a walk around the house or outside! ^^

Number 11: Take Advantage of the Perks

Working from home has endless perks, and one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to take full advantage of those perks! You can wear what you want, if you want to get up and make coffee you can just do that. Want to start work a little later than usual? You can, and you can finish early if you really want to as well! (Just make sure you try to complete your tasks for the day) Want to take the day off to hang out with some friends? Or visit some family? You can do just that, no one can stop you, you are your own boss so own it!
I never did well with working in companies and for other people, I very much like to do things my way in my own time so being my own boss is basically one of my life goals!

Number 12: End your Day with a Routine

Last but not least, end your day how you started it, with a routine! I’m not saying use the exact same routine, that wouldn’t make any sense. But do something similar for the same reasons, ending your workday with a routine will help you wind down and remove yourself from your work atmosphere. You can have a short and simple routine, or something a bit more. My routine consists of the following: Tidy desk, do some stretches and walk around a bit, eat dinner (depending on the time I finish for the day), Exercise/Yoga for 20 minutes and then shower. That’s my ‘end of day’ routine! Sometimes I’ll meditate at the end of all that, but I mostly meditate before bed to help clear my mind before sleeping^^
It’s really hard for some to take themselves away from work, myself included. But its really important to try and have time in the day devoted to things you enjoy and not just work, so do try to make sure you don’t overwork yourself! ^^

That’s it! That’s my top tips for working from home^^ I know a lot of people are going to be struggling and having a hard time right now, with more than just being able to get work done from home. Being isolated and locked in at home for a long period of time can be very stressful. Try to stay positive, move around as much as you can, get some sunlight as often as possible, don’t let the current situation defeat you!^^ I’ll be writing a post on ways to stay productive and keep busy whilst stuck at home soon, so keep an eye out for that:)
Thanks so much for stopping by, I wish you all good luck ❤

Earning from home – Tips and tricks to earning from home

Nov 6, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

Looking to earn some extra cash? Or just even gain an income from home? There are several ways to do so and today I’m going to explain some of the most popular ways to easily earn from home!

To start with, here is a list of some of the basic options. I will then explain in more detail.

Surveys

Let us start off with Surveys. There’s a lot of different types of surveys and lots of different types of rewards for them.

There are a large variety of different types of sites that give you rewards for surveys, one of the top ones being Swagbucks (www.swagbucks.com) I’ll mention a few other further on!

Swagbucks is very popular due to the fact it has lots of options and not just surveys.

The surveys on Swagbucks vary and each one gives you an approximate time frame for how long it will most likely take to complete. The surveys are quite simple as they tend to mostly be about things to do with how effective different advertisements are, the appeal of different products and popularity, different working environments, brand recognition or maybe just about services like, how often do you travel on a bus or a plane. You may even find surveys about some games or shops.

Another popular alternative is InboxDollars or InboxPounds – depending on your currency (www.inboxpounds.co.uk) (www.inboxdollars.com) This site is a lot more basic than Swagbucks as you mostly just answer surveys. There are a couple of options to maybe watch some short videos or use a search engine provided by them but their main idea is to just use surveys.

A few other popular survey sites are:

– Survey Spotter (https://surveyspotter.com)

– Survey Junkie (https://www.surveyjunkie.com)

– One Poll (https://www.onepoll.com)

– Life Points (https://www.lifepointspanel.com)

Rewards

Different survey sites tend to offer the same sort of rewards, but bigger and more popular sites will have more options than you won’t find elsewhere. Like on Swagbucks, for example, You can get a gift card for different shops and cafes. The more common rewards are Amazon gift cards, Master-card gift cards or PayPal ones.

You can also choose to donate to a charity as a reward on some of the more popular sites.

Apps and Games

Next, we’ll look at some fun and easy ways to earn money from different kinds of apps.

There are a lot of options when it comes to apps and earning money, you can complete surveys and polls through apps such as Ipoll (https://www.ipoll.com/en). Swagbucks also has an app you can use. You can earn points and rewards for shopping with certain apps. For example, Shopkick (https://www.shopkick.com)

A popular option is to upload your own photos and videos for rewards. Foap is a popular option for this (https://www.foap.com)

Some apps allow you to play games in order to earn points for gift cards. For this one you download the app, download a game it suggests to you through the app and you earn points for the time you play the game. It can be a slow process but I find it more enjoyable! A popular app for this could be AppStation.

Scratch cards are similar to the games, its a long and slow process to earn enough points for rewards, but there is also the option to download free scratch card apps such as Lucky Day or Lucky Money and try out your luck with them!

I’m going to add one more Idea here which is Investing. There are a lot of apps where you can invest in something to earn more from. A popular option being Acorns (https://www.acorns.com)

Aside from Apps, there are some other ways to earn money from playing games. You could take the gambling approach but I never really advise on that one as you often spend more money then you make. But a fun and interesting way can be through MMO’s. For example, You could sell game items or currency through eBay or other sites. This is a popular activity for people who play games such as World of Warcraft. Earn money in-game and then sell it out of the game.

Product Testing

You don’t tend to see a lot of Product testing in my opinion, but it can be very beneficial for those who choose to pursue it. A lot of companies offer a product or money in return for your testing and reviewing of their products. The products to choose from is never-ending, you have options such as skin care products and makeup, games on different consoles, phones, software or even be a volunteer for a science project!

There is a lot of sites you can go through to try and become a product tester. For example;

– Toluna (https://uk.toluna.com)

– UserTesting (https://www.usertesting.com)

– Alba Science (https://www.albavolunteers.com)

– CrowdVille (https://www.crowdville.net)

Blogging and Freelance Work

Lastly, I’m going to talk a little bit about blogging and freelance work. Now I do already have another article dedicated to freelance work so I won’t go too much into that one but if you’re interested in Freelance work you can read up on some of my tips and advice here! (https://www.merodi.co.uk/post/earning-from-home-freelance-work)

When it comes to freelance work, you have a lot of options. One of which could be to become a blogger.

Starting a blog can be quite simple if you choose the right place. WordPress (https://wordpress.com), Squarespace (https://www.squarespace.com) or any other website building sites are the best for starting a blog. You simply design your site from their templates and then you can start writing your posts!

If you have something you’re incredibly passionate or knowledgeable about then blogging could be great for you. If you don’t and you still want to become a blogger then don’t worry! There are so many opportunities and ideas. You could devote yourself to researching new up and coming games and review and write them, or your favourite TV shows. You can blog about anything you like really, I find that there’s always someone interested in the same things you are.

Blogging obviously takes a lot more work than other ‘Earning from Home’ suggestions but it can, if successful – earn you a lot more.

To make a blog successful, one of the biggest requirements is consistency. post often, or on a specific time table: Every other Tuesday for example. Try and be engaging with your audience, try not to ramble too much and try to keep it interesting!

I’ll be making a more detailed post on Blogging in the future, so if this is something that interests you then keep an eye out for that! ^^

I hope this has been helpful to you and I wish you all the best of luck!

Thanks for stopping by! ^^

Earning from home – Freelance Work

Sep 3, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

My biggest objective of this post is to help people who are also starting from very little with little knowledge. I am no professional, I’m simply learning from my own mistakes as I go along and sharing my experiences in hopes to help others who have similar aspirations:)

So you want to earn money from home, maybe because you have conditions that make it difficult to work elsewhere, maybe you’ve had a bad experience in a job and want to work independently? Or maybe you simply just want to try the whole ‘being your own boss’ thing.

Personally I’ve always wanted to work for myself, I’ve always wanted to prove that I’m perfectly capable of making a living and doing well from myself – whilst starting from the bottom: having nothing but my own skills and knowledge. As I finished my college course a couple of years ago, everyone I knew headed off to University whereas I chose to stay. I was determined to do it all myself and show that you don’t need all the fancy qualifications to get where you want – not for everything (obviously doctors and other similar careers) But what I’m talking about is creative careers. Music, art, photography, acting, voice acting, web development, writing, journalism – there are just so many choices

I’d like to think I’m a very creative and artistic person, as a child I wrote a lot of short stories, I also did a lot of art and later on got into music. It’s been hard for me to chose which of these I prefer and wanted to focus on, I still struggle with that decision now so creating this blog actually helps me explore them all (including my new profound love for photography!)

I’m actually going to be exploring and explaining some of what I think are the best ways to earn from home – I’ll be including Ideas for different skill types as well as just some easy cash tips!

Step 1: Make a list

Where do I begin? I asked myself this question several times every day for months ( I wish I was exaggerating) Eventually I started with small steps. I created a plan or a list, a list of what I want to accomplish, what I wanted to do and ideas of how to do it.

Here’s an example of one of my first lists:

See this list, it’s basically a sum-up of some of the things I want to do. The first thing you need to do is making a list.

Step 2: Choose one to start with

After I made my list, I choose one to focus one. I actually started with freelance work – I made accounts on sites such as Upwork and Fiverr. I actually only really use Fiverr now since I started gaining more recognition on there and found it easier to use. Out of some of the skills I already have, I made some gigs on Fiverr – I started with a simple audio editing for podcasts or audiobooks gig, I later added a voice acting gig and I’m soon going to be adding a music production for games gig.

It’s all about starting with something you’re confident with, focusing on it and developing the skills and developing a relationship with your customers. You need to prove your worth and reliability. Don’t start with too much otherwise, you’ll get yourself caught out and lost. Focus on one thing at a time.

if you were to chose something around writing as your first focus, I’d suggest finishing what you started first. So if your first task was to write a short story or even a song, make a small game – then finish it. Even if you end up hating what you’re doing, one of the most important things is to make sure you finish tasks and then later on improve. don’t make a habit out of unfinished work (I make that mistake myself a lot)

Step 3: Perfect it and move on to the next

So you’ve spent some time on your first focus? Keep at it, keep adding to it. When I started my first gig on Fiverr, I spent a lot of time on just that gig before creating a new one. Once you’re happy with where you’re at and that you can continue to work on it on the side, bring on your next focus! My next one was the blog (See my post on ‘Starting a blog’ here -(coming soon)) You now basically work on each individual focus all a little at a time. Now would be the right time to start a schedule! If you’re serious about doing what you’re doing as a full-time job then you better be ready to organise and devote your time

Step 4: Dividing your time

I tend to try and put an equal amount of time into each thing I do unless a job I’m doing requires more time. I check my website analytics daily, I’m now working to post twice a week on my blog. I practice instruments daily. I don’t actually really give myself much time off – I do go for walks every few hours (even just short ones) To get away from computer screens and to try to keep somewhat active. Sitting all day and staying focused can be a challenge itself. I also apply to jobs on Fiverr every day unless I have jobs ongoing. Be consistent. That’s probably one of the most important things, to keep at it. Doing a little of something every day at least, make good habits out of it

Finally: Don’t give up

Just keep at it, it’s a slow process. It’s harder than you think to efficiently earn from home, I’m still now making a lot myself just yet but it’s one of those things you need to stick to. Your determination is what will bring you out on top.

So this post ended up mostly being aimed at freelance work Ideas.

To read more about other ways to earn from home then check out this post! – (https://www.merodi.blog/post/earning-from-home-tips-and-tricks-to-earning-from-home)

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

~Mero ❤

Finally making some progress!

Aug 18, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

So I’ve been out of work for a few weeks now (I say out of work – I guess being full-time freelance is more appropriate!) It actually feels like I’ve been doing more work now then I was before, the only huge difference being I actually really enjoy what I do now – even though I’m constantly exhausted.So, anyway~ I’ve been making some good progress on setting up this new site, although its a shame I can’t set up my own services for audio editing or voice acting as it does cost more money I don’t have yet. Instead, I’m going to be linking to other sites – Fiverr mainly, for people to follow up through there if they do wish to work with me! ^^

On another note now, I’ve also started setting up things for some new YouTube content that I’m really excited about! I’m planning to do a lot more finger-style covers, probably mostly Anime ones too if I’m honest. (I’m a complete weeb) Since I also used to do quite a bit of Cosplay – I’m also thinking of combining Cosplay and some Anime music covers! I think that just with these small things, it could really help me progress a little more.

I’m also going to be widening my services and promoting a new gig on Fiverr soon: I plan to make music for games or animations, which would also be super fun:)

What else have I been considering…?

Oh that’s right! I’m also starting work on a new song too! It is a little harder to do with a lack of equipment, but I’m still pretty convinced I can work something out.

I’m honestly really excited for my plans and I really hope I manage to pull through on most of them and keep up with them on a regular basis since that’s normally where I struggle – Sticking to plans. I’m hoping now that I’ve taken the risk of completely devoting myself and my time to all of this, that I’ll have the determination to stick to it! (as well as updating this blog weekly)

I know at this minute this blog has been all over the place, it doesn’t feel like it has any sense of topic other then what I’m doing whilst trying to make some success off of my freelance work and music and honestly, I feel like this is somewhat quite pointless. Will this ever be of any interest to anyone? Should I be picking a very specific topic and sticking to it? It’s difficult to figure out, but I guess the best way to figure it all out is to just keep trying it all and see where it gets me. I mean, there’s nothing stopping me changing what I do in the future, so I may as well just keep at what I’m doing now right?

I’m full-time freelance now, I guess?

Aug 3, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

So, I’ve kind of been questioning for awhile on how to actually write this post. It seems like it would be simple, but everything in my life has recently taken such a change that it’s also overwhelming.

It’s kind of hard to explain everything that’s changed without going into personal life details that I somewhat try to avoid doing (at least for now) But to sum it all up: I left my job, had to move out of my flat and my partner and I now live with my parents on a temporary basis. All of this alone, is quite a big change and difficult to re adjust to

I’m still currently in the process of organising through all my belongings and making my room a liveable space again (it’s currently just full of boxes and bags oops) So because of that, I haven’t made much headway on the freelance work. I have still been applying to the occasional job every couple of days in hopes of getting something whilst not being as active.

With this whole change and moving process, I’ve been somewhat taking some breaks and taking some time to myself to try and gain a little more inspiration and motivation again (something I’ve been having some trouble with recently) I’ve been trying to get myself back into activities and hobbies I used to enjoy a lot too, Photography and art being two of them.

This is actually a photo I took the other day on a walk 🙂

I’ve also started trying to design myself some sort of avatar/icon for my Youtube channel or just for social media for my freelance and music work, It’s my first time trying to do digital art (it’s definitely challenging!)

But anyway~ Putting aside all of the other random stuff I’ve been up to, I have still been trying to make some progress. I’ve come up with a lot of ideas and plans for my Youtube and music and I’m still applying for jobs on Fiverr. I’m actually about to create a new gig to create game music for people. Hopefully that will bring me more opportunities and jobs!

Maybe I’ll make a post about all of my ideas soon, or I’ll just leave them as a surprise! I guess I can decide that later.

Anyway, enough rambling over here. Well done if you made it this far through this post, if anyone has any cool ideas they’re willing to share, please feel free to leave a comment! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! ^^

Time flies.. when you have only a little more to do.

Jun 21, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

So, I realise It’s been more than a few weeks since I last posted. I have actually been rather busy (sadly not with hoards of freelance work)

I’ve actually come to learn that it’s oddly difficult to fit freelance work in with my life and my current job, it’s still something I’m working on trying to organise all together – as I would really love to be able to earn enough to leave my job one day.
I have still been applying to jobs on Fiverr daily and actually been getting some responses! I’ve actually had (and completed) 2 jobs in the past couple of weeks and so far this month, earned double what I did last month. (which really wasn’t hard if I’m honest) Last month – in May, I earned a whopping £6.65! ($8) and this month, I’ve earned £19. Yes I know, it’s really nothing fancy, I’m really not earning the big bucks just yet, but I think If I can keep earning a little more each month then I’ll really start to make some progress!

Aside from the Freelance work, I’m also trying to get back into writing and publishing my own music again. Which for me right now – requires a lot more effort sadly. First of all, I need a new flat. I’m in the midst of trying to move right now to a place with enough space to have a small recording set up (my current flat is basically a shoe box – really not designed for any sort of work) So the whole process of trying to move is certainly taking up a lot of my time. as well as my hours in work over the summer period.

Sooo.. Back to the freelance work for a moment.
I’ve really been getting some strange job offers (one of which I really did have to reject) It’s interesting what some people are willing to pay for to get done. Recently I wrote lyrics about Sonic the Hedgehog – that was certainly an interesting one. But hey – I got paid for it, so no complaints here!
I did have the quite typical job of recording a voice over of a script too, which was actually quite pleasant to read – I actually really enjoyed that one!

I feel as though I should stop this rambling mess of a blog post now, but I did really need to do some sort of update – especially if I want to keep all this up!

Thanks again for stopping by though ^^

One job down, and again: Nothing to continue

Jun 7, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

So, as you all know. I managed to get my first job not too long ago.
How did it go you ask? – It went okay. Just okay.

It was my first try so a bit of failure and struggle is to be expected. The person I was working for was very understanding and patient so I have no complaints there. I do doubt that they will come to me again for more work though, which is obviously slightly frustrating. But then again, It was still a job! I got a review, and made myself a mediocre 8 bucks: So in all, I’d still say its a job well done and still worth it.

Since I’ve been trying voice acting work, I have been having some mixed feelings on it. I prefer my music, I can’t really see myself pursuing a career with voice acting (Unless it was to dub anime!) But yeah, I’m more of a musician

On that note, I’m now again looking into more music options for myself (as well as keeping my options well open for freelance work on Fiverr.)
I’ll be writing more about my plans for the music side of my freelance work in my next post! ^^ So do make sure that you come and check that one out too!

So yes, my conclusion of the past two weeks, the work is frustrating, getting the work is still as difficult as ever, I know it’s going to take a lot longer and a lot more to get where I want to and earn enough to pay my bills of this freelance work.

I do apologise for the sloppiness of this post but sadly my shifts at my current job are all over the place and finding time to do this, is indeed incredibly difficult

On that note, I must leave for work again now (Wish me luck ^^”)

Thanks again for stopping by ❤

GOT ME A JOB (kinda)

May 16, 2019Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

OKAY so quick update for anyone who’s following this and is interested.

The guy who responded to me, that I mentioned in the previous entry picked me!!!!, I’m actually super excited. He said he liked how my voice sounded! I don’t know when I’ll be starting this work, but the fact I actually managed to get one job is a big celebration ^^ it means I’m actually starting to get somewhere, which has actually been taking up so much damn effort.

This job is in fact going to be a new experience for me, I’ll be reading educational scripts. If I do well on the first one, I’ll possibly be doing up to 18 of them which is pretty cool to be honest.
(Guess I’m gonna have to set up a proper vocal booth soon!!)

So another thing – Thanks to actually getting this first job, it’s giving me slightly more motivation to try and do more things with music again. I started playing Piano again this week! ^^ I’m currently working on a song that I’ll be posting on my Youtube in the future (Don’t worry, I’ll be posting about that whenever it’s done) I’ve also been trying to make an effort to get back into finishing a song I started writing a few months back, so hopefully I’ll make some more progress on that too!

I wanted to leave this one relatively shorter, but I’m gonna end this with another quick note:

Freelance work is hard to get. You’ll get some in time if you just keep applying, just don’t give up too easily!! ^^