Category: Our Thoughts

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Cultivating Confidence: The Self-Concept Secret

On my journey to building self-confidence [which is still a work in progress], I realised that I was outsourcing a lot of my inner power to events, circumstances, and people outside of myself. 

I would often seek validation from friends about ideas I had and only pursue things if they thought it was a ‘good idea’, rather than doing it because I wanted to. In doing this, I was re-affirming to myself that their opinions were more valid or superior to mine and that they knew more than I did about how best to live my life. 

So if you’re currently lacking the confidence and trust to pursue your dream business idea, ask for a promotion, or maybe you want to make a complete career switch, it’s time to overcome your self-limiting beliefs through the concept of ‘self-concept’.

What Is Self-Concept?

Self-concept is the image or perception we have of ourselves in terms of our behaviours, abilities, and unique characteristics. We all experience life through the lens of our self-concept. 

The beliefs we hold about ourselves ultimately dictate how we navigate the world around us, the things we allow in our lives, and the choices we make. These inner beliefs can either be:

  • Empowering – if we view ourselves as being capable of more [thereby boosting our confidence], or 
  • Limiting – which can make us fearful, stuck, or avoidant when it comes to going after our dream life. 

They dictate how other people see us too, as we can subconsciously communicate how we feel about ourselves to others (think how you can learn a lot from other people’s body language or facial expressions before they even open their mouths).

How To Improve Your Self-Concept 

  • Awareness 

The first step to shifting your self-concept from disempowering to empowering is to become aware of the beliefs you currently hold about yourself. 

This isn’t to demonise any ‘unhelpful’ beliefs; be thankful for them as they once served a purpose in getting you to where you are now. Acknowledging that they may not be entirely helpful moving forward and starting to question your beliefs is the first step to making real lasting change. 

I’ve personally had to question a lot of the beliefs I’ve held around money, specifically why I feel uncomfortable about receiving more money [which came down to my beliefs formed from the classic childhood teachings of “money is the root of all evil” and “money doesn’t grow on trees”]. Do these sound familiar to you?

  • Rewire And Tell Yourself A Better Story 

We collect evidence throughout our life to support the beliefs we form in childhood. 

Write down a list of all the beliefs you currently hold [positive or negative] about money, relationships, success, your career, your health, etc., and ask yourself where these beliefs come from. Are they yours, or did you hear them from your parents, teachers, or friends? 

Then ask yourself the following: 

Is there any way to know they’re 100% true? 

Is there evidence against these beliefs? 

Forgive yourself for any limiting beliefs and write a new, empowering belief in its place.

  • Living In The End 

Decide who you want to be going forward, but acknowledge that you are already loved just as you are. 

An important aspect of self-concept is deciding who you want to be by feeling and thinking from this place [as if you already have what you want], while also accepting and loving who you already are. 

This might sound a bit abstract, but when we start to accept ourselves fully, change comes when there’s less resistance. 

In my self-development work, I fell into the trap of seeking to improve myself constantly for a long time. This ultimately stemmed from the underlying feeling that I wasn’t good enough already and that on some level I needed to earn feeling worthy and loved. 

A practice that has helped me to embody this is to tell myself ‘I am loved’ and ‘I am enough’ in the mirror every morning. Write it on post-it notes. Re-read and speak it aloud. It feels awkward AF at first, especially when you’re not used to hearing it, but stick with it. The more repetition, the more your subconscious can start to believe it as truth.

  • Keep Persisting 

“Change your conception of yourself, and you will automatically change the world in which you live.” – Neville Goddard 

Our habits, daily actions, and choices make up the life we are currently experiencing; forming new habits in our lives starts with how we think. 

When it comes down to it, we can rarely ever control the events outside of ourselves, but we can control our inner world and the way we see ourselves. So why not start viewing yourself in a more positive, empowering light today?

For more mindset tips and tricks to identify your self-limiting beliefs, follow @mindsetwithmimi on Instagram.

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Letting Go: Limiting Beliefs

Ah, limiting beliefs.

You may have heard this buzzword term being thrown around a lot on Social Media recently.

We all have them. We’re often held back by them. We should most definitely all be doing more inner work to confront them.

But what exactly is a limiting belief? How do we form them, how can we identify them + how can we confront them head on?

Limiting Your Potential

If you’ve ever made a self-depreciating statement about your ability to do something, you probably made it in good humour but, chances are there’s a limiting belief buried in there somewhere.

It may come in the form of potentially harmless beliefs, such as pre-warning your friends that you’re ‘terrible at parallel parking’ before taking an embarrassing number of attempts to get into a parking space fit for a Boeing 747. Or maybe you’ve uttered the words, ‘I’m too old to wear that!’ [Aka me, a ’96 millennial, not even attempting to try half of the latest fashion trends for this exact reason].

These might seem harmless enough but if your dreams were to become a Driving Instructor or Gen-Z Fashion Influencer, these beliefs might actually be holding you back [FYI these are neither of my aspirations but the potential is there if I want to give either a go…]

How Our Limiting Beliefs Are Formed

A limiting belief is essentially a belief that you consider to be the absolute truth or a fact. They often keep you stuck, either from moving forward with your goals or keeping you stuck in negative thought cycles.

A lot of our beliefs are formed through our experiences + our perception of those experiences. If you’ve had a particularly negative experience in your life, you may equate this with a specific [negative] outcome + as a result, never want to put yourself in that situation ever again.

If you’ve had a particularly bad breakup for example or a toxic relationship, you might form a limiting belief that you’re not worthy of love [spoiler: you are] that you’ll never find another partner again [you will], or the belief that all relationships end badly [they really don’t have to].

Identifying Your Limiting Beliefs

For me, a lot of my limiting beliefs were around money + my ability to try new things. For a long time, these beliefs kept me trapped in a job that felt unfulfilling, not being paid what I wanted + stuck in a negative mindset.

Now I’m in a completely new job + industry, doing more of what I love each day + keeping myself open to receiving everything that I want in life.

How can you confront your limiting beliefs?

There are a number of ways you can identify your own limiting beliefs.

The best starting point in my experience was to become more aware of current behaviours + start by assessing your thoughts on a regular basis. Keep a journal of your thoughts + behaviours over the course of a week or two, or spend time meditating to become more aware of your current thought patterns.

If you feel a negative belief coming up that makes you feel stuck or stops you from taking action, start to question where this belief actually comes from.

  • Is it something someone else told you [a family member, teacher, friend, loved one] during your childhood years + you’ve always accepted it as ‘the truth’?
  • Have you had a bad experience in the past?
  • Is it something you tell yourself all the time?

When you become more aware of your thought patterns + beliefs, it’s a lot easier to confront them. Ask yourself if the belief you hold is really true? Is there any evidence to suggest otherwise?

Often, we take on the limiting beliefs of other people that have been projected onto us rather than stopping to ask ourselves what we actually think about a situation.

Feel The Fear [… in the words of Susan Jeffers, “Do It Anyway”]

Another hack to identify existing limiting beliefs is to think about the things you’re most afraid of doing. It might be public speaking, socialising, starting to take action on your business idea, changing jobs.

Whatever it is, journal and ask yourself why you believe what you do.

  • Where does the fear come from?
  • What is the underlying feeling that you’re most afraid of? i.e. is it a fear of being seen/heard, fear of rejection, fear of abandonment.
  • What are you trying to avoid experiencing?

Identify behaviours that bring most resistance to you + focus on how you can reframe your limiting beliefs into empowering ones.

Your external world is a reflection of your internal world. No matter what your current beliefs might tell you, the world is your oyster + you can literally create unimaginable opportunities for yourself.

It starts with you + taking the necessary steps to changing your internal world first.

Follow @theweeklywoman for more wellbeing + mindful living tips.

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Call to Action: How you can better manage your mental health as an entrepreneur

#1 – Detach your own self-worth from the value of your business. 

This was a big lesson for me. 

When you’re building a brand (particularly a personal one) and it doesn’t quite take off as you expected, it’s easy to get disheartened and take it as a personal attack. Avoid defining your own success by how well your business or side hustle is doing. When it comes to ‘success’, 1) you are responsible for defining what success looks like to you and 2) there are so many external factors to take into account that affect popularity, engagement, growth, exposure, how much money you’re making. 

You need to remember that you are worth more than your business or project. 

A figure in your bank account or on a spreadsheet will never define your own personal self-worth. 

#2 – Outsource and ask for help. 

As a solo entrepreneur, it may be in your nature to find it difficult to ask for help from others. You probably want to micro-manage everything yourself (I know I often do). But outsourcing and asking for help is the quickest way to grow and expand, and leave yourself with time to do the things you actually enjoy doing. 

Don’t like keeping track of your finances through spreadsheets? Pay for software that automates it or make use of apps that can track this for you. 

Need help packaging products to fulfill your orders? See if a friend, family member, or sibling can help you on an occasion when you’re feeling swamped.  

#3 – Your time spent away from your business is an investment in a better business. 

It may sound counter-productive, but taking time to relax and be away from your business is so important. From my own personal experience, it can be easy for you to treat it like your baby and it becomes all-consuming. 

Making your business your number one priority (rather than yourself) can quickly slip into sacrificing your sleep, how much you get out and about to exercise, even the number of meals you eat in a day. 

But it’s not helping anyone, least of all you. 

You can’t run on empty fumes and making sure you’re at the top of your game by getting 7-9 hours of sleep, drinking enough water, eating frequent meals, going for walks, etc., will:

1) motivate you more to work because you’ll be in a more relaxed and full state and;

2) will also allow you time to connect with friends and family properly, which will put you in a better frame of mind.  

Follow @theweeklywoman for more wellbeing and mindful living tips 

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Trends Volume III | Leila’s Spring Favourites

Written by our Leila Care.

Coming out of Lockdown, I’ve been on a path of self-improvement which has meant discovering new products + services (or revisiting old holy grails). I have listed my spring favourites + I cannot wait to share this one with you.

Skincare + Beauty

Wow, this has been a journey! Anybody who knows me well knows that skincare and beauty are two of my great loves. A little background, I started on Accutane back in April, meaning that my skin is going through big changes and sensitive, hydrating and natural products are essential – something that my once oily, acne-prone skin was absolutely not used to! My favourites are based on this new change to my skin, but all of them would be suitable to incorporate into your skincare somehow, no matter your skin type!

  • Erborian CC Water | this product just completely wowed me. When using this gel-like product, you burst the pods within the gel to release a slight colour, bringing an incredible amount of hydration and glow to the skin.
  • Hyaluronic Acid | my two favourites are Vichy’s or The Inkey List. The Inkey List provides products at an incredibly low price point so if you are just starting out I would definitely recommend checking them out.
  • Weleda Skin Food has been an absolute go-to for me this past month, priced below £15 for the full-size tube, this multi-purpose product can be used as a moisturiser or even makeup primer and has been a godsend for those extra dry Accutane days.
  • Another product I have been loving as we come into summer is Chanel’s Les Beiges Bronzing Cream. This really is a game-changer for warming up your complexion without looking overly powdery or dry due to its cream formula.
  • In terms of fragrance, I recently discovered Penhaligon’s Halfeti Eau Du Parfum in Milton Keynes’ new Harrod’s Beauty Store. I often find it difficult to find the perfect fragrance as a typically feminine fragrance doesn’t suit me, I prefer a more musky unisex fragrance. I bought home Penhaligon’s Halfeti on a perfumed handkerchief from the store and my partner has fallen in love with it just as much as me. If you find a Penhaligon’s counter whilst on your next shop, you just have to go and test it out!

Blogs + Audiobooks

My two favourite blogs + audiobooks are hardly surprising as they have been guests before at You & Me. The Weekly Woman has been a fantastic thought provoker and motivation to really push yourself to do what makes you happy and be your very best self.

The Secret audiobook has been something I have been listening to on repeat for the last few months and I don’t see this changing anytime soon. As someone who is trying to learn more about manifestation and bringing positive energy into my life, this in combination with The Weekly Woman is the perfect match.

Streaming

My favourite time to watch YouTube is over my morning coffee, a great way to take up and it comes at a time where my need for inspiration is at its highest. I have been loving Suzie Bonaldi [formerly Hello October] for all things petite fashion, Lydia Millen for all things home, fashion, and lifestyle, and Trinny [yes!] to help you with the logistics behind fashion. Trinny also does Zara edits for those Zara-obsessed, like me.

My partner and I have recently got back into binging Suits on Netflix and we have completely fallen back into love with it! I’d totally recommend watching if you haven’t already, the casting is 10/10.

Apps

I am a sucker for a good app! Working in the Social Media industry and also previously creating client apps, I can truly appreciate what makes an app user-friendly and useful. My favourite app has to be Think Dirty, this app allows you to discover the ingredients of your favourite beauty products breaking down whether they may be irritating to the skin, dangerous, or something to avoid. Think Dirty gives you a rating and a traffic light system on good/bad these products and their ingredients are for your skin, there is also the chance to view user reviews on products to give you further information. The amount of pennies that I have saved instead of blindly purchasing trend products is insane. 

Coming in at a close second, another favourite app is OneZone. Showing you all of the hottest eateries in London, whether it be 5* in Mayfair, cool rooftop bars in Shoreditch, quirky restaurants in Camden, or street food in Chinatown, OneZone gives you all of the inspiration, the information, and the reviews that you need to make an informed decision on where to spend your Saturday evening. Let’s be honest, after Lockdown, we want ONLY the best and OneZone is the way to find it.

Share your favourite spring finds with us! Y&M x

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A person to turn to, helping hand + shoulder to cry on.

Written by our Leila Care.

As the digital world + beyond takes a moment this week to solely focus on mental health as part of the National Mental Health Awareness Week, we wanted to talk to you + give our best advice surrounding an issue so close to our hearts. How you could perhaps help a loved one who is struggling with their mental health.

With life returning to normal, you may find that the people closest to you are struggling a little or are unsure how to cope with the change. Now, of course, there is no quick fix, short answer, or magic cure, but if our Journal and moment of thoughts can help even one person, well that’s a success in our eyes!

Do you know the signs?

  •  Have they had a sudden change in their behaviour? Becoming erratic, aggressive, quiet, or anxious? Changes in appearance – a sudden change of style or identity? Or noticeable changes in their health – for example, changes in eating habits, sleep patterns, or showing signs of fatigue?
  • Often you may find loved ones avoiding social situations or withdrawing completely from their social circle at times of struggle.
  • It can be known by having more extreme ideas, behaviours, or plans than usually expected from this person.

How can I help friends return back to their day-to-day life post-covid?

  • Allow time for your loved ones to adapt back to normal life, this is a big change and will take time.
  • Encourage them to undertake acts of self-love + self-care, this will reassure them that they are looked after and allow them to focus on the most important things in life. Often if these are neglected, mental health issues can feel heavier.
  • Ensure that you validate their feelings and emotions – please, avoid using belittling language as this can invalidate their emotions + make them feel as though their problems are not being taken seriously.
  • If your loved one is turned away or shunted just once regarding their mental health, they may never reach out again!

How can you help?

  • Voice your concerns in a caring + compassionate way, getting pushy or aggressive will only escalate the problem.
  • Show them that you are available to talk if and when they need support – at any time! Allowing people to approach you as + when they need it will give them the confidence to speak out.
  • When listening to them, relay important information back to them to ensure that they feel heard and understood. This will also ensure that you do not misunderstand the situation. Ask questions like, ‘how does that make you feel?’, ‘How can I help?’. Don’t make the situation about yourself, listen.. take the time for them to speak.
  • Avoid challenging them and instead show yourself a safe space, someone they can turn to without judgment or questioning.
  • If you are exceptionally concerned for their wellbeing/safety, call 999.

What should I do if they decline my help?

  • Try to understand what is worrying them about seeking help, this may be something that can be resolved.
  • Explain your concern for them, let them know that you respect their decision but ensure that you are there to support them however they need.
  • Your friend may not realise the extent of the problem until you explain it from an alternate perspective, make sure to be delicate handling this conversation as it could potentially come as a shock to them – but having the conversation is important nonetheless.

We would love to hear from you + hope that these pointers help you to approach your nearest and dearest should they require your support. For those reading that may need support, remember, you are never alone and our inboxes are always open for a chat.

Direct line – hello@youandmecollective.co.uk

Key UK Helplines – Samaritans 116 123 | The Mix Under 25 0808 808 4994  | CALM (for our boys!) 0800 58 58 58 

Lots of love, Y&M x

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2021 Social Media Trend Forecast

As we enter a new year, there is much anticipation about the upcoming trends for Social Media + Marketing. From Planoly announcing new updates, Pinterest launching exciting new features + every expert sharing their predictions. Whilst our thoughts won’t cover everything (the Marketing world is endless, as many of us know!) we have compiled our top five trends which we think will be at the forefront of Social this year.

5. Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing has secured its place in the business models of household brands and this is only set to increase in 2021. However, to our delight, this trends has developed to include ‘nano-influencers’. For reference: nano-influencers have from 1,000-10,000 followers. Brands that take the time to focus on influencers with a smaller audience are getting it right! Food for thought: often nano-influencers have a tight-knit relationship with their audience, a higher engagement rate and are more likely to work with brands they genuinely have a passion for and they are incredible for cost-efficiency.

If you are a Content Creator or an Influencer and you are looking to spend more time developing your Influencer Marketing strategy, we would recommend placing a real focus this year into creating high quality. This stems from an interesting and aesthetically pleasing grid + consistent posts. Brands ultimately look for Content Creators who have an ethos, or an authentic tone of voice – being real is the near filter. 

Accounts we love to follow are @megankatemarchant, @househomo {who we had the absolute pleasure of interviewing}, @dralexgeorge and so many other fabulous individuals.

4. In-App Shopping

Falcon described it as ‘the rising-tide of social eCommerce’ as we are seeing an acceleration of eCommerce by 5 years since lockdown began. The rise of eCommerce is forcing brands to take to Social Media as a must when selling their products. 

A majority of us already find online shopping incredibly easy… yet with Facebook and Instagram introducing Native Checkout, there will no longer be a need to leave the app + shop via the brand’s website. With a combination of Apple Pay, we will be able to place orders + finish checkout right on our social channels – a feature predicts to challenge Amazon!

As well as ensuring your Social Shops are set up + working well, Hyper-Personalisation has come key. Reading your insights + understanding what you audience wants is crucial – using the data you collect to target your audiences more efficiently. 

3. Educational Content

Become the expert in your field. It’s no longer enough to simply provide a product or service in 2021. To stand out, consumers need to think of you as an expert in your field; they need to be able to come to you for advice, teachings and incredible excellent customer service. 

But, how do you achieve this? By creating online content tailored to your consumer audience  – this may include top tips, trends, techniques and everything in between. 

Example: the beauty industry is setting an example; with brands collaborating with popular Content Creators, celebrities and experts to create online masterclasses, mini-tutorials and top tips Reels. By doing so, elite beauty brands who have often lacked a personal touch, have now been able to gather engagement from an involved audience and personalise the band experience for the first time. 

2. Micro-Blogging

Micro-Blogging has risen in popularity since the creation of TikTok and shows no signs of slowing down. For reference: Micro-Blogging refers to the act of creating concise posts with the main aim of interacting with an audience. They are often short, targeted and fast-to-read. Great to read whilst in the queue, on-the-move or as part of your lunch break.

Content ideas include behind the scenes footage {gold dust for authenticity!}, ‘a day in the life of’, and consequently achieving a personalised approach to social media – we have waved goodbye to the filter perfect photos + brands, relying now on a true reflection of the team behind the brand. As a result, we begin to see thriving engagement rates which is the end goal after all!

1. Reels

We’ve said it before and we will say it again, Reels!

Social Media experts have expressed that Instagram Reels are currently the most efficient way to boost your page, increase your page visibility and avoid the algorithm punishing you.

It is important to note however, that this is due to the fact that Reels are Instagram’s latest posting feature. Ideally, Instagram would have you posting a Reel daily but for those with other priorities this can be excessive and unmanageable; we would recommend trying one or two a week just to help give yourself that well-needed boost.

Top tip: stay creative, authentic + showcase exactly how your products can help others.

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We would love to know how you get on whilst trialling our top tips, we would love to hear about your successes. As always, if you do want to try out these trends but don’t have the capacity or vision, we would love to help. Get in touch.

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Shake off the Lockdown funk | Y&M Productivity Hacks

In a time where the world is upside down and we all have a need to look at our businesses in a new way, evaluating the way we work can help us be more effective and our days more efficient.

We are all working in new ways and harder than ever before to ensure our business is successful during such a difficult time – but are we productive? How many of us can spend a full day being busy, but get to the end of the day and wonder…. what we have actually achieved?

If we continue to work in the same way – can we expect to see different results? Here’s our top productivity hacks to help ensure your working time is productive.

1 ~ Stop Multitasking

Whilst it may seem more efficient to do multiple things at once, are you really making progress with the task you are attempting to do? Or are you even doing them well?

Studies have shown that multitasking can actually decrease your productivity by up to 40%. So although it may feel you are ticking off some of your to-do list, none of it was given 100% of your focus and expertise – which may actually cost you more time in the future if you have to go back and redo some of this work. Research has also shown that when those who multitask try to focus on one thing – they are actually work less efficiently than those who rarely attempt to multitask.

This is one of the best, yet most difficult, habits to break. As soon as it feels that time is short – the habit of multi tasking is so easy to slip back into. But having the right tools and a team around you who understand the false-efficiency of this habit, you will be able to focus on individual tasks and ticking off your to do list with confidence.

2 ~ Set a goal each day 

To forget about multitasking, you have to retrain your mind to concentrate on single tasks.

This goes against everything our busy, digital lives encourages us to do but the solution to this problem also lies in the same digital tech that exacerbates it. There are a variety of  productivity apps to help organise your workflow and keep focused on the task at hand. These tools encourage you to set a single goal for each working day, which constantly reinforces the idea of focusing on individual tasks. You can break daily goals into multiple tasks or work sessions, where you’ll only work on that specific task {and nothing else} for the allocated time.

That way … there’s no time left for multitasking!

3 ~ Identify your most important tasks and set a schedule

Before your day starts, whether it’s the first thing in the morning or the night before, create a plan of attack for the day. Start by writing down your tasks that are already scheduled for a specific time, such as your working hours, meetings, doctors’ appointments, etc. Take the time to prioritise the top three tasks for the day. Be clear with what you write and use more than a three-word description.

For example, ‘research Social trends’ is bad. Instead, use  ‘Research the new Instagram algorithm to boost our organic engagement’. This will prevent you from drifting to semi-related tasks that don’t actually accomplish anything.

Then see how you can effectively fill in the rest of the time. Write each task that you want to get completed into your schedule so there is no question what you’re doing next once something has been completed. This will take out any of the guesswork as you move through your day and prevent you from accidentally wasting time because it hadn’t been assigned to anything.

4 ~ Take regular breaks

Building regular, short breaks into working time increases focus and productivity. Studies have shown this gives your mind a chance to recover from intense focus but you have to be smart about how you spend your downtime. Your instinct might be to open Facebook or Instagram but this digital onslaught of content doesn’t allow your mind to truly switch off.

To maximise the benefit of each break, it helps to avoid anything that’s mentally taxing in any kind of way. This is especially true for short breaks where you’re going to have to get back to work in a matter of minutes. For a five-minute break to actually count, you’re going to want to avoid anything that divides your attention, involves any decision-making or requires concentration.

Your mind is hard at work during each session and now you want to focus as little as possible. The best thing you could do is zone out completely and think of nothing or meditate to relax your mind and body. Another good option is to do some yoga or stretches while keeping your mind clear, giving yourself a cognitive break but also an important physical break from sitting down.

While regular, short breaks are important to keep you fresh and focused, don’t skimp on taking a longer break during the day – typically the lunch hour. A longer break allows you to fully unwind and to take a 30 minute walk around outside, or a 20-minute nap, and sit down and eat a proper meal away from your desk. These are all essential activities for overall health and wellbeing, which will spill over positively into your work.

5 ~ Block distracting apps and websites

Research has shown that the average digital worker can’t go more than 6 minutes without checking their email or instant messaging. The digital nature of our work and social lives leaves us constantly checking for notifications and this constant distraction hampers our ability to focus on tasks for even short periods of time.

There are a number of website and app blocker tools on the market. You can create a list of apps and websites which will automatically be blocked during working sessions. You can even prevent notifications coming through during work hours and they’ll automatically come in once the session has finished. Don’t be afraid to use that ‘do not disturb’ function on both your phone and your email.

6  ~ Create a dedicated workspace

This one has never been more relevant than in recent times if you are working from home or remotely. Don’t just sit on the couch or at the dinner table – create a dedicated workspace where you can go to work and then leave it once you’re done.

If you’re working from home, take advantage of the space you have to create a home office dedicated for work and nothing else. You are creating a productive environment to have a productive day and keep it organised. Keeping an orderly work space will make you more efficient and calm. A self-imposed clean desk policy is a good place to start!

7 ~ Know when to say no. 

For some people saying no is hard, but if you really want to elevate your productivity levels then you can’t let people dictate your day.  Often we can take on more than we are able to do – whether that’s time physically or mentally. Others people’s requests do not have to take priority over our own workload.

8 ~ Tame your email inbox

Set aside time each day to check your emails. We could spend all day responding to emails as they come in, monitoring all of the notifications and adding tasks to our day. The ‘Four Hour Working Week’ suggests only checking your email for half an hour twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.

Ask yourself – does this email need my attention or is this just for information? In the digital world we live in, most of the communication we receive is via email – but is it all necessary? How many emails do you receive a day where you are copied in to a conversation that does not need your time and energy when trying to be more productive? Ask you team to copy you into less emails, but also think… do you need to copy people into your email? Could the conversation be more effective if done over the phone.

Once you have actioned an email – move it! Whether that be to another folder if you need to refer back to it or just hit that delete button – having a clear inbox makes us feel less overwhelmed with the thought of tasks yet to be done. There is also that sense of achievement when you look at a clear inbox.

9 ~ Keep a pen and pad nearby

Memories are notoriously unreliable and distracting thoughts can ruin concentration for the task in hand.  If you try and remember everything you need to do, you’re going to end up with a lot of unfinished tasks. Don’t take the risk, write down everything you need to remember. 

Doing this will remove that thought from your mind and you can get back to what you’re doing. Keeping a pen and pad works just fine, but feel free to use an app on your smartphone to do this. It’s really your preference. At the end of the day, go through this list of thoughts or tasks and move them to the relevant place – maybe tomorrow’s to do list?

Keep focused. Have a break. Share your Productivity Hacks with us.

Written by our Guest Author, Debbie Coates.

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Content is King: Our 5 Best Kept Secrets

With social media taking the world by storm, I thought it was only fair that we share a few of our top tips when it comes to creating content on your favourite social platforms; ideal for those of you who are just starting out within the ever changing world of social media.

Secret One: Arguably one of the most important concepts is to keep your content at the basis of every post.

What do we mean by this? Think image resolution, feed aesthetics, use of colour and most importantly – does it fit the brand?

Secret Two: It isn’t essential for you to know everything when it comes to creative design and the confusing software which presumptively comes hand in hand.

Navigating programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator and the likes, takes a LOT of practice, can be tiresome and this method doesn’t work for everybody.

I recommend taking a look into what the AppStore can offer, in today’s day and age we have access to so many incredible creative programs – a lot of which are free (WIN!).

My top picks that we swear by at You and Me Collective have to include:

  • “Canva” – Create branded flyers, logos, images, invoices, you name it!
  • “Retouch” – Removes unwanted areas of images
  • “Unfold” or “Story Creator” – Perfect to use to create branded stories

Each of these apps have proven to be revolutionary on my journey within the social media marketing world and the fact that they are all able to be used on my iPhone makes working on the move SO much easier.

Secret Three: Numbers are not the be all and end all!

In today’s society we are led to believe that it is ALL about the amount of ‘likes’ on a post. Whilst this can indicate success, there are far more important statistics to keep an eye on to really measure your growth rate of brand awareness – i.e. reach and impressions.

  • “Reach” – Number of users that have seen your posts.
  • “Impressions” – Number of times your post has been seen

If your impressions are a higher number than your reach, this indicates that successful performance. I recommend taking note of your stats monthly to enable you to create a fair comparison each month.

Secret Four: Stories make a bigger impact than you may think!

I recommend alternating between feed posts and Instagram stories, this will help ensure that you avoid overloading your followers with post after post of hard-hitting content. Whilst you do want to get your message across to your market, too many feed posts can create the undesired effect on your audience and turn them away.

By posting stories, you continue to build your brand awareness whilst not clogging up the Instagram homepage. Equally, Instagram stories allow businesses or influencers to show their fun side – something that we celebrate at You and Me! I am seeing more and more people wanting to interact with brands that they can relate to and what better way than this (and it is free – YAY!).

Some interesting ways to use Instagram Stories to engage your audience:

  • Wish Lists
  • How To’s/Step By Step Videos
  • Reviews
  • Menus
  • Price Lists

*Our top tip is to create logos for your Instagram Highlights – you can do this easily on Canva! This will help you streamline your Instagram page, ensuring it looks sleek and is easy to navigate for potential clients or consumers.*

Secret Five: Take advantage of websites and software which allow you to batch post.

Using websites that are specifically designed to help you pre-plan your Instagram feed and schedule your posts provide significant benefits, especially if you are working alone.

  • Saves HUGE amounts of time.
  • Allows your to view your feed before it is posted live, which allows you to ensure you are staying on-brand.
  • Able to drag and drop posts to alternative dates, should other content be more urgent to post at short notice.
  • Clients can log in and check that they are happy with scheduled content from any device, anywhere in the world (with WIFI of course!).

And there you go, our five best kept secrets to help you on your way to becoming a social media sensation. Let us know which secret you have found most insightful. Better yet, comment below with an original secret top tip of your own, we would love to hear!

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Just Trying to Stay Positive: How to Overcome the Negative Effects of Social Media

By now, most of you will have watched ‘The Social Dilemma’ or atleast have heard about or seen numerous social media posts about the Netflix Original movie. For those of you that have not, ‘The Social Dilemma’ is a docudrama about the truth behind today’s social media crazed world. I think that we all know that social media can have seriously negative impacts on our mental health when used inefficiently, however the docudrama brought to life many horrific scenarios, backed with absolutely shocking statistics which meant that it was something that the team at You and Me Collective feel VERY strongly about speaking out about.

As a business based in the social media industry, we love the freedom, enjoyment and connectivity in which this industry brings to so many people all over the world. However, we also have a responsibility to our clients, followers and readers to help and give our best advice when it comes to social media usage.

So here are our top tips on keeping your social media journey as positive as possible:

Tip One: Tailor your followers list.

What do i mean by this? Well to put it simply, only follow accounts that give you positive energy. Any accounts that bring you down – GET RID! This is the time to have a spring clean of your socials, you wouldn’t continue spending time with people who make you feel rubbish, so why do you continue to do this online.

Tip Two: Limit your time.

The amount of time that we as a population are spending on the internet and inevitably social media is only going UP, UP, UP! Especially for us, and those of you whose job IS social media, try to make sure when the working day is done, screentime is a low priority. There have been many studies to indicate the negative side effects of too much screen time, including:

  • Struggle Sleeping and Fatigue
  • Eye Strain
  • Mental Health Issues i.e Body Dysmorphia and Depression
  • Decline in Relationships

Now, this isn’t to put you off social media and the internet, this is to make you aware of the right choices to make for yourself. Recently, even social media sensation Joe Wicks has taken a well-needed rest from social media, and begun to explain the benefits that it can do for us as a population.

I recommend setting yourself a time allowance for screen time and social media usages. You can do this either by using your willpower and putting your phone down, or if you are like me and have ZERO willpower, go into your iPhone ‘settings’, ‘screen time’ and from there you can limit your screen time, app usage and even restrict contact from contacts that potentially eat into your R+R time. Remember you cannot be expected to work at your best, without taking some self-care time to recuperate!

Additionally, i personally recommend the following activities if you find that you are becoming disconnected to the world around you:

  • Go for long walks or submerge yourself in nature.
  • Try a new sport.
  • Meditation or Yoga.
  • Organise yourself for the next day.
  • See friends.
  • Read a new book or listen to an audiobook.

The list is really endless but i recommend trying to find some hobbies outside of the internet which can help you relax. All of these activities have been godsends when it feels like social media is beginning to take over my life.

Tip Three: Let your clients know.

For all of you workaholics, if you are struggling to let your clients know that you are OOO, I recommend sending an expectations email/text/etc out to clients detailing working hours and mutual expectations. This should allow you to put that phone down in time to relax after work.

Tip Four: Avoid screens and socials first thing and last thing.

Finally, STOP CHECKING YOUR PHONE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AND LAST THING AT NIGHT!

This is making your sleep worse and your waking up schedule slowed! Try doing some wake up stretches and grabbing a bite to eat or a large glass of water to really start the day right. Maybe pick up a book before bed to allow you to wind down properly. If you find your social media feed draining, why pick it up as the first and last thing in your schedule?

I really hope that this gives you all some positive steps to take for when social media becomes slightly overwhelming for you. I’d be really interested to know whether you all have any tips that you swear by, so please do share these.