Kate Moss by Terry Richardson

AARRRGRAAASSSTTTEEEERRRRRPHUUUDDGEEEEEE…

…is the noise my brain makes when it feels like it’s literally 2 seconds away from exploding with information overload. And yours?

We’ve all been there. There’s too much to do and there’s too little time to do it in. There’s someone calling you and there’s a zillion people emailing you. Your mental ‘to do’ list is longer than your arm and you don’t know where to start.

So save from allowing your brain to explode all over your computer screen, how do you deal with stress? If you Google ‘dealing with stress’ there are a million and one websites with lists of things you can do to combat those dreaded stressful episodes, however these are the things that work for me…

Get up early

I’m personally more productive in the morning. I write better. I’m more focused. I can breeze through emails much quicker. Once it gets to about 2pm I start to feel lethargic and my brain switches off. The afternoon time is when I do menial tasks like compiling invoices and proof reading – i.e. the stuff that doesn’t need me to be creative. There are also less distractions early in the morning (when twitter is less lively!) A strong cup of coffee and I’m usually good to go.

Also after a good night’s sleep I feel fresher and feel more ready to tackle my ‘to do’ list head on. I can party into the wee hours with the best of them, but nothing beats an early night followed by some early morning productivity. How very Rock n Roll!

Get organised

Buy yourself a beautiful notebook and obsessively write lists and any ideas that pop into your head in it (mine is neon pink and that helps, believe me). Allow yourself to not worry about remembering the things that you can jot down. Get yourself signed up to Google Calendar and/or grab yourself a wall planner and physically document the thinks you have to do. No one can remember everything they have to do so don’t stress yourself out trying!

Decide what works for you. I personally use my Google Calendar to keep track of my advertisers (ie when each advert needs to go up or come down) and to note dates and times of any meetings, events or appointments I have. The great thing about using a Google Calendar is you can access it online anywhere and you can set up email alerts to remind you of each thing you need to do and when. I’ve also got an app for it on my phone which means I get the alerts directly on my mobile as well as in my inbox. Great for when I’m out and about! I have mine set up to remind me 48 hours before I have to do something.

I also have a physical diary which sits in front of me… on my desk… all the time (see?). It’s a week-to-view diary and in it I note what blog posts I’m planning to publish and at what time of day. I then tick off when they’re scheduled which is super duper satisfyingly - always! In a different coloured pen I also note down anywhere I need to be that week so I don’t loose track.

Similarly keeping on top of your email (or anything that piles up quickly and needs constant attention) is VITAL. Set a certain time aside every day and just do it. No excuses! Sure, it’s not the most enjoyable part of running a business, but it’s an important one. Not only is it paramount to communicate with your clients/collegues for your sanity as well as theirs, but you don’t want to be known as someone who never replies to their emails do you?! I’m an over communicator – but I figure I’d rather be known for that than the other option! If you’d like to read more about how I keep on top of my inbox you can do so here.

Catherine McNeil in LaCrasia Buttoned Leather Opera Gloves

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Someone once said “Your dream job does not exist, you must create it” and never is this more prevalant than in the blogging game. There are few rules, there are limited guides and the most sucessful players are those that forge their own paths and do something unique. So how then, can you know where to turn when you start to feel sluggish? When the dreaded plateau hits? Or when you feel fresh out of ideas?

I read an interesting article by Penelope Trunk, entitled, “Reality check: You’re not going to make money from your blog” last week. In it she said, “Almost everyone should forget about making money directly from blogging. It’s so unlikely that it’s a total waste of your time trying. I am actually shocked at how ubiquitous the idea is that blogging is a get-rich-quick scheme. Or even a get-rich-slowly scheme. It’s not. Blogging is a great career tool for creating opportunities for yourself.”

Whist on many points I wholeheartedly agree (a very small percentage of bloggers will be able to reach that holy grail of earning enough to quit the day job and the fact that people still think it’s ‘easy’ or a ‘get rich quick’ scheme baffles me). But I also want to give you some hope… Or maybe the kick up the backside you need if you’re sat there wondering “why isn’t it ever me?”

Blogging is hard work. The internet is littered with disregarded and abandoned blogs. Blogs that have been dropped as soon as the expected rewards didn’t come flooding in after 6 months. Let me give it to you straight. Blogging is not easy and making money from blogging is even more difficult. I work harder and longer than I ever have but it’s wonderful. I have the best job in the world and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. You have to have passion in this game. Without it you’ll give up in no time at all.

But I know for many of you, you see no end in sight. You wonder how you can possibly elevate your blogging from a hobby blog to one that actually makes you money or gives you the notoriety that you crave. So today I thought I’d give you some tough love, and share with you some of the most important lessons I’ve learnt along the way.

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Work friends are a strange concept. You’re thrown together 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and expected to not only get on but to combine your differences to work together. And then you’re expected to want to hang out in your own time, go to office parties… oh and add each other on facebook too. If not you’re bring rude right?

I guess that’s why, no matter how much we say it won’t happen, when you leave a place of work you rarely end up keeping much contact with these people. There are exceptions of course, but as harsh as it sounds, when the inevitable does happen it usually becomes pretty obvious that the friendships were never really that genuine in the first place.

As weird as it is in employment, I’ve found that the issue can be even more complex when you run your own business. In a highly competitive market like the wedding industry, it can be all to easy to accidently fall into the frienemy trap. You chat to these people on twitter, you congratulate each other on achievements, you maybe even recommend them to clients or socialise at industry events… but let’s be honest with ourselves, some of these people you probably can’t stand.

Frenemies are a dangerous thing. Surrounding yourself with people that don’t really like you (or who you don’t really like) is not a healthy way to live or work. Someone usually ends up getting hurt when they find out the friendship they thought was genuine really wasn’t (which usually only happens when one person is being fake), or you eventually end up having an almightly public bust up (when you both can’t really stand each other). To me, there is nothing worse than fakery (except when it comes to hair colour!) If someone doesn’t like me I’d rather know now that find out later. There is nothing more hurtful than finding out someone you thought you were close to has been bitching about you behind your back. To me, that’s a hundred times worse than just avoiding the person all together.

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