I have actually been super excited to write the September edition for a couple of weeks now.
As you may have gathered from my August edition, I’ve been more than a little bit stressed recently. However, September (Whilst still incredibly busy) was a fresh start for me. I turned 22, the ‘summer holidays’ are over and it was time for me to get serious about this gap year, and start accomplishing the things I set out to accomplish in this time. So without further ado, here’s how September has been mentally, physically, blog-wise and time-wise…
Mentally: it's been positive
It’s been a super slow process, but I can slowly feel myself becoming more secure in who I am as a person, and it’s really rewarding to see. Obviously I still have doubts and days where I feel gross and like nobody likes me. If I’m being honest, I don’t know if that’s ever going to change.
However, I’m a strong believer that whilst you can’t control what happens to you, you can control how you react to it. I’ve become a lot better at taking all the negative thoughts that I’m having and spinning them into something positive. And, if I can’t spin them into something positive, I’m getting really good at discarding them completely. It’s getting so much easier to keep things positive and not disappear into a black hole in my mind. And honestly, I love that for me.
Physically: things are settling
Though I exercise and eat healthily when I can, I’ve been taking it really easy over the summer. It’s not really been by choice… I’ve just been super busy and constantly out. However, now that things are settling, I’m able to work on cooking and planning my meals again and going to the gym for more than a quick 20 min session. I’m finally getting my life back and that feels pretty great.
Blog-wise: things are pretty great?
It’s no secret that I’ve felt a bit weird about my blog for a while. First I was stuck in a rut for ages, and then I cut down on my weekly posts because it was all getting a bit too samey. Now that I’m a month into this new schedule, I can happily say that it’s the best thing I could have done for my blog. I feel a lot freer, I’m filled with ideas, and from a business perspective it helps me provide a quicker turnaround for sponsored posts.
Though I don’t want to do this full-time, this is the first month possibly ever that I’ve taken my blog “seriously” from a business perspective. I’ve considered what I’m doing, and my “brand” and actually started pitching companies that I want to work with. Though I was convinced nobody would reply and it would all just be a bit of practice, I’ve had amazing luck so far and have some pretty incredible things coming up. (Seriously, there is one thing that still doesn’t feel real and makes me want to scream with joy.)
I also sat down this month and updated my “income and outgoings” spreadsheet for everything to do with my blog. It is amazing to see that, even with what I lose in outgoings with my blog, I am making 600% of that in income. You never know whether investing in something will be worth it, but the profit margin I have on my blog is better than I thought it would be, and that’s so rewarding to see. Though it’s still not a salary or anything (I doubt it ever will be), it’s great to see a steady amount come in each month since June. Hopefully, I can maintain that and keep saving for my New York trip next year.
Time-wise: Things are slowing down... sort of.
This month has been a weird one in terms of time. I started it by jetting off to Sorrento to celebrate my 22nd birthday, then promised that I would make no real plans when I got back, so I would actually have time to do all of the things I said I’d do during this gap year. However, I quickly found myself out and about doing things almost every single day. Then I convinced myself that I needed to be doing at least 7 hours of blog and freelance work 5 days a week, and I work part-time the other two days a week, so before I knew it I was overworked.
However, I think the overspreading was the thing I needed to sort myself and my time out. Now, things are starting to calm down a little, I am able to reallocate my time. I’m still doing things too often, but they’re now the freelance things that I said I would get done this year. We’ve entered the “serious” part of my gap year, and so I’ve started to prioritise working through things, and putting social things second.
Money and things
As always, this is the part of the post where I breakdown my income for the month and have a little comment on it. After all, gap years don’t just fund themselves.
4 "Gifts"
Sudio Tolv Headphones
Haircut and colour from DKUK
T-Shirt from Bearded Dragon clothing
A super cool thing that I can’t quite talk about yet…
3 Ads
A sponsored blog post for Seareach
A sponsored blog post for beds.net
And a paid video for Student Hut to use on their own social media
This month was a surprise. Up until halfway through September, I was convinced that the ‘Blog Stuff’ section would stay at £0. However, after some pitching and actually putting myself out there, I managed to make quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. Overall, I have made roughly the same amount each month since I started this gap year, which, when you think about how inconsistent my blog income used to be, is pretty amazing. Hopefully I can continue it.
How’s your September been? Let me know in the comments!
Lots of love,
Jas xx
What a great feeling to see that your blog is actually doing more than sucking up all of your free time! I’m still enjoying mine but since I do a giveaway every month and with all of the yearly fees to have a website, it definitely in the negative…. big. Your post has really given me encouragement (and made me see that I need to be putting in a lot more time and effort to have it start paying its way). I’m so happy to hear that this year has you on the upward trend – both in your blog and in your life! And the self-confidence thing never totally goes away (and I’m 60). I always enjoy reading your posts – keep up the good work!
Ruth
https://voguefauxreal.com/2019/09/24
Thank you so much, that means a lot. I wish the best for you! xx
What a month it’s been for you! I’m really glad it’s such a positive round up. I definitely need to focus on health and fitness etc going forward. This month hasn’t been the best for that because I’ve been away 3 times, ill once, 2 huge birthday meals for me and my mum. So health hasn’t been at the top of my priorities, I gotta say! Looking forward to seeing all the exciting things you’ve got coming up! xxx
Thanks so much Jenny! Sounds like you’ve had such a busy month, there’s always time to get back on top of health, but honestly your month sounds far more fun than health stuff 😉 xx
It sounds like you had a positive month this September. Hope you had a lovely birthday!! I also decided to cut down the amount of blog posts I upload recently – I find I can put even more time & effort into them now & I like the end results more xx
Yeah, it makes such a difference and lets you put so much effort into them! xx
Congrats on another great month and good luck on your pitches to companies to feature their products in your blog!
Thank you so much! xx
I hate stressful months. Trust me, I understand. August was my month of stress and it’s hard to get out of that mentality. It looks like you and your blog are doing great though! While I don’t know the super secret thing you got, congrats and I’m sure it’ll be awesome!
Casey | https://mccourtskee.com
Thank you so much! xx
Wow! You’ve accomplished so much this month – I hope October is as good, if not better!
Jess xx
Thank you so much, I hope so too! xx
Love your little chart. I would feel so proud to go in a trip or buy something with money earned through my writing. All the best in making that happen for your trip; a steady little amount coming in is inspiring for growth.
Thank you so much! I hope it happens for you xx