Working from Home: A Freelancer's Guide

Hey Owlets,

For the last two years I've been lucky to call The Owlet my job - as long as I have a camera, laptop and internet connection I can work anywhere in the world. At times it has it's drawbacks, but as the rest of the world has suddenly been thrown a taste of freelance life (all be-it without the sending shouty emails about not being paid & wondering how you'll pay for the weekly shopping!), we suddenly have the upper hand because we're so used to having to work from home. However, I know there are a lot of people struggling and I'm getting daily messages from you asking for advice, so I thought it would be good to share a few tips about how I work from home so it can hopefully help you too.

Lockdown from the Perspective of a Travel Blogger

Hey Owlets,

At the beginning of 2020 I sat down to start planning out my year. It's something I've tentatively done before, but this year was going to be the big exciting one. I've been fortunate that in the last year my blog has really taken off and I've started being invited to some incredible trips which meant I actually needed to plan what I was doing, where I was going and when. 2020 was going to be an incredible year for me - I had some amazing collaborations lined up and it was looking like, after my first international press trip last July, I was going to be going on a few more this year to places I'd not have chance to visit so I was going to be able to bring you some really unique content. Then Coronavirus happened.

In the blogging world people have switched from reviews and destination guides to articles on what to do at home and tips to help your mental health, which is great, but for someone who's completely and utterly travel obsessed, it's hard to write something that you don't get excited to talk about. The one massive taboo that seems to have been introduced, however, is that travel bloggers should absolutely under no circumstances talk about how the lockdown has affected them and their job, so guess what I'm doing?

My Work from Home Morning Routine

*This post is in collaboration with Bathrooms Direct Yorkshire, retailers of Waters Baths*

Hey Owlets,

While working from home is pretty normal for me, a lot of you have said how going from working in an office to working from home is a real struggle. Even though I'm freelance, I'm used to working in cafes or while I'm travelling, so even I'm struggling a little. If you've read my tips for working from home article already you'll know that one of the most important things that helps me is getting ready for work each morning; even though I'm not going anywhere getting ready for the day physically makes me feel ready to be productive. As I know we're all struggling at the moment I wanted to share my morning routine on a work from home day, to hopefully help you and give you a little inspiration and advice.

Virtual Cruise Experiences you Need to Try

Hey Owlets,

I know we're all getting fed up of being on lockdown, and everyday I'm getting a tweet from one of you saying that you should've been on a cruise today or you've had to cancel your holiday. While I can give you all the tips on working from home and looking after yourself during lockdown, I think we could all do with a bit of a break - enter virtual cruises. I've seen some amazing options - and some not so great ones - so here's a run down of my favourites.

How to Care for your Hair in Lockdown

Hey Owlets,

It doesn't matter what photo I post, someone will always comment on my hair. I can't lie, I do use it as a bit of a safety blanket, and if my hair looks good then I feel good. However, now we're in lockdown my hair is getting greasy twice as fast (is anyone else finding this?) and my roots have grown out so much it looks like I'm back to my old ombre hairstyle, so I thought now might be a good time to discuss how to look after your hair while we're in quarantine.

*this post contains sponsored content*

Easy Ways to Save Money for Travelling

Hey Owlets,

One of the first questions I'm always asked when I mention I'm a travel blogger is how I manage to afford to travel so much. Obviously part of my job is visiting different destinations and being paid to share them with you, but I also like to take holidays with my family which requires a lot of willpower and a few sacrifices in order to save as much money as possible.

*This post contains paid advertising*

Why You Need to Travel Solo (at least once)

Travelling is one of the best opportunities you can hope to experience in life, and it truly does have the power to change your life. You may have been lucky enough to grow up travelling to different countries or to book holidays with your friends when you got a little older, but neither of those experiences can compare to what you feel when you travel on your own.

Travelling solo is one of those terrifying prospects that you’ve been put off of doing, probably by your parents who are terrified something bad might happen when you don’t have anyone to back you up (or is that just my Mum?). Yes the thought of it is terrifying, but the reality is that it’s one of the most incredible feelings you could ever experience and will teach you more than travelling with friends or family ever could. I’m assuming I’ll probably need to convince you, so here’s why you should travel solo at least once.

Graduation Invitations with Basic Invite

*contains paid for advertising*

There are always times in your life that you want to go all out and celebrate, and even though there’s a tendency to want to do everything yourself, sometimes you do need a little help to make things in real life match the image in your head, like with college graduation invitations. When you've worked hard for so long, graduation can easily feel as stressful as the exams you took, with the need for everything to look perfect.