Author: Kat Candyfloss

Ad – This is a collaborative post.

Working online as a blogger and trying to build an online presence often requires a lot of planning. The truth is writing blog posts and taking pictures is a very small part of my time spent working, even though it’s the creative part. There’s lots of admin and planning behind the scenes that I’ve sometimes talked about on the blog before. Creating a content calendar to help schedule social media posts can be really beneficial and there are plenty of ways to do this to help you plan content weekly, monthly and yearly. There are lots of ways you can use social media marketing to showcase your business, blog and creative projects and I’m going to talk about what I find helpful below.

Firstly, I like to use a social media management tool that is visual and give me an option to try before I buy with a free trial. This is so I can find out if I enjoy using the software and how quick and easy it is. It’s great if it includes a scheduler so that I can control what content is going out on what platform. This then allows me to spend a bit of time writing and scheduling social media posts so that my pages are showing content regularly. I currently manage quite a few social media accounts so something that allows me to access all of those accounts is really helpful.

I’ve talked previously about how I plan my Instagram content to give a bit of insight into the behind the scenes work that goes on. I try to take photos in bulk for the month ahead. This allows me to take a good selection of photos so I always know what to post and when. I find it really beneficial using a content calendar because I can see what I’m posting on what day and how they look next to each other.

Social media content calendars can be simple, complex or you can use software to get the job done. I have used a variety of different tools in the past and here are some of my tips to help you create a social media content calendar that works for you.

1. Make a note of awareness days/months so that you can repost or share content relevant
2. Block out time each week or month to focus on setting up your social media shedulers with relevant content
3. If you use a certain hashtag for example #mindfulmonday using a content calendar and scheduler can help make sure this is consistent and goes out each week
4. Having tools to schedule and calendar in can take the admin pressure of and you can spend more time doing what you love in your work
5. Using a content calendar helps me know when to update older posts so that I spend less time looking for posts to edit

I hope you’ve found some of these tips helpful. How do you manage your social media and online presence?

For anyone that doesn’t want to read the full post, the quick answer is no.

Before I get into this I am going to acknowledge that I do have a level of priviledge when considering this decision.
I work at home already, my daughter is in year 4 and not really a ‘priority’ year group, I don’t really mind crisis schooling her.
Not only that but I don’t agree with a lot of the national curriculum and don’t feel that kind of learning is a priority right now.

I am not judging anyone for making this decision, nor those whose children have remained in schools due to their position as a keyworker. I have seen a lot of frustration from these parents who say that school’s never closed for them and their children have continued going to school over the last couple of months. Whatever your decision, I am sure it is not one that has come easy to you, I’m sure it’s brought you worry and I’m sure it’s the best for your family and personal, individual circumstances. Who am I to say how you should parent your child in a global pandemic? This piece is my own experience, my own feelings and in line with what I feel is beneficial to my daughter.

My daughter is in year four so there isn’t a call for her to go back to school on June 1st. Her school is a two form entry junior at full capacity and I believe is planning to extend opening for year six pupils next month. I don’t know their exact plan yet but it is my understanding that the government plan to extend this to all year groups by mid june to allow for all pupils to get some time with their teachers. Its unlikely this will be full time schooling and with Evie being an older child I’m sure she will be able to understand the rules better than younger children, however, I worry about her ever growing anxiety and mental health with another big change.

Through all of this, I think the governement have done a shoddy job to be honest but that’s beside the point for this particular post. I keep hearing how great a job Denmark are doing but actually we have been on a completely different trajectory to Denmark in terms of those that have very sadly died of covid19. If anything we should be mimicking Spain and Italy in their lifting of restrictions. Even in France, where schools opened last week, did they see a spike in cases which have now had to close again. Personally, I just don’t see the point to send her back if everything will be different and schools risk closing back up again.

I know we all want a bit of normality but the reality is my daughter will be going back into a class that is not her teacher, without her friends. I’m also taking her feelings into consideration, she doesn’t want to go to school. She feels happier at home right now. I’m not bothered about her having to catch up in school and will help as much as I can when she does go back and education is somewhat back to normal. I don’t care how she does in a test that is only for the benefit of the government. Don’t get me wrong, I care about what my daughter is learning but as someone that sees so many major flaws in the national cirriculum outside a pandemic it just isn’t important to me. It’s important to me that my daughter learns to protect her mental wellbeing, it’s important that my daughter takes the chance to play as much as she can right now, it’s important to me that my daughter learns other skills and tries new things. It’s not important to me how many words she can spell, or if she can do long division when she’ll be able to use a calculator in any job.

For now, we will continue to crisis school until September when I hope a clearer plan for children and schools is available. I expect social distancing will still be in place but I hope everyone feels a bit calmer with the idea of a ‘new normal’. Honestly, it’d like to see a few other things go back to normal first to be honest rather than rushing school starts but I guess we will have to wait and see what happens next. One thing I’ve really struggled with is the government kind of keeping people in the dark and not coming up with a plan in the first place so people might take this a bit more seriously.

Whatever your choice, I hope you’re staying as safe and well as you possibly can right now.

This is a collaborative post

When you have kids, particularly younger children, it can be really hard to find time together. This can lead to all sorts of issues with communication and each partner not feeling appreciated enough. Starting with some online therapy with somewhere like ReGain can really help you to intially start having these discussions and putting time together to celebrate your relationship which is the foundation of your family life.

As parents, we struggle to find the time for each other and sometimes feel like passing ships. Setting aside some time together might not feel spontaneous and exciting but it’s very hard to be those things when you’re main responsibilities are your children. If you can schedule in some time weekly or monthly to dedicate to each other and your relationship then ultimately you will feel more respect and appreciation from your partner. We get so caught up with doing everything to provide safety and security that the romance can be left behind.

Having a nice meal together once a week when the kids are in bed. Having a weekly date night in the home doesn’t have to be fancy or include dressing up (although go for it if it makes you feel good!) but just having a bottle of wine and a conversation about what’s going on in the week with your favourite film just helps to connect you to what’s going on in the other person’s schedule.

If you’re able to rely on family or friends for babysitters then take the time to have a date night. Go for a drive together or, when you are able to, have a meal. Grab your favourite takeaway and watch a film together. Having some real couple time knowing the kids are safe and looked after can get you to relax and have a bit of fun together. Before we had Felix we used to take advantage of Evie being at her dads a lot. This included a week in Norway, weekends in London, hotel stays for birthday celebrations and monthly cinema visits. It’s harder now with everything going on and having Felix because he’s still so small but we do try and make a bit of time together when we can.

Try and make an effort for anniversaries and birthdays. These are days to really celebrate the person you are with and the amount of time you’ve spent together. Plan something nice, again a favourite meal, book the time off work. Last year Adam and I went to a comedy show and it was just the best night. It was the first time we’d actually been in the car just the two of us and we had a great night.

Ultimately, it all comes back to communication and you need to be able to talk about anything that’s bothering you. Online therapy can really help connect the dots and highlight any issues you might be having, talking through how you might feel more loved and appreciated and strengthening that foundation of your family.

this is a collaborative post

Adam and I have been together for almost eight years. That’s a long time to spend with one person. We started the relationship as a blended family and have strengthened that by having a child of our own. I’ve had the question when are you going to get married crop up more times than I can count and sometimes we’ve said oh year maybe next year or something. We’ve talked about getting married but honestly, it’s just not a priority for us. We are both from divorced parents and that has shown us that, really, marriage doesn’t mean anything because it can just be ended anyway. We just don’t see marriage as a big romantic gesture that some people do.

For some people getting married is like a goal and something that so many rush into which is why pre-engagement counselling can be really beneficial. If you’re going to commit to spending your life with one other person and building a life with them, then having an open and upfront conversation about your expectations could really help. You can read more here if you think pre-engagement couple’s therapy might be right for you and your partner.

I’ve always viewed a wedding as for everyone else’s benefit rather than the couples with people spending thousands of pounds on 12 hours. It’s just a bit insane to me and something I can’t comprehend. Each to their own of course but it’s a value both Adam and I share. We both just see marriage as a contract between two people to make each other their next of kin and provide a bit of security if one of us was to die. If we were to get married I wouldn’t be planning a wedding with other people’s enjoyment in mind and I’d begrude paying for it to be honest.

When it comes to marriage I think, because we’ve been together for such a long time and already have a family unit it would just be to solidfy that connection. I don’t expect anything to change. I won’t be changing my name, for example, as I don’t expect Adam to change his. I already have a different surname to both my children, so that isn’t really an issue, and I can define myself as Ms rather than Mrs. With no plans for a big wedding and no real significant changes it kind of takes the pressure of really. We have no need for marriage right now and if we do in the future then it will be more about celebrating our family than putting on a show.

I think Adam and I have been clear about this together from pretty early on to be honest and those kind of discussions have really helped us. I think it’s important to have these kind of conversations so you know where you stand with your significant other and it allows you to compromise about any expectations.