10 things to do this February
Being a freelancer or running your own business is a tough job at the best of times, but even more so during a national lockdown in the midst of a global pandemic that isn’t yet showing a clear end date! Planning anything seems like an impossibility and having things to look forward to is becoming something that feels like a vague memory of yesteryear.
So, in a bid to help find a solution for that, we’ve compiled a guide to all the best things to do this month. From business-centric bits and bobs to just a bit of fun - we’ve picked out things that we hope will help bring a bit of light to your days…cos let’s face it, we all need to inject a dose of fun into our lives right now!
1. Subscribe to Geekout!
We know, we know! Your inbox is already overflowing, but trust us, this is the one newsletter you don’t want to miss! It’s the ultimate weekly roundup of all social media industry news, platform updates, new tools & features, tips, tricks & insights, and everything else you need to know, written by Social Media Consultant and Industry Commentator Matt Navara. Jess has followed Matt for ages on Twitter and his newsletters are a sweet compilation of all the things he shares regularly on there.
Don't waste hours trying to keep up to date with everything yourself! Subscribe to Geekout and have it delivered straight to your inbox. You won’t regret it!
2. Work from a virtual coffee shop
If like us you miss being able to grab your laptop and go and work in a coffee shop, you’ll love the Cafe Restaurant noise generator by myNoise. It brings the background noise of a coffee shop to your home office, helping you increase productivity and creativity, with the added bonus of no social distractions.
If you need to shut out the noise at home (hello home-schooling), just pop on your headphones and adjust the volume of myNoise high enough to mask it.
3. Read Sabotage by Emma Gannon
With moods understandably low it’s easier than ever to let negative thoughts and procrastination get in our way. Hello, self-sabotage! Sabotage by Emma Gannon explores the tendency we all have at times to sabotage our own happiness and success and talks about how we can stop self-sabotage from getting in our own way. This is one of the most useful self-help books we’ve ever read!
4. Listen to The Daily Pep! with Meg Kissack
We love this podcast! Each weekday episode is short and snappy, designed to easily fit into your routine, and is full of clever insights and reminders that you’re on the right track. We binged 20+ episodes in one day and now we’re hooked! If you need a little encouragement right now (who doesn’t), then do yourself a favour and have a listen. We’d recommend subscribing to Meg’s weekly roundup of The Daily Pep! episodes, which are delivered straight to your inbox every weekend.
5. Nail your Twitter strategy
Each year, Twitter publishes a super-useful planning guide to help you plan winning marketing campaigns which align with your business objectives. If you haven’t already downloaded your free copy do it today and make 2021 your best year yet on Twitter by planning, tracking, and reflecting.
6. Enjoy a little escapism
Like many people, we’re REALLY missing travel having been unable to make any plans for what feels like forever! Both Jess and Laura are keen foodies and love to find the best eateries when they travel. In fact, they have been known to plan entire trips around food destinations. Needless to say, we’re spending a lot of our time watching food travel documentaries on Netflix. The latest love is the Street Food series! If you’re a foodie lover and miss travel as much as we do, be sure to search for Food & Travel TV for some much-needed escapism. You won’t be disappointed!
If you’re not a Netflix subscriber there are some great free documentary sites to watch too, such as Documentary Tube and Documentary Heaven.
7. Take in some art
For the art lovers among you, why not drop into Tate Britain for a virtual tour of your favourite pieces from the comfort of your own home. Or how about travelling further afield for a virtual tour of the exhibits at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence?
Google Arts & Culture has virtual tours of 500 top attractions around the world, including national galleries, art museums, and even the Eiffel Tower. Their mission is to make the world’s art and culture accessible to anyone, anywhere.
8. Take time out to reflect
What do you miss most about your life pre-lockdown? What would you most love to do when we get back to normality? What would you like to do less of? Perhaps you want to grow your business and make more money without working more hours!? Write it down and create a book of goals and dreams of how you want your life to look. Then plan how you’re going to make that change...
9. Slow down
Try to slow down and enjoy a calmer pace of living. Create a quiet space in your home for when it all gets too much – your own little haven of tranquillity. Just sit, breath, listen to music, light candles and think happy thoughts. You can then get on with the rest of the day feeling more refreshed and ready to tackle the next task.
10. Search for ‘Friends Ross’
And lastly, if you take just one thing from this list, Google ‘Friends Ross’ on your desktop and click the sofa icon multiple times...sound on. You’re welcome.
If you have any other suggestions for freelancers, business owners and self-employed folk send them our way, we’d love to hear from you!
