I recently sat down to an episode of the Ear Biscuits Podcast by the well-known Youtubers, Rhett and Link. If you don't already know, Rhett and Link are two family guys who produce daily videos on their Good Mythical Morning channel - I totally recommend that you watch some of their videos, they certainly never fail to make me laugh. It was one of their recent podcast recordings, though, that caught my mind.

The podcast was titled 'How do we deal with Youtuber 'Burnout''. Throughout the entire 1hr episode, the guys discussed the idea of 'Content Creator Burnout' and how, not only is it becoming more and more visible across YouTube, but that it was happening to themselves. They discussed 'burnout' as an issue which sees YouTubers under so much pressure (from both their audiences and themselves) to the limit where they're at breaking point. It's been seen where some YouTubers have taken a break from uploading content or, in severe cases, completely quit the job. And, of course, to quit or give up something that you first started for enjoyment and passion is sad.
The particular message that I got from this podcast was the moment when Rhett said: "You have to choose. You have to choose between complete creative control or mental health". This statement, for me, spoke a thousand words.

Obviously, you've probably already worked out that all of my thoughts were adapted to fit the context of my own content as a blogger, rather than a Youtuber. Either way, they're both platforms and types of content that bring along that inevitable fear of 'burn out'. The work that goes behind a blog post is a lot more than what's often seen on the other side. And, while I've been told before 'are you not just taking it too seriously?', I often think 'Well why would I have this blog, why would I work so hard, and why would I stick with it, if I just didn't care about it?'.

But that begs another question: is taking a step back showing that you don't care? Of course not.

As the guys mentioned in their podcast, it's coming to the point now, in the age of growing mental health awareness, that taking time to look after yourself and, in this case, avoid 'burnout' is acceptable. In fact, I wish I could say it's not 'acceptable', it's just 'expected'.


I started University at the start of this month and, boy can my stats tell me so. I had 3 posts up at the start of the month then even I started wondering where I went after that. In that time, I also started a new job as a Digital Content Creator within my Uni which meant that a lot of my creativity is being used within that role. At the end of the day, after working on content creation, understanding Uni work and battling through general day-to-day anxiousness, I am burnt out. I want my blog to stay where it is, I want it to succeed and I'd love to have content up there to show for myself but what happens when this burnout just means I can't. If I'm at home, I'm probably asleep - tired from the day's work. And I'm scared. Because what happens when Exam season comes around and I have even more to think about but that niggling thought of having a 'neglected blog' just sits in my mind?

Listening to Rhett and Link in that podcast has inspired me to make a new move with my blog. It's something that I haven't seen done before and something that, for now, I'm just going to experiment with to see how it goes.

I'm going to set my blog into 'Seasons'.

Just how your favourite TV show does so, I'm going to allocate certain parts of the year in which I'll upload blog posts and they'll be called 'Seasons' (for example, I'm currently in Season 1). I've been doing some planning recently and decided that, from now on, I will upload content to my blog between October-December and between March-June. There'll also be a week in August and perhaps some bits and bobs in between if I find myself with time and inspiration but for now, I've decided that the best way for me to look after myself and avoid any kind of downfall with my blog, this is something worth giving a go.

While I'll only upload content to my blog within these time, it does give me a better chance to focus on other parts of my 'brand' in the meantime. Not only should taking breaks build better content on my blog, but I should potentially be able to focus on new kinds of content for my Instagram. On the other hand, there could be some changes on my Twitter too. I'm going to tone my tweet scheduling right down. Over the summer, I was at the point where around 30 promotional tweets were going up per week but now I'm going to listen to my mind, body, and schedule and take that down to around 7 tweets a week. At first, this change might start off a bit slow, but I'm really excited and confident that it's going to work out in the long run.

There may be more changes along the way but right now I'm accepting the idea that planning my blog into 'seasons' isn't giving up or 'not caring', it's simply working out a way that's best for me in order to make the best blog I possibly can.

Shout-Up is an initiative led by Newcastle Council and Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN). They work with venues across the city to train staff, raise public awareness and stamp out sexual violence and harassment. The campaign aims to deliver a safer place for women and men, just like you and I, to enjoy themselves across the city.

The campaign focuses on bystander intervention by making the venues and patrons collectively responsible for the safety of men and women by recognising the sexually aggressive behaviour.



Which venues are taking part next?
If you know Newcastle, you'll be delighted to hear that some of the most popular venues have already taken part in the group's 'Phase Two'. Venues in Ouseburn, Jesmond, and The Diamond Strip have already been part of the previous Shout-Up movement. The venues on The Diamond Strip include: Tup Tup Palace, Perdu, Flares, Retro, Florita’s, Madame Koo, House of Smith. 

Next up, venues in the City Centre are taking part and Shout-Up is going to be focusing on the 'student experience' and set for keeping students, specifically Freshers, safe. The new venues of Phase Four include: Newcastle University Student Union, Northumbria University Student Union, Tiger Tiger, O2 Academy, Powerhouse, City Vaults, Bier Kellar, Digital.

What makes Shout-Up different?

Unlike other campaigns such as Ask for Angela, which, although are still a step in the right direction, inadvertently place the responsibility on the victims to remove themselves from the situation, Shout-Up trains venue staff to spot the signs of sexual assault and ensure that the perpetrator is removed from the venue. So, while I said "Of course, I don't have to go out at night", this fear of risk certainly shouldn't be stopping me. Knowing that there's going to be people around me that will be trained for the worst situations makes me feel like I'd be less of a responsible victim. This campaign changes the whole dynamic of sexual harassment, for me.

So what can you do?
To ensure that this amazing campaign is fulfilled to its full capacity, it would be amazing for you all to show your support. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter, spread the word amongst your friends, and make sure you visit Shout-Up Ambassador Venues.

Since starting University, you can probably imagine, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’m required to be clued up, not only on academic texts, but how the world around me is adapting and changing in regards to my subject. Of course, it came to no surprise that, as an English student, I’d have to become a pro when it comes to reading. Luckily for me, I found the most perfect app that I can use, not only to archive my favourite reading material but one that will suggest reading material for me and thus widen my topical knowledge - it’s a Uni Students dream! The app that I’m describing is Pocket. I’m sure a handful of you have already got the app happily sitting there on your phone or your desktop but, for those of you missing out, here’s why you should be downloading the best app for making you a better reader.

Firstly, I'll let you know exactly what I use this app for. As an English Language Student, a lot of my research is based on topical evidence - studies must always take into mind how the world around me is moving and shaping and how exactly that impacts language use. Compared to a typical maths student, this means English Language students have to look up from their textbooks a lot more often. For me, I really didn't want to go subscribing to Newspapers or Magazines in the mere hope that something English Language would pop up every blue moon. Nor did I want to sit and scour the endless swirls of the internet archives for the rest of my life. Pocket came into play right here and it was stepping up to Premium that made the app exactly what I needed. 

But wait, let me just tell you how this works first. The app can be added as a button on your phone or laptop. This means that, when you're scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, or your favourite online news source, you can simply share the link to Pocket where it will be stored for you to read at a later date and even when you're offline. The basic level of Pocket means that you can download these articles/texts from over 800 apps, so you're almost definitely guaranteed that your favourite news source will be there.
One of my favourite features with Pocket is the automatic device syncing system. I have the application installed on my iPhone and my MacBook but that certainly doesn't mean that I have a mixture of articles jotted around the place - my saved downloads sync easily between devices which means that, wherever I am, whether it's at home, in the library, or even in the bath, I can have a read through one of my chosen texts.


As you build up an archive of content that you want to read or is relevant to your studies, you can then tag these items into more niche fields. For example, I've saved a bunch of texts into My List but, to save myself searching through them all when there's one in particular that I want to read, I can either search for its title or with Premium, search for it by Tags. I have one particular Tag called 'Accents' where I store all of my saved articles that are discussing accents.
Another related feature that Premium brings along here is suggesting tags. I have one article downloaded that is titled 'Why are there so many Posh British Accents in Star Wars'. While I choose to tag this one as 'Accents', Pocket Premium will present suggested tags such as 'Movies', 'Film' and 'Star Wars'. This feature makes tagging your items so much quicker and, overall, categorising them in this way, makes the world of articles so much neater and right in your hand.
Not only does premium allow me to search using Tags, but I can also search by Topic, Author, and even text pieces. Finding what you're looking for was never easier - I would never be able to go back to digging through the internet after this. With a tighter schedule, this certainly saves Students a bunch of time.

Of course, it doesn't stop there; while both basic and Pocket Premium provide brilliant customer support (which I think is one of the keys to a good brand), whether you need a simple question answering or help with your account, I found them really efficient and professional. But, Pocket Premium is completely the gift that keeps giving - uninterrupted ad-free experiences as well as a permanent archive. This means that, if the authors remove or change the text, you will have it saved away in your safe and soft blanket of Pocket. As a student, I never know when I'm going to need to refer back to these texts and I can imagine that there'd be nothing more devastating than being half-way through an essay only to find that one of your sources has disappeared from your sight.

So how does this make you a better reader?

This Publishers Weekly Article discusses the key things that make you a better reader. But what do we mean when we say 'a better reader'? How can we all improve on something so ritualistic and natural? The article explains perfectly that "reading takes time" and, I'm sure you'll all agree that, in the 21st Century, we're all living and breathing the desire to make things easier, quicker and more efficient, thus becoming a 'better reader' is becoming more and more necessary.

The points in the article that I found the most useful included: the idea that it's important to put down a book if you aren't enjoying it. What is the point of reading the material if it's not benefiting you or opening your mind to inspiration and thoughts? This resonates with the use of Pocket to me - if you choose an article to read in Pocket and don't like it halfway through, there's no buyer's remorse; you didn't fork out your wages to buy that one piece of text so removing it from your list is fine-and-dandy, just add in another text of your choice, and another, and another.

Similarly, it's essential to skim. If you hadn't already realised, not every piece of information is important within a text. With the majority of Pocket content being news articles and other digital content, there's often a lot of information to take in at once. It's great to teach yourself the skill of picking out the most vital information. Using Pocket as your source of information from across the internet means you can learn this skill anywhere from sitting on the Tube or your sofa.

As much as we all dream of living in a home where the walls are faced like that of a Lois Lowry Library, it sure would take up a bunch of space. The Gretchen Rubin article states that 2 of the crucial ways to be better at reading are having 'plenty of material on hand' and 'keep it handy'. You can see where I'm going here, right? Using Pocket completes those two things with a big-fat TICK but, instead of needing to install bookshelves all around you, the texts that you want will always be saved into the small, wondrous world of your device, subject to your use whenever you wish.

What Naomi Wrote - The Second Time
Such an honest and somewhat heartbreaking post. This post is an insight into Naomi's experience of her 2nd bought of anxiety and depression - she writes like a true novelist and opens it with a few sentences that have really hung around in my mind: