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Life in lockdown- you don’t have to be productive right now

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You don’t have to be productive right now.

I haven’t been here a lot in the last weeks. Everything has been crazy and changed so quickly. I felt like my life changed completely and I believe Corona Virus affected all of us all over the world. Let’s face it. We have never been through something like that. None of us. Nobody really knows when it will end up and when our lives will get back to “normal”. It’s indeed a very stressful situation and we all need time to process everything in our heads and learn to live in a new reality for a while.

However what I found more stressful these days (even more than the virus itself) was the pressure to be productive and creative. Especially in the industry I am at. Normally I am creative and full of energy and positivity. At almost all times. I am always online, writing, creating, reading, researching, learning, shooting and editing. I am doing my best to inspire and educate people to live their best lives.

I am not going to lie – the new reality hit me and my business really hard. I had my next few months perfectly planned with projects, travels and my goals. I was meant to make so many of my dreams come true. Of course due to the current situation everything got cancelled or postponed. These last weeks I was feeling upset and lost. Every time I looked at Social Media was either another negative, overwhelming news or other people posting the videos being super productive, happy, creative, doing lots of fitness and practicing Tik Tok choreographies. Frankly, I felt like I live on a different planet. I blamed myself for not being able to do anything really. I struggled and I was proud of myself for actually getting out of bed these days. I was really down and really scared. I had difficulties sleeping and bad dreams. I was scared about the future, about my career, about finances. I started to feel like I am being negative. And then I came across this quote :

“Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know that there are better ones coming.”

I have decided to give myself a break. And get myself out of the sick and fake circle. I decided not to pretend I am ok to please others. I opened up and shared my feelings. I don’t have to be ok right now. I don’t have to be jumping and dancing right now. I don’t have to be positive 24/7. I am a human being and I have a right to struggle and be sad and it doesn’t mean I am a negative person.

Why am I writing it? Because maybe you out there, deep inside feel exactly the same. Maybe you also feel the society pressure now to be productive creative, to get that “dream body” RIGHT NOW. To work on that goal and find a dream job RIGHT NOW. I am here now to tell you – don’t. Do not let that pressure get to you. Life in a new reality is hard enough already. Do what feels right to you. Don’t force yourself when you don’t feel ready. Give yourself time to process and accept everything. Sleep as long as your body needs. Have that relaxing bath everyday. Read that book you’ve always wanted. Slow down. Look around you and deep inside you. Look yourself in the mirror and do what you and your body truly need right now. Look after your body and soul. Call your loved ones and support each other. You don’t have to be productive now. It’s ok not to be ok. And it’s ok to talk about it aloud instead of getting into that sick circle again. I truly believe it’s time to slow down now and look after our health- both physical and mental.

How’s my life during the quarantine?

I have been now self-isolating since 21 days. I went to the grocery shop twice during this time. I allow myself daily walks in the park- I can’t even describe how important nature is in my life. It keeps me going.

I have also slowly started to set up the new home routine. As you know as a full-time travel blogger it was always very hard for me to have a routine. Well now I do. I wake up when my body is ready. I do my morning skincare routine. I then head to the kitchen and drink hot water with lemon, ginger and honey ( adding turmeric from time to time). I open the window and let the fresh air in. I let myself be ready for the day. Then I make breakfast, clean the kitchen and start with my normal work- replying to the emails, messages and creating content for my Social Media Channels.

Last weeks were really slow and I didn’t work much also because I really needed a break. But I have actually started something new thanks to you! These days Salvo and I were cooking a lot (well he was, I am the upaid kitchen porter lol) and we received a lot of requests so we have started cooking and filming the recipes for you. It is giving me some energy these days. I now have my little mission and it’s keeping me busy and away from negative thoughts. If you’d like to follow our recipes feel free to follow me and Salvo on Instagram. We are going to create new recipes for you everyday. Salvo is in charge for cooking and I am looking after video and photography part. I actually really enjoy it. So far we have created recipes for homemade bread, pizza, famous pasta Cacio e pepe and Carbonara today per my best friend request. Here’s some photographs I took :

    Apart from that I haven’t done much really. I gave myself time to slow down, accept what’s happening and start working and creating when I am ready for it. I am spending these days sleeping, reading and eating. I also have baths now almost every day as I find it relaxing. And I drink wine and watch videos from my travels. That would be it!

    How are you? How you’ve been doing these days?

    Sending you lots of love and support!

    The Blonde Flamingo

    5 tips to improve your sleep

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    There’s no doubt sleep plays an essential role in our health and wellbeing. It is as important to our bodies as eating, drinking and breathing, and is vital for maintaining good mental and physical health.

    As I am travelling and blogging full-time since almost a year now, I’ve noticed how hard it is for me to get a good sleep, as there’s no such a thing like routine in my life. I sleep at different hotels, countries and time zones almost every week right now. I go to sleep at different hour. I change places all the time and it really takes my body the time to adjust. I also struggle with jet-lag quite often. That’s why I started to extremely look after my sleep and giving myself a little sleeping routine when I am actually at home, in London. As let’s be honest- what’s better than sleeping in own bed?

    Here’s 5 things that seriously helped me to improve my sleep :

    1.Ventilate the bedroom before going to sleep

    It’s such a little thing but made a huge difference in my sleeping routine. I now always get some fresh air into the bedroom before going to sleep. Sometimes I even leave my window opened. It helps the air circulate at night, leading to better quality sleep.

    2. Spray your pillows with a sleep spray

    About 6 months ago I was recommended the product that now I honestly can’t live without. The Sleep Spray with lavender, yarrow & chamomile essential oils from Bramley has honestly been life-changing. Using it became such a routine for me. I love feeling this smell. It’s so calming, soothing which allows both the body and mind to relax, creating the perfect atmosphere to drift off to sleep. My partner actually got addicted to it too! I spray it on our pillows and bed sheets right before going to sleep.

    3. Switch off electronic devices

    We all know the bright screens of phones, tablets, tvs, and any other electronics can mess up our sleep cycles. The blue light given off by electronic screens send a signal to your brain that it’s daytime, even when it’s not. This is affecting our sleep. Also, being on your phone right before going to sleep gives you an extra and unnecessary stress- there’ll always be another email or message to reply to, that let’s be honest- it’s not going to make our sleep any better. It’s really hard to stick not to use my mobile phone and laptop at all before going to bed, but I am trying stay completely off for at least half an hour before sleep, to give my mind some time to switch off, relax and get ready for sleep.

    4. Have a Chamomile tea before sleep

    Honestly, nothing relaxes me more then a mug of a warm chamomile tea before going to bed. Even the smell of it it’s just so calming. It’s my little relaxing ritual before going to sleep. According to the studies chamomile was found to reduce stress, decrease anxiety and initiate sleep.

    5. Invest in a good mattress

    Last one but the most important point- a good mattress. When I first moved to London, I’ve always had a cheap mattress and never really paid attention to that, until I started to get a little older, get neck and back pains. That’s why when we’ve moved to the new apartment back in September, we’ve upgraded our mattress to the Simba Hybrid Mattress. I must say it’s been life-changing, for both myself and my partner. We’ve never ever slept so well! My partner has struggled a lot with back pains and he doesn’t complain about it anymore. Also what we really like is- the Simba Hybrid’s flexible zoned base and unique patented springs respond individually to each sleeper, so your movement doesn’t affect your partner. This is really important to us, as many times we go to bed and wake up at different times so we avoid disturbing each other. Another incredible thing is – when you buy a Simba mattress you get a 100 night trial. If it’s not a perfect match, you can return your mattress for any reason. If you decide to keep it there’s a 10 years guarantee. Also the delivery is free and it’s super quick- our one came within couple of days. If you’d like to try it yourself, I have a £75 off discount for you with this link.

    Hope these tips will help you to improve your sleep!

    Post in collaboration with Simba Sleep



    5 tips on how to deal with negativity on Social Media

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    We all hear about the negative impact of Social Media these days. I’ve met many people recently who told me how down they feel after scrolling on Instagram. But do we actually do something to STOP? I know from my own experience how easy it is to get addicted to this app. I still find it a place full of inspirations. It also helped me to connect with many like-minded people and this is something I am forever grateful for. However now after doing it full-time for a while, I see many negative aspects of this space too and I had moments that I was feeling super down and frustrated. Why? Well my own fault! I’ve been spending way too much time scrolling and scrolling thousands of perfectly edited photographs , watching all the stories, one unboxing after another, another wow-looking hotel, another insta-perfect couple etc I know it can get pretty overwhelming and make you feel worst when you already have one of these bad days or generally going through some tough time. All that affected me a lot in the past but I’ve started to learn to deal with all that and look after my mental health better. Here’s my top 5 tips :

    1. Unfollow negative people on Social Media

    We all follow somebody who is super negative but for some reason we’re still watching these dramatic stories everyday. I stopped that and unfollowed/ muted stories of people I don’t want to keep seeing as:

    a) they don’t bring any value into my life

    b) they have negative impact on my mental health

    c) I don’t need their drama in my life

    Follow more accounts that make you happy, make you laugh and giving you the positive vibes instead. It honestly helped me!

    2. Don’t compare yourself to others

    That’s the hardest part. When you’re having a bad day, you’re logging into your Instagram and keep seeing all the paradise locations, unboxing, events, vacations and all that. After some time you’re starting to think your life’s crap. Remember- what people post on Social Media are mainly the highlights of their lives. Many don’t show the REAL life, the struggles, don’t talk about problems so on the outside it all looks perfect and it makes you feel worst about yourself and your life. But scroll down your own feed- maybe to somebody else it’s actually your life that looks GOALS. You know what I mean? 🙂 Remember it’s only a bad day, not a bad life!

    3. Spent less time watching what others do and focus on yourself

    This is something that I have been practicing a lot recently and I swear it feels so good. Now I am spending way less time online watching people’s stories and I’ve started to invest this time into my development , working on my blog, Pinterest, my projects and dreams. I’ve been also going out with friends more often and devote this “extra” time people I love. I’ve been spending more time outdoors with nature which makes me happier and more relaxed.

    4. Ignore the trolls

    Recently I’ve seen many people posting stories literally crying from some negative, bullying comments left on their posts or DMs. Well, we’ve all been there. The truth is, the moment we decide to put ourselves and our lives online we should be aware of the consequences. I do understand the constructive criticism however if the messages or comments are simply mean, aggressive, vulgar and make no sense- I simply just ignore and delete them. No point wasting time and nerves for anonymous online bullies.

    5. Spread the positivity

    Remember that the positive starts with you! You cannot dictate what other people share on their profiles however you’re in charge on what you share on yours! Be the positivity, the energy, the place where people would enjoy coming back to. Post inspiring content, places and positive thoughts and encourage others to do the same! Together you could create a positive space and empower one another!

    How do you deal with the negativity on Social Media?

    The Blonde Flamingo

    Personal thoughts and Instagram tips

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    Slightly different posts than usual but here’s few thoughts about Instagram from a perspective of  now, a full-time blogger.

    1. Life is not always as colourful and amazing like on Instagram photos.  Waking up in the morning and first thing that you do is Instagram scrolling?  Some people would look at it as inspiration for next holidays, lovely way to wake up looking at all magical hotels, fashionable outfits, flower baths, perfectly set up breakfasts. The others seeing these things over and over again every morning before going to the office find it depressing. As it’s extremely hard not to crave the same life, I mean who wouldn’t like to ‘wake up like this”? We’re the people responsible for educating our audiences- what y0u see here is our job. Of course we love what we do, we get invited to the most incredible places and it all may seem so perfect. However let’s keep in mind- this is the job like any other. We get paid to create and inspire. Brands expect that through our content the sales will increase. That’s why what you sometimes see may seem “too much” or “non-realistic” but we need to make sure it catches the eye and “sells” really.  Our job is to make sure it will inspire, it will make people dream about going to this particular cafe, hotel or a destination. But it’s important to understand that our life is not always as glamorous as what you see on our feeds. We’re also humans cleaning the house, shopping groceries and having ups and downs. So don’t compare yourself thinking “they have perfect life” and your one’s crap. Believe me or not but there’s people in the industry who’ve got no money in their bank account, they are literally homeless but playing the perfect feed game while staying in free hotels, eating in free cafes and wearing clothes they were gifted – all in exchange for Instagram photo. You should be aware of that before starting all the negative thinking about your own life. Don’t feel bad about going to work, having your career, making a living and going on holidays from time to time. As this is real. That’s a real life and you should be grateful for it everyday.
    2. It’s not all about numbers. I see a lot of new bloggers who just started and they are already stressing about numbers, likes, algorithm doing all they can to kind of “speed it up”. What I would suggest is to find you niche, style and focus on the content and message more than just desperately looking for likes and follows, playing follow for follow game, buying followers and doing million shoutouts a day. Firstly you need to organically find people who would simply enjoy watching and reading what you do. Nobody said it’ll be easy, but I can promise it’s so worth it. Numbers will come after time and you’ll feel more proud knowing that what you created is real, the followers are real people who actually love what you do and love you and support you through the whole journey.
    3. Be yourself.  Be true to who you are. Don’t lie to your audience and don’t be afraid of your weaknesses- they are real people following you so they will understand and feel your ups and downs as they are facing the same battles. Open up with them and support one another. My audience helped me so much through this journey and I know I would have given up long time ago if I didn’t speak loudly about the struggles and didn’t get the support. Remember – they are real people. Let them share this journey with you and see your growth. Let your photos define you, your personality and your style. Take your audience to your dream places. Let them live this dream with you.
    4. Be proud of what you create. Sometimes we let likes decide if the content we created was good or not- I get that a lot too and slowly learning to accept that likes are nothing I can control, they come and go, each post is different. But as long as I put the same amount of time and effort, and my heart into it – that should make me proud no matter how it performed as I created it with love and passion.
    5. Get inspired but don’t copy. Remember “one thing about following people and copying what they do, you will always be one step behind”. So don’t. Find your own style and work on it. After some time you will laugh at it (omg I do all the time!) but this is when you see your progress. Put the real you out there and let the world the world love you and accept you as you are. It will make the whole journey easier than constantly chasing and pretending someone you’re not.
    6. Take a break sometimes. They all say- engage, engage, engage. It’s true- by liking and commenting others posts you will more likely get some extra attention on yours. However imagine we all would spent everyday and all the time liking and commenting others posts. We would probably forget that we actually have lives! So do it, but know the limit. By spending too much time online you’re having less time for your family, friends and real life experiences. So do it all but don’t get crazy . I like taking a morning/ afternoon or even the entire day completely off to recharge my batteries, look for inspiration outdoors, meet people rather than chat to them online all the time and give my eyes a well-needed break. Your Instagram won’t die if you do so!

    5 facts about The Blonde Flamingo

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    Hi guys,

    Slightly different post than usual, but I realised I don’t share enough with you (besides my travels) and would love you to get to know me better as a person! Hope you’re survive until the end, haha!

    1. I LOVE puppies I am literally a freak – all my family and close friends know that. I can play with puppies, touch puppies, talk about puppies, stare at puppies on the street and think of puppies all day long, haha. When I am stressed or in a bad mood- I watch videos of puppies and all my negativity and stress is gone in a second. I also have the names for my puppies chosen already! The only question is when am I going to have one?
    2. I am addicted to mangos– omg. I swear I can’t survive a day without eating a whole mango by myself. I prefer mangos more than any sweets in the world! I recently found that one shop that sells the sweetest and most juicy mangos I’ve ever had in my life( well maybe except those I had in Zanzibar!) and I go there almost every single day.
    3. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and move abroad At first, my parents were not very happy about it. They wanted me to finish off University in Poland – as every ‚normal’ person- as my dad called it. But deep inside I knew that following the system is not for me. I also wasn’t even sure what I wanted to study. All I knew was- I want to travel the world. During my last year at high school I was already working on the weekends (while others where partying) and saving money to get all courses and certificates I needed to be able to apply for an animator job abroad. I went for a casting- omg it was insane- I had to dance and sing in front of everyone on a proper stage, but I was one of the 17 people who got offered the job out of over 200. Signing that contact(my first proper job) was the happiest day of my life that time, haha! Imagine I was sitting on a plane to Greece one week after my final exams without even knowing if I passed them or not! The adventure was all I cared about.
    4. Blogging was always something I wanted to do Of course- 8-9 years ago it wasn’t as popular as it is right now and I didn’t think about it as future, dream job, but I just simply enjoyed it and had this idea in my mind. When I look back, already as a 15,16 years old girl I was going out with girls to take photos, shopping at second shops, doing some DIY, going on little summer trips abroad with my friends and I was sharing all my adventures and outfits on a platform called Stylio. However at 17, I had some personal issues and I’ve given up ( I wish I never have) and stopped working on it. It took me few years to get back to this vision of my life. Moving to London at 19 years old definitely helped me with that- it’s such an inspiring city! Here I started to believe that nothing is impossible.
    5. London is not my final destination Even though I love this city with all my heart. This is where my „real life” started. This is where all my ideas and dreams were born. This is where I’ve grew up, fallen in love, made friends, started my own business and I think the most important thing- this is where I found myself and started to believe in myself.  However somewhere deep inside I belong to the ocean breeze and sunshine. In the near future, I’d love to settle down somewhere more relaxing than busy London (where I run around all the time rather than walk) where I could wear summer dresses all year long, eat fresh seafood for dinner everyday and watch sunsets on the beach every evening. Not sure where that perfect place is yet, but I am not going to lie that Italy is the country that stolen my heart with all its beautiful traditions, delicious food, melodic language( have I ever mentioned I can speak a basic Italian? Don’t mind my bad grammar though!) and warm people and this is the place I am considering as my future home. Could I please have a little villa in Positano and a pink vespa, please?