The Power of Evergreen Content

Posted on January 8, 2026 by suzie81speaks

Since the start of the new year, I have been making a conscious effort to write on a daily basis. This little blog has become sorely neglected over the years and I have missed both the action of writing and the interaction that comes with it.

With that, I have checked my analytics to see how well the posts have performed. My view numbers are nowhere near what they were at the height of my once prolific blogging routine, but it is ticking along nicely and I’m enjoying the process.

Yesterday, I noticed something interesting.

The Power of Evergreen Content: How to create evergreen content that will generate consistent traffic with minimum effort — Royalty free image credit: rawpixel from Pixabay

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2026: The Big One

Posted on January 1, 2026 by suzie81speaks

Happy New Year!

The Bloke and I kept things very quiet, exactly how we wanted it. Snacky treats ready to go, the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (ready to do the next two today), the London fireworks on the TV, and no pressure to be anywhere or do anything more than that. It was low-key, comfortable, and a really nice way to see the year. Long gone are the days of fighting for breathing space in nightclubs, wearing eye-wateringly high-heels and spending a fortune on just a few drinks.

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2025: A Year in Review

Posted on December 31, 2025 by suzie81speaks

Over the last few years, I’ve added a Memories & Highlights double page spread to my Bullet Journal. It’s a simple way of capturing the positive moments from the past twelve months, and I’ve found it especially helpful when things feel heavy or overwhelming.

It’s not always easy to stay positive when the news and the cost of living are relentlessly bleak, and this year has been challenging in plenty of ways for most people, myself included. However, I think it matters to notice the good with gratitude, while also acknowledging the more difficult moments so you can move forward. 2025 hasn’t been perfect, but compared to recent years (like 2023, which was particularly brutal) it has actually been a year to look back on and being incredibly grateful for.

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Creating My 45 Before 45 List: A Year to Look Forward To

Posted on November 26, 2025 by suzie81speaks

Back in October, I had a simple realisation: in November 2026 I will celebrate my 45th birthday. The thought didn’t bother me in the slightest – as I have aged my mindset has very much become that ageing is a privilege, and despite having my ass kicked by perimenopause I actually really enjoy being in my 40s. What it did make me think about, however, was how I wanted the coming year ahead to feel. I know myself well enough to recognise that I function best when I have goals and the sense that I am moving forwards and making progress. The problem is that for the last few years, most of my goals have been professional ones, focusing on work, productivity and getting things done, rather than about doing things simply because they matter to me as a person.

So, I feel it is a good time to shift the balance.

Image credit: Royalty-free image **karolinagrabowska** (Pixabay)

I decided that I wanted things to look forward to, things that would make the next twelve months a bit more intentional and a bit more enjoyable. Turning 45 doesn’t feel like a big dramatic milestone, but it is a good moment to check in with myself and decide what I want the year to be about.

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Slowing Down to Move Forward

Posted on November 1, 2025 by suzie81speaks

At the beginning of the year, I made a deliberate effort to take back control of my life. I had become aware that the pace I was keeping wasn’t sustainable, so I took some fairly extensive steps to create more balance and structure. I wanted to be more intentional with my time, to focus on what genuinely mattered rather than getting caught up in the constant state of being ‘busy.’

For the first few months, it worked well. I felt calmer, more focused, and was far better at managing my time and energy. But gradually, without really noticing, old habits began to creep back in. One small commitment led to another, and before long, that balance that I had worked so hard to create had started to slip away.

The last time I sat down to write a blog post was back in July. As I have done so many times before, I told myself that I would get back into the habit and post more often. Then, as life became more hectic, it all became a bit overwhelming.

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Perspective: When the Bad Makes the Good Better

Posted on November 6, 2024 by suzie81speaks

The last week has been BRUTAL.

Not long ago, I was informed of a situation that would require me to be elsewhere for several weeks. This couldn’t have come at a worse time – I’m self-employed with nobody to cover me and it hit right at the start of prepping all the festive season posts for most of my social media clients. I wouldn’t be able to do much during the day and would physically be out of the house, so admin would have to be done extremely early in the morning, and then when I got home in the evening (as well as attempting to monitor a whole bunch of social media accounts if I had a few moments of free time during the day).

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I Hear Sleigh Bells

Posted on November 5, 2024 by suzie81speaks

Christmas. It may be early November, but the sleigh bells have started on the TV adverts, the stores are already heavily into their festive marketing strategy, and I’m getting messages from family asking what I would like as a gift.

For the last few years, Christmas has followed a similar pattern. I start the month of December with the concept that I want to make this year the best Christmas ever, and then I get slammed with work as everyone starts freaking out and needing ALL THE THINGS NOW NOW NOW as everyone, including myself, is taking a little bit of time off. Inevitably, by the time it gets to a few days before Christmas I’m fed up and exhausted, and I’m not in the mood.

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Comic Con, Old Friends and a Blogging Month

Posted on November 1, 2024 by suzie81speaks

A week ago I met up with two friends, Sacha and Helen, in London. Both of them are authors – Sacha is absolutely killing it in the indie author world and Helen’s book has just been released across the UK with One More Chapter, part of Harper Collins publishing – but we actually met through blogging nearly ten years ago.

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A Peri-Menopause Schedule

Posted on June 2, 2024 by suzie81speaks

Despite it being a Sunday morning, I woke up at 6.30am feeling super-motivated. Perhaps it’s because the weather is glorious, or that I have the option of doing nothing if I want to, or perhaps the fact that I slept for about six hours yesterday afternoon has helped – either way, I jumped out of bed, got dressed and was raring to go.

As things have become more busy (particularly this year), I have started to change my working patterns to try and avoid burnout – something that I have experienced multiple times since I started working for myself. Previously, I had developed strict daily routines and checklists to help myself become more organised, but over the last six months I have found that it has become less and less helpful.