HELLO! It’s been a while, but very recently I made the journey back home, from Edinburgh to Derry and whilst making my way there I realised a number of things. Taxi’s in Edinburgh are dear, airports are busy, people are very slow and most importantly social media has us hooked, absolutely hooked! During that epiphany, a blog post was born!

The beauty of being able to work from home really pays off when you have an early evening flight to catch, but at the same time it also makes you feel like you have all the time in the world –  and as an easy going person, this does not bode well! A taxi is my mode of transport to the airport this time round; the stress of actually getting there lingers in the back of my head the whole car journey paired with the constant checking of my phone for the time (of course I’m running late!) whilst simultaneously reading the meter , is it really £25 already? I mean, I feel I’ve only been in this car for like 5 minutes. If that isn’t enough stress, the added extra of having to discretely check the group watsapp after letting everyone know that you actually missed the bus and literally might miss your flight (a crucial update some might say) whilst also checking the mobile banking app – I do have enough for this taxi, right?

So, I make my way through the departures lounge wishing I could be early for once and have the time (and money) to take a seat at the champagne bar for a casual serving of oystersand a glass of Moët… maybe one day.

I always envision myself looking super cool and chic on airport days. You know that girl that passes you who just looks to have IT. I don’t know what it is but she has it. Super cool, super chill, outfit and hair goals, looking around like she hasn’t got a care in the world and sometime soon is jetting off to somewhere glorious, because why not? Disclaimer: I am 100% not that girl. Picture the scene: I am bombing through the airport, hair which dried naturally resulting in something resembling Hagrid, hold all with enough clothes packed in for two weeks in the Caribbean hoofed on my shoulder, gym bottoms (yes you read that correctly), a sweater and my ankle length coat, an everyday necessity in Caoilfhionn’s life but maybe not to compliment this particular outfit.

As I manage to make it past the crowds of people I see my flight on that screen, green letters shouting out ‘BOARDING’. Great, not even time for a bottle of water in WHSmith… Despite the shin splints burning, it doesn’t stop me.  Gate 24, I’m coming for you – well, right after I do a boomerang of the flight screen, everyone wants to know I’m flying home, surely?

I make it to the gate and, obviously, don’t miss the flight – what was I even worried for anyway? Time to check my phone, I mean it must be almost 15 minutes since I last checked it, that walk from security is loooong. I manage to get a bottle of water, sit down and obviously, reach for my phone, I’m sure there is a decent number of Instagram stories to catch up on…

As I’m sitting aimlessly scrolling, watching, analysing, I glance up. I’ve been stuck in a scroll hole and the queue is way down. Now, a red banner is shouting at me, ‘FINAL CALL’. Come on Caoilfhionn, get it together! As I scramble to my feet lugging the bag, trying to locate my passport and update my own insta story all at once, my phone rings! My daddy pipes up excitedly asking if I got the flight, what time I’ll be down the road at and most importantly what I want in the Chinese! Mid order I realise that my boarding pass is on my phone which explains why the airhostess is looking at me blankly – these things happen…

MADE IT. Of course I get a middle seat (it’s a Caoilfhionn sandwich) and have the large hold all to launch into the over head cabinets. Eh, little help guys? The demonstrations take place, I’m mid way through letting the girls know i did in fact make the flight (can you believe) confirming plans for that nigh are going ahead, but as the plane takes off I breathe a sigh of relief and press that magical little airplane symbol. Goodbye mobile interaction for the next half hour… b l i s s.

What I’m saying is, my phone is always alert, and my enemy and lover Instagram is always the one app you can count on being open, always there for me some might say.

Since this, I began to think about how Instagram was actually being successful in annoying me!!! I started WearWhatWorks as a fun little Instagram page, with the dream of writing a successful blog a few months ago and here we are! I never, ever cared about followers, likes or ‘reach’ and genuinely wanted to make going to work every day a little more fun and enjoyable than rolling out of bed and forcing yourself to the office. In the most part, that has worked! Cliché as it sounds, the lovely messages I get from like minded people and the ‘insta-friends’ are fab but the mistake I did make, which has changed that small element of it for me, was making my page a ‘business page’.

That small undername you see when you click my profile dispaying ‘Personal Blog’ is cute and gives a sense of who I am, its plain and simple – WearWhatWorks is a personal blog but, no Instagram, I am not making any money from this! This little ‘business’ element has drove me to distraction, noticing when my ‘people who viewed your page this week’ loses 4 people and then the next day it’s lost 40 people and then you get a chance to enjoy your weekend and get a nice new snap in the sunshine and, hello check it out, the people who viewed your profile this week has gone up by 120. HELP!

Another one, R E A C H.  9am on a Monday morning my post will fly through the world of Instagram, reaching lots of different accounts and generating lots of ‘likes’ and on a good day new followers! However, if I post at 10:30am on a Thursday my post won’t reach a quarter of the people it did previously that week with the only person interacting with it being a sunglasses account who just can’t wait to work with me (yeah right) or a robot. It’s worse than the hardest guessing game you can think of, whatever that might be.

I’ve enjoyed not being on my phone as much by taking more time to
Talk to friends
People watch
Read a book before bed
Enjoy the last of Look Magazine (cry)
Still enjoy and put effort into what I wear to work everyday

Lets be honest, my phone will never (ever) be far from me, but it’s nice to clock off a little and take it for what it’s worth. Will Instagram still even be the ‘it thing’ in 5 years time, who knows? I’m glad I’m doing this for fun because I really do admire those who have made a life out of it, and any tips on stupid algorithms let a gal know! But on that note, I’m just boarding a flight to Bangkok so I am most definitely signing off for the next 14 hours, unless they tempt me with wifi in the sky… now that’s a fun offer I couldn’t refuse!

Stay tuned to my Instagram feed for the next few weeks as I travel through Thailand and Vietnam and pick up clothes along the way – my rucksack is feeling uncomfortably light just now! But please remember (after you finish reading this) to put your phone down, your laptop away, the ipad on the table, and appreciate all the little things in life while you can. I know I will, I’ll be sipping G&T’s and prosseco by the bucket full on the plane for the next 14 hours!

Chat soon, and in the meantime, I’ll try to WearWhatWorks!

Caoilfhionn x