Tamrah Lane 2023 updates are finally here after a long hiatus. I have mentioned it before in previous personal-type posts, but I do not want to be giving you (my audience) and myself excuses. That being said, I do want to give a few life updates. Then, of course, a sneakpeak into what is new and what to expect in the future on Tamrah Lane.
What Has Happened
More than two years passed since the last post in March 2021 and a lot of good and bad has happened.
Mental Blockages
Although mental blockages happen all the time, I included it here as something that has happened because it was terrible back in 2021. Generally, mental blockages can be caused by anything.
In the months leading up to the last post in March 2021, I started to feel like I was putting to much pressure to meet deadlines that I ended up not even meeting deadlines. The pressure then encouraged me to make excuses as to why I could not create.
At the end of the day, the hard truth is that I just was not producing blog posts, not brainstorming, and unable to find inspiration in anything. What I should have been doing to address this is not making excuses, but to find ways to take down these mental blockages.
Since then, I am happy to say that I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do when I am not feeling my usual creative self.
Not So Funemployment
In March 2021, I decided to leave my job due to a very toxic environment. It was so toxic that it not only mentally drained me but physically. Physically meaning I started to feel a sickness I have never experienced before. The best comparison I can make to what I was feeling at the time is nausea, but way worse.
The mental and physical tolls and paychecks were not worth it. After six months at that job, I called it quits. Although it was one of the best decisions I made, I felt exhausted and defeated.
There was no energy left to do anything else, but heal. Because let me tell you, that job was one of the most traumatizing experiences ever.
I do have good news though. Karma is real and it was delivered. Period.
When Life Gives You Calamansi Podcast Launch
If you have been following Tamrah Lane, you know that I launched a podcast called When Life Gives You Calamansi. Although it is one of my proudest creations, I had spread myself too thin. I suddenly had too many deadlines to meet and started making more and more excuses for myself. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, this pressure caused me to hit pause on producing new episodes of When Life Gives You Calamansi. Now that both of my creative projects were on a hiatus, I felt even more defeated.
At this point, you can probably imagine how much self-doubt I had about my creativity and my projects. While all of this is happening, I am also depressed about other things in my life. So really, nothing is going well.
We Moved
This is more so good news than bad, but we moved at the end of 2021! It helped a lot with my depression. I was able to focus on myself more and creating a space for myself.
When we moved, I knew that I had a whole lot more freedom in making a space where my creativity could thrive. Although our place is still a work in progress after more than one and a half years living here, I feel much more at home and at peace.
Decorating and furnishing our new place helped me distract myself and slowly heal. Of course, moving is not going to fully heal anyone, but it was a much needed start.
Not One, Not Two, but Three Jobs
Remember how I quit that toxic job in March 2021? Well, fortunately, funemployment was short-lived and I was able to find a new job in April 2021. Unfortunately, that only lasted until February 2022 and did not find my current job until October 2022 (halleloo). Between these two jobs, I also had a part-time job as an editor. Quite a rollercoaster, am I right?
Side note: if you need tips on navigating the job search journey, let me know because I know a thing or two.
Just like how we moved, this is good news! I thought I was smart as heck back when I started Tamrah Lane. Although I knew how and what I needed to get started, I did not have the tools and knowledge needed to create a blog that is sustainable and always growing.
Now, I learned and am still learning so much about content creation and management. I also learned so much about myself as a content creator and I am just so excited to start implementing all the things I learned into both Tamrah Lane and the When Life Gives You Calamansi podcast.
What Is New on Tamrah Lane
After all this learning and growth, it is time to tell you a couple new major changes on Tamrah Lane!
Author Updates
The first thing I need to put out there is that Rasha will no longer be one of the main contributors here on Tamrah Lane. No tea, no shade. It is just a matter of our schedules and ability to work on the blog.
Now that does not mean she will never write on here again. You will just not see her as often. And of course, we will never forgot that she was here at the beginning of Tamrah Lane.
Oh, and if you have not already, go and catch up on Rasha’s blogs here on Tamrah Lane.
Tamrah Lane Website Redesign
One of the biggest things I learned since starting Tamrah Lane, it is how to organize content visually and on the back-end so that it is sustainable and easier to maintain. So that is how I approached the latest website redesign of Tamrah Lane. Although it was not a huge lift, the redesign will have a huge impact. Well, that is the hope at least.
You will also notice that the menu has been reorganized! Navigating on Tamrah Lane should be simpler and easier. The newest addition I want to mention is the Featured menu item.
Featured is content that deserves a special spotlight, such as the ‘20 Autumn Collaborative Lookbook and the When Life Gives You Calamansi podcast.
Also included under the Featured menu item is Tamrah Lane’s Journal in Between, which is exclusive content that Honored Guests can access. Before you freak out, yes, being an Honored Guest on Tamrah Lane is FREE. No strings attached. No fine print. I promise.
What To Expect
With these new major changes (and a few more behind the scenes), you can expect a new and improved experience on Tamrah Lane.
More Passion
If there is anything I definitely want you to expect moving forward, it is newfound passion I have for creating. Like I said before, I have been dealing with some crazy mental blockages that has hindered my creativity.
Now with my new tools to keep me inspired and passionate about my work, I can only hope that you, my readers, are able to see that in my writing.
Regular Posting
One of the biggest negative pressures on my work is deadlines. It is weird though because in my day job, deadlines are beneficial for me. It may be because I am getting paid to work, but on Tamrah Lane, deadlines do not have that same effect for reasons I still do not know.
However, I do want to deliver content on a regular basis. Previously, I aimed for a weekly blog and that just did not fit my lifestyle. It also reduced the quality of my content and we do not want to value quantity over quality over here on Tamrah Lane.
I will probably still be finding the right rhythm, but will be aiming to post at least once a month. If I had all the time and money in the world, I would want to post every week, but I do not so here we are.
Since I will be starting off with monthly posts instead of weekly, the quality of posts here on out will be elevated and just *chef’s kiss.*
Oh boy, now I am really setting myself up here, aren’t I?
More Tamrah Lane Video Content
Even though writing was my first love and one of the reasons why I started this blog, video creation has an oh-so-special place in my heart. I have been making videos from a very young age up and since the last episode of the When Life Gives You Calamansi podcast, I just stopped.
Making videos is so fun and I do want to get back into it. So while you wait for a blog post every month, the Tamrah Lane Instagram is going to be a little more active in posting videos (and photos, of course). So please, do tune in!
Wrap Up
If you made it to the end, thank you. It truly means a lot that you are here to support my blogger dreams. I want nothing more but to be able to share content that others enjoy and look forward to reading.
I have always dreamed of being part of a publication and although this is not a big time magazine or publication (yet), one can only try to get there!
Remember to check out our past blog posts and follow us on social media:
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