Prioritizing and keeping myself on track and focused is not my strong point. I tend to get distracted easily by social media, television, and blogs. It's something that I really want to work on this upcoming school year; I want to stay on top of deadlines, keep track of important dates, and never feel as if everything is coming at me at once. I want to feel as if I have my life together.
Obviously, in order for all of this to happen, I need to make some changes in my life and daily schedule. I have started to implement some activities and ways in my life that help me stay organized. What are some of the best ways that you keep your life in order? (Seriously - all tips are welcome! I kind of need 'em. ;)
= Use A Calender =
I do not use a physical calender because they are so easy for me to neglect. I use a calender (Sunrise) that I can integrate my Google, Apple, and other accounts into one, so that all of my events, deadlines, and reminders sync up. The particular calender that I use also allows me to sync across my Windows 8 Laptop, iPad, and LG Optimus phone. (*That's my way of saying that no matter what device you have, you can use Sunrise.) It's extremely convenient. And in the calender, I plan blog posts, important information (for example, flight schedules), and simple, enjoyable things (such as Christmas Break). I like to have a full calender as it makes me feel as if I am organized and know what's happening in my life.
If you are more interested in a desktop calender, then you should download **Rainlendar. It is perfect! I actually used this religiously before I downloaded Sunrise. I still do use it, but not as frequently because it's purely desktop and I prefer one that syncs across all of my electronics. It allows for customization of your calender as well as color coding, icons, and to-do lists!
* This content is not sponsored.
** This content is not sponsored.
= Use a To-Do List =
This is a recent addition to my organization schedule. I categorize things into Home, School, and Blog. That helps keep me even more organized as everything is under their respective categories. On those to-do lists, I add quite a bit at once (with their due dates scheduled and any additional notes), so once I see the scratch of completion, I feel so much more accomplished. (Yes! I wasn't such a lazy bum today!)
= Schedule Posts =
If you are a blogger, then you most likely understand how much time and effort it takes to write a blog post. Not multiple blog posts, but just one. Yeah - it's outrageous. But since I love blogging a lot, that is just one thing I have to deal with. However, that does not mean that I cannot try to be efficient and use my time wisely. So, in order to be efficient, I use my spare time (usually sometime during the weekend I have hours to kill) and knock out some posts. That's called being efficient, otherwise known as making good use out of your resources. By scheduling posts for the upcoming week (and sometimes two), I feel more organized and like I have my life on a smooth road to success. A happy blog is a happy me, right? Right? *nudges with an awkward grin*
= Do The Smaller Tasks First =
This goes hand-and-hand with my to-do list. I like to add tinier (therefore easier) tasks to do first. One, I can quickly get them out of the way. Two, once I an finished with them, the scratch of completion motivates me to continue on. If I can get some of the minuscule tasks over and done with, then when it comes time to complete the larger tasks, my list will not make me feel as if I got absolutely nothing done that day. It'll seem like the biggest task is the last one, and I can feel extremely accomplished once I can scratch that off. Perfectamundo!
= Take Mini-Breaks =
Although taking breaks every ten minutes will hardly allow you to get things done, a fifteen minute break every hour and a half is decent. It allows you time to let yourself relax and to not over-think or stress out. I know that once I get into a task or project or assignment, I do not want to quit until I am finished. Sometimes that is fine! Other times, it stresses me out so badly that I end up quitting for the rest of the day. What's the use of that? It does not allow progress to get done, which means I'll be stuck doing it again the next day. No bueno. So, what I do is give myself tiny breaks to grab a snack, send a few text messages, etc. It'll make you a bit more productive - trust me.
= Get Rid of Distractions =
Distractions are the vice of pretty much everyone. They can keep you from doing what is really important. My distractions are social media, my favorite tunes, and television. To keep from being distracted by these things, I (1) tell myself that I can check social media during a break or it'll be my reward when I am finished with whatever task that I am working on at the moment, (2) put on music that does not have any lyrics to it, and (3) keep the friggin' television off! Whatever your distractions are, try to minimize them whenever you are doing tasks! Trust me - it'll help!
I can say that I will have been blogging two years, y'all. But I won't. The only reason that I won't is because I only "officially" began blogging the summer of 2013. Thus, I will say that I will have been blogging for one year this summer. {Whoa, baby.} The reason that I am bringing this topic up is because I feel as if I have experienced a few things and have a few tricks up my sleeves. Most of you older bloggers probably already know everything that I am about to say, but I figured I'd share for any new bloggers out there. {Hi there! :}
One | Don't stress about posting every day. Trust me, sometimes you will have blogger's "writing" block, or maybe you just won't feel like posting one day. I know that sometimes (such as last week) I barely post. It's okay! Getting away from the computer, the stats, the comments--it sometimes leads to a much better inspirational day, and you can come back to your blog with a fresh, newly inspired mind.
Two | Pictures are your best friends. Some blogs can get away with simply using words for their entire post, but I know that I easily get bored if there is no visual content. If I am going to read a page long post sans photos, the first few sentences need to be very compelling.
Three | Social Media is not for everyone, and that is okay! I've only just recently made a separate account for my blog on Twitter. Oops. So far, I have seen little traffic to my blog from there, so maintaining it is not a biggie for me. HOWEVER, this is my experience. Social media helps many many bloggers out. I am not saying that my Twitter (SayHelloDoll) will never help me--I just need to be super dedicated to it--but I am more so focused on posting on my personal twitter. Other social medias help as well, such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I don't have the latter, though.
Four | Don't be afraid to reach out to other bloggers and comment, tweet, etc. I used to be put off by having to stop scrolling through my Bloglovin' feed, going to a blog, and writing a comment. It seemed like too much! In reality, if the post really touched you, then it is not that much of a hassle. I actually enjoy commenting on blogger's posts. It also makes me pretty happy to receive a comment back. This works both ways, though. If a reader/blogger comments on your post, tweets you, or emails you, please do respond.
Tune: Rat A Tat by Fall Out Boy feat. Courtney Love
Aha! I am finally posting this Sunday Health Post early in the day! Usually, I am in the afternoon scrambling to write it, otherwise it just will not get written. {Score for me!} Hopefully the rest of today will follow of in such a good manor. I mean, I woke up with sunlight streaming into my window and a clear, blue sky in my vision. There is not much that could taint my attitude about that right now. Spring is finally on it's way! {Please do not let my regret saying that later this week. What the hell is snow, anyways? Harhar.}
Did you guys set your clocks back already? It's officially DST (Daylight Savings Time) and unless you live in a place such as Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation), you might want to jump on it. The transition happened at 2 AM {It's not like we're sleep or anything....}. I do not feel exactly...bad about the time change, but come tomorrow morning I might. I will be waking up on my school's time and not my own, which is a major difference. Waking up on my time means that I wake up so peacefully; doing it on my school's time makes me cranky. Let's see, though! Haha.
*If you missed out yesterday, I created a new twitter and e-mail for this blog.
*I also updated my 'Contact Me' page and added one thing on my 'About Me' page.
*My sidebar--I edited that as well. A word was not parallel {This is the grammar/English Nazi in me.}, so I needed to change that. I ended up changing the font, too.
*I am getting excited because as Spring Break comes up, so does the time that my family will be getting a cat! Yay!
*If you guys have any tips about what to get with a new kitty (especially when they are declawed), please share them.
*I do not support the act of declawing cats {I see it equivalent to someone chopping off the rest of our finger from our knuckle. Ouch.}, but our complex is requiring that we do it in order to have one. I'd be extremely happy if we could find one that already is, but it's not likely.
*As the spring arrives, I am thinking that I will start posting travel tips to certain places that I have been, like Florida (my second home), Georgia, and Tennessee (only after I return back from my second trip during Spring Break).
*If you have any places that I should go to when I am in Tennessee, please do share!
I am unsure how to explain how this week went. I worked out once--ONCE. Moreover, I think that is fair because I have been horribly sick. {For some reason, I am not getting any better.} My eating has been decent seeing as I am slowing down my pace and forcing myself to quit eating once I feel "at that point". I have prevented myself from feeling stuffed a lot simply by doing that. Oh! And on Tuesday, I went to go eat at Xochmilco with my friend, Treasure, and my mum. That was the first time EVER that I did not clean my plate. I actually had a take home box and everything. However, since life hated me that day, I forgot it at the table. I was darn near in tears that day, but once I realized that I should be proud of myself for not overeating--although I was seriously contemplating it--I felt fine again.
That little moment made me think about the whole point of me trying to eat healthy and exercise: to lose weight! I understand there will be moments that I do cave in and binge. Those are the only moments that I should feel bad about what I did. I should never feel bad about saying no to overeating and stuffing my body. I finally listened to my body, and although I lost out on a quarter of my food (but so worth it), I repaid myself by being nice to my body. That's a new perspective that I am going to keep as I travel down this lane of getting healthy.
This upcoming week, I am thinking that I'd like to seriously get back working out! I am sick still, but darn it, I do not care. I miss working out and feel bad whenever I do not. If the weather continues to stay as it is, then I can see my mum and I starting to walk outside again. I've only done that twice so far. {One of them being during the bitter freaking cold. I don't know if I was insane that day or...}
The difference between actually wanting something and wanting something because of its brand is suddenly becoming a blurred topic. Just like the fine line between want and need, the difference between want and name brand needs a little bit more establishing as it is completely become a confusing topic. First, let me clarify what it is to want something. That means (as you should already know) you are attracted to something and would like to have it - would love to have it - but do not necessarily need it. It is along the thought of, "yeah, I can live without it, but it'd be nice to have it." Now, wanting something because of the brand is completely different. While it still may have part of "being nice to have it", you still have to keep in mind that you might not necessarily want it, but because of the brand it is labeled with, you figure it is something that you need to want. Does that make sense? For example, if you are so called "popular" (okay, I am totally making this cliched), people might expect for you to be mean. You may not want to be mean, but to be "popular", you may feel like you need to want to be mean. Get it now? No, oh well. :)
The more into fashion and shopping that I get, I have realized that I have one too many times thought, "oh, that is [insert name brand] and really cute! I should get it." Problem was that I didn't really think that it was cute. I just thought it was "cute" because of the label slapped on it. (Yeah, I know, horrifying.) Luckily, I caught myself after awhile. I already know that plenty of people go through this, and yes, it is quite "novice" moment once you realize what you have been doing and grow up from it. Instead of doing that now, I focus on what I can see myself in, what I can picture myself wearing, what I actually like and want. There is nothing worse than buying something for the name, then realizing you never wear it after you have had it for a year. Um, no. I won't let that happen to myself, and neither should you.
I listed the top two things that I do to keep from buying things based on my lust of label than my want for something durable, cute, and affordable (or not, depends on my splurge-level of the moment). Note that I am no professional and these are based solely on how I figured it out. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave it in the comments.
1. The simplest of all of the tips is to simply look at the photo ONLY and determine if you'd like the item if it were not [insert name brand]. This may prove to be quite challenging if you have already saw the label, but bear with me. Try this out and see if you cannot differentiate between your want for it, or your label want.
2. Can you see yourself with a simpler, cheaper product? I admit, if you really want that exact product, then go for it. But if you can see yourself with something cheaper, then you are being blinded by the label. For example, "I realllly like this, but I'm not paying this much for it." If you can say that without any consideration, then EHHHH, you don't really want it - you want the label, not the look. Especially if you saw something similar for cheaper, claimed that you did not like it, and got a similar labeled item.
Still don't believe that you can be in lust with the label and not the product itself? Let me provide a self-example: a few days ago, I saw a really cute pair of...er, I don't know, Isabel Marant studded heels on eBay. They were a little bit more than $100, and I did not really want to spend that much. But (of course), I saw the name as was like "oh...hmm", and really started to consider it. Well, let me tell you something, the shoes were not that cute (now that I look back on it) to really consider blowing $100 on. Have you ever heard of the saying "blinded by love"? I was blinded by label. #whatashame {TEAM HASHTAG! - haha, no.}
Song Choice: 'Party Hard/Cadillac' by Chris Brown. Have I ever mentioned that I had a bad obsession with Chris Brown for the longest a year or something ago. I was one of "those" girls. Even though I am not as "obsessed" now, I am not afraid to admit to being apart of the fandom TeamBreezy. Therefore, this leads (although just because I am apart of the fandom, I do not necessarily love all of his music) to this song choice. I heart this song so darn much! It is catchy and fun tune. From his 2012 album, Fortune, this song is #12 out of 14. I highly recommend this album (and song!) if you have not given it a listen. You will highly enjoy it - I promise. :)
