Category: How To

7 Tips to Stop Wasting Time and Use it Productively Instead

ElliLeave a comment

Have you ever felt like you haven’t been using your time to the best of your abilities? That you’re wasting it by doing something unproductive when you could be working instead?

Believe it or not, everyone has felt this way before.

There are some surprisingly easy ways to stop this habit, even if you feel it’s hopeless.

1. Plan in Advance

If we don’t know where to start on a project, how are we ever going to feel motivated enough to begin?

To know what you should be doing, use a planner or journal and write down all of the things you need to accomplish each day.

Set times for these plans, so that you can easily know when you’re supposed to start and finish something!

2. Clear Out All Distractions

Any technology that you don’t need, any games or hobbies to distract yourself with – clear them out!

A great way to get rid of distractions is to put them somewhere where it will be harder to access them. Because of this, your brain will just decide that it’s easier to work while you’re at your computer than go grab your phone that’s two rooms away in the closet.

If social media is what distracts you, find an app that temporarily blocks these sites! When the sites are inaccessible, the only thing left for you to do that fills up your time is to work.

3. Do Something to Put Yourself in a Productive Mood

Some things that you can do that make people feel more energetic and awake are to splash water on your face, find things to be happy about, exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, drink enough water throughout the day, look at things that inspire you, and create a list of who you want to become.

Do whatever puts you in a productive mood every day, since you don’t want the motivation to fade over time! I’ve noticed this happening for myself, since I tend to have a short attention span when it comes to projects. To fight this, I constantly remind myself of my goals and who I want to be. After doing so, I’m surprised at how much more energetic I become.

4. Think of People Who Inspire You

There are many people that I look up to, and I’m sure you can think of some for yourself, too!

Find a person who’s reached a similar goal to yours already, and try to understand a little more about how they did it. The way people accomplish things and motivate themselves is different for everyone, but getting an idea of where to start will help you in the long run.

Though I will warn you that you shouldn’t idolize someone too much. Don’t ever change yourself or your personality to try to be more like someone else, since 1: That’s not a possibility, and people will know that you’re trying to pretend to be someone you’re not, and 2: You’re special because you’re you. Think about it; There’s not a single person in this world that’s exactly like you (unless you have a clone, of course) so why would you want to give away what makes you special?

Create a list of people that inspire you, and use it as motivation to be more productive. If they’re able to accomplish their goals and dreams, then you can too.

5. It’s Okay to Have a Break

If you’re ever tired, or have been working a lot, know that it’s okay to have a break. Breaks are good for your health, and keep your energy up for when you come back to work.

Don’t put yourself down if you’ve been working every day but feel like you need to do more. Don’t do anything that would hurt your health, like sleeping less, not eating enough, or avoiding friends. This will only negatively affect your attitude and ability to concentrate.

However, you also don’t want to take such a long break that it seems like you’re slacking off. There’s a healthy balance between work and personal life, and it’s important that everyone finds it to be their best selves.

6. Know That Other People Feel the Same

Do you feel alone, like you’re the only person who isn’t doing anything productive? All of your friends and family and coworkers are always on the go, while you’re sitting around procrastinating?

Fun fact: Almost everyone has experienced the same thing.

Everyone has gone through a slump at least once in their life, if not more. We’re all a lot more similar than we think.

Remember that so many other people are feeling the same thing, and let that feeling inspire you. Maybe you’re optimistic attitude or productive routine will inspire them to become better, too!

7. Don’t Wait for the “Right Day”

Everyone has struggled with motivating themselves at some point. It’s what the term “lazy” refers to. But the truth is, feeling unmotivated doesn’t necessarily make you lazy.

You want to do something, but feel too crappy, tired, or tell yourself that you’ll wait until tomorrow. This isn’t because you’re lazy, it’s because you can never seem to find the right time.

Well, can I tell you a secret?

There’s never a right time. Ever.

You’re never going to magically be able to do everything one day because it was the “right day”. It’s a little harder than that.

Instead of waiting, the best thing for you to do is get up, go to your workspace, and start. You may tell me that it’s not that easy. But trust me, though the motivation may be a little behind, once you start working on your project and stay focused, it’ll catch up with you.

Photo by Ocean Ng on Unsplash

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How to Stop Doubting Yourself and Reach Your Goals

Elli4 Comments

We all have a dream. A clear picture in our head of who we’d want to be if anything was possible.

Some people want to have an amazing job, change the world, or become famous, but no matter what, I’m sure we all have an image of our best self.

Instead of feeling discouraged and thinking that these dreams are unlikely to be accomplished, we need to keep taking steps forward.

Goals are Unobtainable Without Effort

When planning your future in advance, a good thing to remember is that goals can’t be reached unless you work toward them every day.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, you may research how to do this by watching videos and reading about the topic, but you’ll never actually have a chance to get there until you take the first real step.

To do this, you can’t just hope you make it. You have to remind yourself that it is possible, and you can accomplish more than you think if you put enough effort, planning, and work into it. Visualize yourself doing it to make it seem more real.

Come up with an idea, brainstorm how to get there, and plan things involving finance, your education, and time in advance. You’ll then have a clearer idea of how you’re going to get there.

There are plenty of other resources online that can help you get an idea of how to reach your goals.

Everyone has the Power to be Successful

Every successful person started out as a child, with dreams and aspirations. Every successful person had to put effort into reaching their goal. Every successful person fought through the failures and pushed themselves to keep trying, no matter how difficult.

Some people are luckier than others when it comes to being successful, it’s true. But I like to think that every human has the power to change the world for the better.

In the end, we’re all the same. Human. It’s hurtful to your self confidence if you tell yourself that you can’t do something simply because you aren’t as smart, as skilled, or as talented. Everyone starts from the bottom. It doesn’t matter when or where you start, but that you keep going.

You Are Unique

The word “Successful” means something different for every person, so you should try to reach the goals you dream of instead of the ones others do.

A bad goal to set is one where you try to be someone else. The truth is that being the same as someone else is just not possible. Everyone is different, and to reach your goals you need to harness and express what is uniquely you.

We all love different things, come from different backgrounds, and have different ideas. Those differences are what makes us special, and will help us each change the world if we choose to keep pushing ourselves to get there.

No matter how small the goal, if it’s important to you, then you shouldn’t put it aside and procrastinate about it. If you’re passionate about something and don’t know where to start, here’s a tip; Just start. It’s harder than it sounds, but actually starting is the only way we can each stop doubting our abilities and create something beautiful.

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

9 Easy Ways to End Writer’s Block Once and for All

Elli7 Comments

Writer’s block has probably affected all bloggers at some point. Sometimes, no matter how much we try, we just can’t think of something creative to write about.

I’ve struggled with this a lot too, especially recently, and am going to share with you some of the tricks I use to think of new ideas!

1. Explore Other Blogs

A great way to find inspiration is to look through some of your favourite blogger’s posts and see if they can give you any inspiration. Try to find blogs within your niche!

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t steal another blogger’s work, but can always use their idea and turn it into something unique to you.

2. Find Your Most Creative Time of Day

Everyone has a certain time of the day when they feel most active, and when their mind is flowing with ideas.

For example, I get the most ideas late at night. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have started this blog if I hadn’t stayed up an extra half hour the day before, since at the time I was brainstorming ways that I could share my passion.

Take advantage of this time and brainstorm as many ideas as you can, no matter how random or silly. You might be able to use them later!

3. Keep a Journal

Another simple tip is to keep a journal on your desk that’s dedicated to blog ideas.

Write all of your ideas, as well as the goals you want to achieve with your blog.

Inspiration can come at the strangest moments, so it’s best to be prepared to write them down!

4. Go on a Walk

Taking a break and smelling the fresh air is a good way to clear your mind, as well as a way to exercise.

Walk to the park, the beach, around the block, or anywhere that makes you happy. Don’t forget to bring your journal with you!

5. Ask a Friend

If you have friends who read your blog, they might have some ideas of other things you can write!

You could also ask your audience and other bloggers to give some ideas and pointers.

6. Change Your Workspace

If you work in the same spot every day, chances are that it can get a little boring at times. Try to change things up by going to a coffee shop, a park, or simply moving to another room.

Being in the same spot can feel uninspiring, and you’ll most likely have an easier time thinking of ideas if you change your routine every once in a while.

7. Go Outside of Your Niche

If you’re running out of ideas of things to write for your niche, try expanding your blog’s topics.

My blog initially used to just be about books, but I realized that books aren’t the only things I like writing about. I also enjoy inspiring and motivating others!

Your blog is unique, and should be a place where you can be creative and have fun, so don’t let a specific niche restrict you if you’re running out of ideas, even if only once in a while.

7. Exercise for Energy

Exercising is a great time to try coming up with ideas. Blood is flowing through your body, and you have less distractions than when you sit at your computer.

You can also try coming up with ideas after exercising. You’ll feel more energetic and awake, and your brain will be more focused and creative.

8. Relax Your Mind

Sometimes we just need to relax our mind.

Having a shower, watching a TV show or movie, playing a game, or just lying down on your bed. These are all different ways to relax.

Without having to concentrate on anything particular, your mind can wander and have time to think, which will make it easier to produce new ideas.

9. Spend Time With Yourself

Go somewhere or do something fun. Write in a journal about your deepest thoughts. Work on trying to understand yourself, your goals, and what makes you happy.

Get to know yourself, so that you can discover what you like, and also what you enjoy writing about.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

7 Tips For Working Under Pressure When Stressed

Elli5 Comments

You know that feeling, where there’s so much you have to do that it feels like you’re suffocating?

Or when people are all relying on you, and you worry that you can’t live up to their expectations?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The truth is, we’ve all experienced a type of this feeling, and I can safely say that it’s not the most fun.

Stress can impact our lives by making us more messy, and less careful and attentive. When we feel overwhelmed, we may end up cheating or skipping parts of our work just to finish. All we want is that feeling to be gone.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic solution that can rid us of stress immediately while working under pressure, but there are ways that we can learn to cope with it, and turn it into something more beneficial.

#1. Give Yourself Time to Breathe

We’ve all heard this one, haven’t we? “Just give yourself a break, and trust me, you’ll feel better!”

You might roll your eyes, saying that you aren’t able to do this, because you have too much work to do to even have time for a break. But when I say this, I don’t mean take a vacation or have an hour long bubble bath.

Just take a moment, – 10 seconds is even enough – close your eyes, and take a deep breath. In your mind, go through everything you need to do, every plan you have for the day.

Make it a goal for your to start working right when you open your eyes again. Don’t even hesitate for a second before standing up and doing what you need to do, or else that might just give you enough time to decide that you’ll wait until tomorrow.

#2. Perfect Timing

Once you’ve finally decided what you need to work on, the best thing to do is to write down a schedule of what you’re going to do for the day.

Give every task a designated time, so that you know exactly when you’ll need to do something.

When you write a schedule with certain times for every task, your mind will be able to see what you need to do more clearly, and it won’t all be a jumble of words in your head anymore. Organization will help calm the storm.

#3. Think Of Why You’re Stressed

Why are you stressed?

Is it for a multitude of reasons? Is there so much going on that you don’t know where to start?

Have you been procrastinating while the piles of work keep getting higher and higher, and now you don’t know what to do?

Are people relying on you to do something and you don’t want to disappoint them?

Working under pressure is never easy, but finding the reason behind the stress can help you see what needs to be done first, and what steps you need to take to get there.

#4. Stay Focused

It’s easy for your mind to wander off, or find things that it could be doing instead of the task.

That’s why it’s extremely important for you to make an effort to stay alert and pay attention to what you’re doing.

When you feel yourself dozing off and notice it, then snap your attention back to what you need to do. It’s easier said than done, but with enough practice, you’ll be able to work under pressure with pure focus.

#5. Don’t Neglect Your Body

If you aren’t feeling motivated, then I recommend taking a short nap, going for a quick run, or grabbing a glass of water and a bite to eat. We all need to fuel ourselves.

How else will we finish the tasks well if we aren’t taking care of our brain and body?

You should never neglect your health so that you can have more time to do work. Your energy levels will decrease, you won’t be as efficient, and you’ll feel horrible. Taking care of yourself will benefit your work pace and focus.

#6. Encourage Yourself

Telling yourself that it’s too hard will only make matters worse. Put effort into reminding yourself that you can do it, and that you’re strong enough to finish.

Remind yourself that it’s achievable, and you’ll probably see a difference in your attitude toward the task. Sure, it’s hard, but not impossible. If you keep trying, you’ll eventually find a way to finish it.

Think about how you’ll feel when you finish; you won’t be so stressed about it anymore!

#7. Treat Yourself

When you’ve finished all or even just part of the task, make sure that you reward yourself for your accomplishment!

Whether it’s something from eating a chocolate bar to going out with friends as a reward; it’s up to you.

Give yourself a goal to work towards so that there’s something fun to look forward to when you finish!

15 Helpful Tips to Stay Focused When Studying

Elli3 Comments

You know the feeling; your motivation is gone, and you’re unable to focus on finishing your work.

You keep telling yourself that you’ll do it later, when you’re able to concentrate. Then, you just spin yourself in an endless cycle of worry and frustration.

Staying alert when studying can be difficult, but these 15 tips and tricks will help you fix this issue, and become a studying wizard!

#1. Avoid Your Phone

One of the biggest things that can distract people from staying focused is the internet and social media.

If having your phone or any other distracting technology around you can take your eyes off the prize, and keep you from finishing your work.

A good way to keep from going on social media is to set a timer for however long you like, and until that timer ends, you aren’t allowed to check or even touch your phone.

You can also find somewhere to hide it that will be hard to reach, or give it to a family member and make them promise not to give it back to you until you’re finished.

#2. Get a Good Sleep

We all know that a lack of sleep will make it harder for you to focus on your studies the next day, which is why the right amount of sleep is important for every person to get.

An adult needs an average of 8 hours of sleep each night, and children and teens need longer in order for their brains to function well the next day.

Create a schedule of when you should fall asleep and wake up, so that you’ll never run into this problem again!

#3. Eat Right

What you eat greatly impacts your energy levels. To become more focused (and have better overall health) be sure to only be putting healthy and nutritious things on your plate.

Make sure you get the right amount of vegetables, protein, and fruit each day, and soon enough you’ll be feeling happier and more energetic!

#4. Enough Exercise

Just like eating the right foods, having a healthy exercise routine can make you more energetic and focused.

In fact, exercising doesn’t just change how you look, but also how you feel, act, and perceive things!

Try to exercise every day, even for a short while, and eventually you’ll see a change in your body and your attitude.

Remember to incorporate different areas of exercise, like flexibility, cardio, and strength, to feel an overall change.

#5. Water, Water, and More Water!

Staying hydrated will increase your energy levels, complexion, and productivity.

The average amount of water a person is supposed to drink is roughly eight glasses per day.

Be sure to fill you body up with water to look and feel healthy, and to give you the energy to pay more attention to your work.

#6. Have a Workspace

Having a designated workspace will make you more focused when you have to do a task.

You know that when you sit down at this desk or go to that place, you’re meant to be working and nothing else.

Make sure that your workspace is comfortable, clean, easily accessible, and has all of the materials you might need.

#7. Look Over Your Work

Take a look through everything you have to do. Looking at what you need to study all at once can be overwhelming, so be sure to break your work into smaller tasks and work from there.

Once you see all of the things you need to do, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to get started.

#8. Create a Schedule

A helpful tip for studying is to create a schedule for you to do every day.

This can be a list of things you need to do each day or week, and also be sure to add a checklist of all the things you need to complete.

Having a schedule will help keep your time organized, and over time you’ll find it easier and easier to keep this habit.

#9. Take Frequent Breaks

Staying focused for a long time is really difficult, especially if you aren’t motivated in the first place.

If this is the case for you, I recommend working as much as you can for 45 minutes, and then taking a break for 15 minutes to take a quick walk, talk with a family member, or grab something to eat.

Breaks will help us stay focused for longer, since doing a task for a long time can tire your brain out and make you want to stop. Taking a break will make you excited to get back to doing your work!

#10. Always Take Notes

It’s so hard to focus when you have to read through pages and pages of information, so a great idea is to take notes as you read!

Get a designated journal for each subject or used lined paper, and write down all of the key points in bullet point form.

Taking notes forces your brain to actually think about the information that you’re learning while you’re writing it down. This way, you’ll be able to retain more information and stay engaged in your task instead of getting side-tracked.

#11. Work in a Group

This tip varies from person to person. Some people are more motivated working by themselves then working in a group.

Don’t decide to do your work in a group of distracting people, and only do your work with people that are motivated like you. The worst thing you can do is be distracted from your task by a friend.

Working alone is also a great option if that’s what you prefer, but working in a group can give you a bigger reason to do what you’re supposed to, since you don’t want to be the only one who’s slacking off.

#12. Look at Inspirational Quotes from Successful People

People that we admire can greatly influence our mood and preferences. Find someone of good influence and read some of their famous quotes!

When you learn more about how famous people got to be where they are, you can start to develop your own ideas for what you want to do and where you want to be.

Remember to only do this for a short while, since you want to get started on your work as soon as possible!

#13. Use Goals to Motivate You

When do you want to get these tasks done? Where do you want to be in a year, and how will completing this help you get there?

If you don’t do something that could help you in the future, there will most likely be a point where you’ll regret that choice.

#14. Record Your Progress

Have you become more motivated since yesterday? Have you done more work than you were expecting?

Write this down in a journal so that you can record your progress and see how your doing.

You should also record how you’re feeling each day, since if you’re unhappy, there could be certain things impacting this that you should start avoiding.

#15. Start Right Away

Without a moment’s hesitation, the best solution to starting something is to start right now. Telling yourself that you’ll do it later is not the answer.

Stand up, walk over to your workspace, and get started!

Image: Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

The 5 Easy Steps to Writing An Efficient Schedule

Elli2 Comments

Schedules are extremely helpful when it comes to planning, routines, and productivity. Most of us even use them on a daily basis!

But the question is; how do you write the perfect and efficient schedule?

Here are the 5 steps to writing a schedule that you’ll be sure to follow.

#1. Where to Write a Schedule

What are you supposed to use to write a schedule?

There are many different places to write a schedule that will keep you motivated, like:

  • Planner
    • To write a schedule that changes every day or week, I recommend writing these in your planner, so that you can easily change your layout for each week.
  • Calendar
    • A Calendar is where I write the basis of what I’m going to do each day. Though this isn’t a very good choice for in-depth schedules, it’s definitely helpful if you have a lot of places to go, and need to write out their dates and times.
  • DIY Schedule For Wall/Bulletin Board
    • If you want your schedule to be up somewhere that you can see it, creating your own DIY Schedule on a piece of paper, or finding a format from the internet to print out, is a great way to do this. These types of schedules work for daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly planning.
  • Phone
    • A place to keep your schedule on-the-go is on your phone! Put your schedule into your calendar, or set alarms for certain times!

#2. Write the Title and Steps

When you first start making your schedule, start off by writing the basics of what you’re going to be doing. If you need to finish your homework, a blog post, or a task, write each of those things as a basis for your schedule.

Underneath those titles for the tasks, you should go more into detail for what you’re doing by writing the steps you need to take to complete it.

To make your schedule more personalized, you can do fun things like colour code the tasks, use a neat style of writing, and more!

#3. Time Management

Now you need to figure out when you can do each of the tasks on your schedule.

First of all, you need to think of what day you’ll start. Next, you’ll need to think about what you’re going to be doing each day and if you’re going anywhere, so you can incorporate your schedule into each day efficiently.

What free time do you have during the day? What time do you want to complete each of the tasks?

I recommend writing the basic time frame next to a task of how long it will take to complete it. This time frame might not be completely accurate if you’re not sure how long something will take you, so feel free to just estimate it.

#4. A ‘Did’ List

People use checklists for a lot of things, and it can be fun to check off a task when you finish it! But there’s also another tactic that I consider more motivating, which is making a ‘Did’ list.

This is a list of things you’ve done each day, so that you can see what you’ve accomplished in one spot. Instead of crossing things out, you’re writing them down to see how far you’ve come!

I use this kind of set-up for school work by writing down each time I’ve finished a certain area of work, and I highly recommend it.

#5. Get Into the Right Mindset

To keep up a routine or schedule requires you to feel motivated and confident that you will stay focused.

If your schedule is too hard to follow, you’ll have trouble feeling excited to do it when you have to.

Staying healthy and taking multiple breaks in your schedule to relax is a great way to combat procrastination and keep good habits.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve successfully completed creating a schedule, it’s time for you to get started!

Hopefully this list has helped you with creating a good routine for yourself to stay on. Did you follow these steps, and if so, did they help you?

Image: Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

Creating Lists for Friends – Inspired by ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’

ElliLeave a comment

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson is by far one of my favorite books of all time. This isn’t just because of its perfect story, or its captivating characters.

It’s also because it’s given me and a friend of mine a new fun way to spend our time!

Description:

Since Emily and Sloane became friends, Emily has been encouraged to forget her worries and find ways to be more adventurous with her friend.

Everything is going perfectly, and right when summer begins, Emily knows that she’s going to have the time of her life now that she has a new best friend to spend it with.

But something strange is going on. All of the sudden, Sloane isn’t answering her phone, and her house is now empty. Emily’s friend has disappeared out of nowhere.

The only thing she has from Sloane is a letter; a checklist of tasks, varying from simple to scary, that would usually be too nerve wracking for her to complete.

But what if there’s a chance that completing them all will help her find her friend?

Before you decide to make a fun list of things to do for your friend, I recommend reading Since You’ve Been Gone first, so you’ll get the gist of what I’m writing about.

When I talk about making lists, what exactly do I mean?

Tasks that will make your friend nervous, but will give them a sense of validation when they do it.

Some of the examples that my friend has made me do are:

  • Have a dance party by listening to ABBA songs.
  • Tell someone a secret you want to tell them but are too scared to.
  • Go to a sewer drain on the side of the road and scream; “Pennywise, I challenge you to a dance off!”

The reason I’m sharing this is because I think it’s a fun and easy way to find things to talk about with your friends, and you get to be creative when making it!

The Don’ts of Writing A Friend’s Checklists

When making these lists, have fun and don’t forget that you want your friend to have fun too!

Don’t choose to write about something that will make your friend or someone else feel uncomfortable or get someone hurt, because that’s not the point of making these lists.

Never force anyone to do something they don’t want to do, and be respectful of people’s rights when writing ideas down.

Also, don’t do anything that might get someone into danger, trouble, or is illegal.

The point is to break out of your shell and have something to do when you’re bored; not to get anyone in trouble or cause problems.

The Dos of Writing A Friend’s Checklists

It’s best to make the tasks on the list vary from easy to difficult.

Write some fun ideas down, and create some that they’ll have to put more effort into doing. The amount of tasks to write down is completely up to you!

When I make these lists with my friends, we set a date where we try to complete it by. We put our best efforts into completing them, but know that we don’t have to do them if we don’t want to.

Another option would be to theme your list! Some theme examples are food, reading, music, and fun!

If you decide to do this activity, let me know what you think! Since You’ve Been Gone is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

The 6 Steps to Starting and Keeping Good Habits

Elli3 Comments

We all have those days where we feel too tired to do our daily chores, to work, to exercise.

However much we hate to admit it, keeping up these habits is actually really important to our overall health.

Keep reading to learn the steps to keeping up good habits!

1. Start Small.

When beginning a healthy habit that you want to keep up in the long run, you might want to jump right in and start doing the rough work immediately.

However, if you’re planning on doing this every day, sometimes you can get demotivated or bored even after just a little while.

My best advice for keeping healthy habits is to start with something small, and work your way up.

If you want to exercise more, start with a small ten minute workout every day, and slowly work your way up to twenty minutes, thirty minutes, and so on.

You know you can do it if you try, but it’s better for your body and mind to take it slow and get used to this new routine before it gets hard.

2. Create a Schedule.

Most people love creating schedules, so hopefully this is a fun part of the process for you!

Create a daily, weekly, or monthly list of what you’re going to do each day. I like to include time frames into my schedule for how long a task will take, but this option is up to you!

A great idea is to hang it up in your office, bedroom, or any place in your house that you visit the most. If you see it every day, you’ll be reminded of what your goal is!

Decorating this schedule is a fun idea, too! Make it motivating by adding quotes, using different coloured pens, or just make it into something that will keep you smiling.

3. Have a Vision.

When I say ‘have a vision’, I mean that you should have a clear idea of where you want to be in a week, or a month, or maybe even a year.

Write down where you want to be after doing this habit for a certain amount of time, and what your goal is.

Ways you can express your vision are by writing about it, drawing a picture, or even creating a vision board!

4. Get Started.

Now it’s your first day of starting this routine. You’ve woken up early to get a head start, and are excited to see how this habit will help with your mental and physical health.

However, after doing this for a couple of days, it starts to seem less simple than you once thought.

Whenever you want to give up, remember your goal and vision, and tell yourself that you’ll thank yourself for starting this routine in a month.

I know that this is the case with me, where I’ve always had trouble keeping up an exercise routine. However, lately I’ve been starting to find fun ways to do it, which leads us to the next task.

5. Change it to Your Preferences.

If you’re not enjoying how your routine is set up, then the best solution is to find a way to make it more entertaining and fitting for you.

If you’ve been going on the treadmill every day, but have realized that doing this is boring, then either find a way to make this more fun, like listening to podcasts or music, or change the tasks altogether and start jogging around your neighborhood instead!

If you realize you have more short-term concentration than long-term, and it’s difficult for you to concentrate on finishing work or chores over a long period of time, then start doing them in short intervals.

Finding and fixing your weak spots will make your habits stronger and more likely to stay in the long run.

6. Celebrate!

After setting and completing a goal, be sure to celebrate! Do something fun that feels like a reward for reaching your vision.

However, this isn’t the end. If you finish doing the task just because you’ve reached your goal, then how are you going to keep yourself where you stopped?

Keeping up habits can be hard and frustrating at times, but remember to keep your eyes on the prize, and you’ll be proud of yourself when you hit your goal.

How to Deeply Clean Your Bedroom – Ultimate Guide

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You’re sick and tired of having to put up with the cluttered space, but are too overwhelmed by how hard it is to start.

You want to clean and organize your room, but where on earth do you begin?

This list has every step that it takes to deeply and efficiently clean your room, even if it feels like it’s not possible.

Committing to Cleaning

While you may be in the mood to clean right now, do you know if you’ll end up finishing the job? Make sure your schedule is completely clear, since cleaning your room is a large commitment.

Remember that you also want to be in a good state-of-mind when you clean your space, or else you might get stressed too quickly from the amount of things it feels like you have to do.

Luckily, this guide is organized in a way that will make sure this process isn’t too overwhelming to you.

Getting Started

Before we jump into getting to the hard part of cleaning, let’s clear up your room first.

  • Gather everything that isn’t supposed to be in your room, and put it where it’s meant to go. This includes plates, bowls, orange peels – you get the idea.
  • Open the window. Let some fresh air in to energize you and put you in the cleaning mood!
  • Rid yourself of distractions. Ignore social media, turn off your phone, and forget about anything else that might take your focus away from cleaning.

Step #1: Make Your Bed

Before you even begin cleaning your room, be sure to start off by making your bed.

Your bed is usually the centerpiece of the room, and if it’s messy, then the whole room feels messy.

Make your bed, and organize all of your pillows and sheets to make it look neat and tidy.

Step #2: Compile Your Things

Let’s be real – doing this project one step at a time can take forever, and can be more difficult to sort out.

So how about we just jump into the thick of things and get started?

Take everything out of your dresser, closet (though you should ignore the clothes for now) nightstand, desk, from under your bed, and any other storage spaces in your room. Place everything on the floor in a pile.

This pile might be big, or it might be small. It doesn’t matter – we’ll get through it either way.

Take everything out of boxes and smaller storage, as well. Every little thing counts. Make sure not to break anything as you’re doing this, and treat all of your materials kindly so that you don’t wreck them.

Step #3: Sort it All Out

Now we get to sort through all of the items that you’ve just put into a pile.

Take a deep breath, and begin. Pick up items one at a time, and sort it into one of the following sub-piles:

  • Keep
    • Any item that you can’t live without, or love too much to part with, should go into the keep pile.
  • Doesn’t Belong
    • Items that you want to keep but don’t belong in your room go in this pile.
  • Sell
    • This pile is for things you don’t want to keep, but might be able to earn some money off of by selling.
  • Donate
    • Donating items is a great way to give back to others and know that your items are going to someone who needs it. Keep in mind that some places don’t allow certain items to be donated, so make sure you do your research. Also, make sure you only donate good-quality items, and dispose of the broken or dirty items in a different way.
  • Recycle
    • Things like used paper, cardboard, and other items, varying at different areas, are all recyclable. Sort all of the things you want to recycle in another pile. Remember to always be environmentally friendly when throwing things away.
  • Garbage
    • Put the items that you want to throw away in the garbage.

Everything that you’ve sorted should now have a home in a sub-pile. If not, create an ‘other’ pile.

If you’re questioning whether you need something, remember that if you haven’t used it in a month, a year, or not at all, you probably won’t need it in the future either.

Step #4: Boxes and Bags

Now that you’ve got all of your organized piles, find some boxes or bags to put your donate, sell, garbage, and recycle items in.

Go throw your recycle and garbage into the proper bins. Move everything that doesn’t belong in your room to its proper place elsewhere in the house.

Get your ‘sell’ and ‘donate’ boxes and move them out of your room to a place in your house where they won’t be blocking the way.

You’ll notice that your room is much more clean already, with all of that unneeded stuff out of the way.

Now your room only has one pile left, what do you do next?

Step #5: Clean Surfaces

If you surfaces are covered in dirt and dust, you should probably clean it off before you go any further.

Cleanse all of the spots that collect dust and grime by dusting and wiping it

Clean around your window frame, in the drawers, on your shelves, polish, and wipe any glass decor that you have.

Make all of your room’s surfaces as spotless as you can for that fresh, modern look.

Step #6: Organizing Your Keep Pile

Where will each object in your keep pile go, now that you’ve decided what you want to keep?

Look at all of the storage spaces that you have in your room. As an example; your papers, binders, and pens would probably go somewhere in your desk, while your small items would go in a box or your nightstand.

Pile them into these categories (I know, more sorting) and make sure that there is also enough space in your storage to put these items.

Step #7: Putting Your Stuff Away

Finally! It’s time to put all of your stuff away.

Going from one drawer to the next, put everything away in a neat, efficient fashion.

Sort things however you like. Try to make it aesthetically pleasing, and make sure it’s easy to locate the things that you need.

In my desk, I use a system where I put things that I frequently use where I can easily access them.

Step #8: Sort Your Clothes

Now we need to tackle clothes!

  • First, clean all of your dirty clothes so that you can see all of them at once together.
  • Take the clothes from your closet and dresser, and lay them out on your bed or a clean surface.
  • Look at which ones fit you and which ones don’t. Do any off them have stains or are ripped? There’s no point in keeping clothes that you can’t use anymore.
  • Sort the clothes that you like from the ones you don’t.
    • If you haven’t used a piece of clothing for over a month you probably wouldn’t use it again. However, don’t completely follow this rule if the reason that you haven’t worn the clothing is because it’s the wrong season to wear it.
    • Donating the clothes that you don’t like is a great way to give them more use, and is good for the environment. (Try to only donate clothes that are good quality, or follow the donation rules of the place you’re giving them to)

Fold all of the clothes that you’ve decided to keep and put them neatly away in your closet.

If you want to make your storage look even more tidy, there are many different ways to sort your clothes; you could do it by color, size, season, brand, and more!

Step #9: Clean Your Floors

A lot of dust and dirt had probably collected on your floor from when you put everything on the ground.

Be sure to clean all of that up by sweeping and vacuuming!

Step #10: Decorating

Since you’ve finished sorting through all of the stuff in your room, now’s the time to decorate it!

Any old paintings or pictures on your wall that you don’t want anymore? Replace them with new ones!

Pin up pictures, posters, calendars and whatever makes you feel happy.

Decorate the surfaces of your furniture with throw pillows, lighting, plants, and more!

Now your room is clean and organized, and you won’t have to stress about having to clean it anymore, because you’ve already done it! Make sure to keep it that way.

7 Ways to Get Over Book Hangover

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I’m sure most of you avid readers out there know what book hangover is. For those of you who don’t;

Yes, book hangover is a real thing.

Allow me to describe the stages of book hangover:

  • Shock.
    • You just finished the last page of an amazing book, and now you don’t know what to do next. You just… sit there. Staring at its cover. The story’s adventures all come flooding back.
  • Emptiness.
    • You then proceed to go on with your day. But you have this pit in your stomach. A feeling of emptiness. The only thing that will fill it is to read more of the story, learn more about the book. You need more.
  • Denial.
    • You look up everything you can about what you’ve just read. You learn more about the author, parts of the story that had slipped from your mind, and facts about the characters. There has to be something new to learn, right?
  • Make it Real.
    • You buy and make everything you can that’s related to the story. Things varying from posters to fact books. You even create a painting of your favorite quote from the book. If it’s a part of your life, why not express it? Real life then begins to feel boring.
  • I’m Fine.
    • You keep trying to convince yourself that you’re fine. You’ve gotten over it. It doesn’t matter to you any more. You might even believe yourself. But at one point, the wall you built comes crashing down, and you spiral back into your thoughts about the book again.
  • Regret.
    • You regret not having read the book slower. If you hadn’t read the book so fast, you would still have more to read now. Why did I stay up so late reading, when I could have saved so much of the story for today?

Book hangover can be hard on some people, since you’ve become so emotionally attached to a book and invested so much time into it. The fact that the characters’ story has just ended is a lot to take in.

To help you through this, here’s a list of things you can do to get over book hangover:

Write About It.

Get out a pen and paper and start writing about how you feel. Why did you love the characters so much? What was your favorite part of the story?

Pouring your emotions out on paper can help you look at your thoughts in a new and organized perspective. You can figure out why you’re feeling this way.

You can choose whether to keep these notes to yourself, or to share them with other people, like close family and friends.

Maybe you could even blog about it.

Do Something Adventurous.

Get out of the house and do something adventurous.

This could be a Netflix and chill night with your friends, joining a club, volunteering, or just going for a walk.

Prove to yourself that real life is way more enjoyable than the story. There is so much more you can be doing instead of sulking around. Create your own story. Have fun.

Face Your Fears.

Fear of heights? Go to a rock climbing gym.

Scared of clowns? Dress up as one for Halloween.

Try to challenge yourself. Take (healthy) risks that make you a better person. You want to be as brave as your favorite character? Become as brave as them.

Most importantly, make sure you learn something from your experience.

Get Someone Else Interested.

Share the book with your friends and family, and get them to read it.

This will make the loss of the story a little less hard, since you’re able to share you opinions on it with someone else.

Come Back to Reality.

Though it’s hard to come to terms with, the book you just read is fiction (most likely). The world, the plot, the characters, they aren’t real.

But you are.

Make the world a better place, and be a real hero in a world full of fictional ones.

Reflect on How You’ve Changed.

You were definitely different when you started the book to when you ended it. Were any of these changes caused by the book itself?

Has a character made you a better person? How so? Have you discovered a new passion? Have you learned something new?

Think about how the story has changed you for the better.

Move On.

It’s time to let go of the book.

You can’t keep holding on to something that won’t come back.

The story will always be with you, but right now it’s holding you back from new experiences. Make peace with it and move on. Find a new book.

Book hangover is the worst part of reading a good book. You know it’s going to happen, but you prefer to ignore it.

But eventually, it fades away. The pain will end, I promise!