Keeping up with it. I can’t

Aug 14, 2023 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

I wish I was better at writing. I mean like actually keep up with writing, being consistent and having the motivation to keep at it. I mean what can I even put in a blog that’s worthwhile? Or should I be giving up on the idea entirely? How many pointless drafts do I need to make before something sticks? Is it a perfectionism problem? Am I just never going to be happy enough to press post on the majority of my work?

I ask myself a lot of these questions every day. But do you know what I don’t do every day? Write. I don’t write nearly enough. I have all these goals and aspirations, Ideas and inspirations, but I can’t seem to bring myself to sit down and write every day, sometimes not even once a week. I’d like to find a way out of this but I’m not sure there really is one that isn’t just ‘keep at it’.

Sustaining New Habits

Aug 16, 2021Aug 16, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

It’s hard to build new habits, but there’s two I’m finally keeping up with after years, if not months, of constant slacking, forgetting and most of all, a lack of motivation.

I’ve been attempting to learn Japanese on and off for a couple of years now. I started with learning hiragana which I memorized most of last year sometime; after relentlessly writing and rewriting them until it almost became muscle memory. In the recent six months, I’ve been using Duolingo more but hadn’t been able to keep up a streak longer than a week. I’d practise every day for a week and then give up for 3.

Today I’m at my longest streak ever of 24 days, and I’m determined to make it a month! (Hopefully more too^^).

The other habit I’ve been working on is reading a little bit every day. I learnt in my first year of uni not too long ago how important it is for any writer or aspiring writer to read as much as they can! I read a lot as a young teen, but the longer school went on the less I read and in college and from thereafter I don’t think I read a single book until I started my university course. I eased myself in by starting with a set of small books ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I didn’t manage to read every day and, in fact, I was slow getting through them.. it took me about 8 months to finish “the increasingly inaccurately named trilogy of five”. I did however enjoy the books greatly and soon after finishing the last one started the first book of Game of Thrones which I’ve read every day for the past 16 days and gotten halfway through already! (For some perspective one Game of Thrones book is about the same length as all 5 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books!) So there’s a big improvement there already!^^

I’m aiming to finish reading the first book by the end of this month so I can move onto the next one^^

Just saying Hey~^^

Dec 20, 2020Apr 9, 2021 / Mero_di / 1 Comment

Just saying Hey~^^

Mindfulness, what so good about it?

Oct 7, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / 1 Comment

Not so long ago Mindfulness was something I’d laugh at; I didn’t intend to learn more about it either, but as I started my TEFL course it became something more important, more relevant and incredibly helpful. Luckily enough I got two Mindfulness courses for free!
As soon as I gained an understanding of Mindfulness and the science behind it, my entire opinion completely changed.
I’ve made a brief summary of some of what I think are the most important(or helpful) benefits of practising Mindfulness regularly and how it helps!^^

1. Improved Well-being

Our well-being is extremely important, mental and physical. It’s what keeps us going, how we get things done and how we live our lives to the fullest!
It’s important to look after ourselves in order to keep up our well-being and although there are many proven ways to do so, we tend to neglect it and end up in either mental slump or being constantly sick^^”
By practising Mindfulness regularly your overall health will see a major improvement (you’ve gotta keep it regular to get the most from these benefits!) You’ll learn more about how across the next 10 points.^^

2. Improved Focus

Staying focused is never a simple task, it’s just so easy to get distracted by people around you, maybe your phone keeps going off or you just cant stop thinking about everything else you would rather do instead of the task at hand.( I know I’m always thinking of everything I would rather do^^”)

Regular Mindfulness and Meditation (to my surprise too) really makes a difference!
Practising mindfulness regularly encourages the growth of neural networks and helps create new connections in the brain. We’re basically rewiring our brain to find better ways to react, which helps us handle tasks better and cope with stress and emotions. Reacting Mindfully also helps us to recover from any distractions and bring ourselves back into a focused and working state of mind.

3. Improved Sleep

Does anyone else struggle with getting to sleep most nights or is it just me? I always have a very active mind, I’m constantly thinking about something. Mindfulness helps us learn how to calm our mind and let go of anything that may be troubling us. Not only that but Mindfulness meditation lowers our heart rate and reduces the need for sleeping pills!

There are so many activities and exercises that originate from Mindfulness and meditation that help us with all these things. The Body Scan meditation is one of my favourites before bed! It helps to relax all the muscles that I don’t even realise are tense and it helps to reduce the stress in the mind and body, which in my opinion is a pretty good way to get to sleep.

4. Improved Relationships

One thing that took me awhile to accept is that Mindfulness actually helps relationships. How you ask? well, surprisingly in a lot of ways.
Being able to react Mindfully makes a big difference for a lot of things, we become more empathic, compassionate and by learning to live more in the present moment we become more aware and attentive too!

Not only does Mindfulness encourage these positive emotions and actions, but it also lowers the amount we react negatively and helps us shift unconscious behaviours that can impact our relationships

Whether its friends, family or a partner, Mindfulness helps us appreciate those we care about even more!

5. Improved Leadership

Being in management or leadership of any kind can be extremely stressful, which is why a lot of managers often come across as strict and harsh. A stressed leader creates a negative atmosphere for their employees which can lead to a lot of workplace (and sometimes home) problems.

Practising mindfulness helps manage stress and react more positively to situations, If managers aren’t stressed then it’s more likely that employees wont be as stressed either. It creates a calmer and more positive workplace atmosphere where everyone is a little bit happier.^^
Not only does mindfulness help manage stress but also allows a leader to be more selfless and compassionate to their employees which helps build much stronger workplace relationships!

6. Increased Awareness

We all miss a lot of little things on a day to day basis, we don’t stop and ‘smell the roses’ or appreciate our surroundings. So many people these days are always in such a rush to get to wherever they’re going, but what about the world around us? There’s so much more of it to see right in front of us and all we need to do is stop and open our eyes.

Mindfulness is living in the present moment, even something as simple as a mindful walk can change our entire perspective of things. We notice more and experience so much more with all 5 senses (touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste)
Experiencing things just a little bit more helps us to appreciate more and truly understand something through our senses.

7. Become More Creative

Do you ever feel like you’ve ‘lost’ your creativity, I’ve had that problem a fair few times. You just get stuck and frustrated, wanting to create something but not knowing what or how; just completely lacking ideas and motivation.
Mindfulness helps to enhance creativity by opening our mind and allowing us to relax completely and focus on new ideas.

Distractions are the main downfall to creativity, always being ‘wired’ and stressed out kills creativity and to really create something amazing we need to be able to relax and ‘reset’ ourselves through means such as Mindfulness Meditation.

8. Reduce Anxiety

Regular Mindfulness practise can do wonders for Anxiety and people discredit it far too much. I have personally experienced the benefits on this one, I often have a lot of difficulties with Anxiety in many different situations and it really can become overwhelming^^”

How does it really help though? Well, Mindfulness actually teaches us how to respond to difficult situations and decreases rumination which in turn also helps us to become more calm (Rumination means to continuously think about the same thoughts, which are mostly sad or dark)
Another way Mindfulness practise can help us reduce Anxiety is that it helps us more aware of the present, to focus on what’s around us and to have more mindful reactions.

9. Reduce Stress

Stress has got to be my biggest struggle, I’m really not too sure why or how but its something that effects me a lot, so I can definitely vouch for Mindfulness being genuinely pretty helpful!^^
The way Mindfulness helps to reduce stress is very similar to how it helps with Anxiety, it helps you become more aware of your thoughts and teaches not to react immediately without thinking (Mindless reaction)

Mindfulness is a skill, it can be learned and improved and in order to react mindfully in a stressful situation you need to learn to access that skill. We have what can be called a security guard in our brains(The Amygdala), this security guard controls what thoughts are allowed to access the higher parts of the brain, by passing the Amygdala and accessing the higher parts of the brain you can then start making much more mindful decisions and reactions.
In order to pass the Amygdala you need to learn to stop and breath, then focus on your breathing and allow yourself to take more time to react mindfully in a stressful situation.

10. Decrease Rumination and Worry

I mentioned Rumination previously very briefly and I realise its something a lot of people seem to struggle with and be unaware of. Rumination means to think about the same (usually negative, sad or dark) thoughts over and over and over again, this in turn causes us to worry a lot too. This all probably links somewhere into overthinking things.

In order to combat Rumination you have to be able to bring your attention to the present and find a distraction that works for you.

Somethings on your mind and you’ve been thinking about it over and over? Mindfulness practise allows us to take a breath and look again at these thoughts and to learn how to accept these thoughts and to then let them go, helping us to breath a little better and think a little clearer about a situation.

11. Feel Happy!

Everyone prefers to wake up feeling good and to go to bed in a good mood right? Out of all of the benefits that come from practising Mindfulness regularly, I’d say that the biggest one is the overall improvement of your mood! You feel happy more frequently with less sudden mood drops.

All of the previously mentioned benefits (and of course ones not yet mentioned) all lead up to this one too: learning to relax more, getting better quality and more uninterrupted sleep, improved relationships and less stress and anxiety – they all add up to being happier so to end this I cant see a reason why you wouldn’t want to practise Mindfulness!^^

Have you previously tried Mindfulness, is it something you do regularly now? Is it something you laugh at the thought of or do you simply not know enough about it?

I’d love to hear what you all have to say!^^

January to June, my 6 Month Review~

Jul 8, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

6 Months ago was the beginning of 2020, a year in which most of us hoped to be a good one – a fresh start, a year full of promise and progress. Boy were we all wrong.^^” One things for sure, the world is in a much different place than anyone could have possibly predicted 6 months ago. It’s still debatable whether it’s for better or for worse but in my opinion, despite all the heartbreaking losses and chaos that has spilled across the word, I believe that it’s ending a lot better than it started. People have been spending time with their families again and learning to appreciate the little things more, as well as all that, people have been listening to nature again and finally realising how important it is to look after our environment!
All I can hope for is that when this chaos finally ends (which may be soon^^) the world will become a better place again and people wont take things for granted so much.

On another note, 6 months! Do you know what that means!?

It’s time for a fun little review on how my Bullet Journal has been coming along, whats happened so far this year and whats changed. I’m going to share my progress with you all!^^

Then and Now – Bujo Progress

If you aren’t interested in Bullet Journals ten feel free to skip past it, There’s plenty more stuff after this section^^

Cover Pages

This year has been my real first attempt at Bullet Journaling and although I have days or a week at a time where I’ll end up slacking, I always manage to pick it back up again afterwards!

As it was my first attempt, my designs weren’t the neatest to begin with. My 2020 cover page just looks like chaos to me now compared to my recent May cover page. My layouts have become a lot more ‘cleaner’ and a lot more simplistic, I really do prefer it! Not only are the layouts drawn better but my photography has really improved too! (If I do say so myself^^)

Habit Trackers

My habit trackers have also made a big improvement, to begin with it looked pretty plain and the end result was always just plain messy ^^” After a couple of months, I’d only slightly altered it so that I was using pencil instead of pen to fill it in which certainly made it look tidier, but I still wasn’t really happy. This month I’ve used a different design and I just absolutely love it! ^^

March Habit Tracker — January Habit Tracker

Budget – Exercise Tracker

At the start of the year I had a budget planner as part of the reoccurring monthly spread, I never really managed to use it properly, I haven’t really had much of a use for it for a few months so I’ve been trying something new each month. First I tried out having an ‘Ideal Day’ page, but that’s not really something you can put in every month… Next I tried having a Studio Ghibli checklist, which again would have been better as part of the yearly spread(although that month I watched A LOT of studio ghibli movies…) The next month down the line I’d really started to focus on my health and fitness and the Habit Tracker really wasn’t helping me encourage myself to do more exercise, so I designed an Exercise Tracker for myself!^^ And I’ll tell you what, my Exercise Tracker a long with my new Habit Tracker design have really been helping me keep motivated! I’m keeping up with it all so much better now^^

Monthly Challenge

Another big change has been my 30 Day challenge, I honestly don’t think I’ve managed to complete a full months worth even once yet^^” I’ve tried making the challenged easier each month and I still just never complete them all, I can never seem to find the time. This month is actually the first I’ve changed it, I made it a daily gratitude page which I’ve already done a terrible job at keeping up to date with. I actually already have plans to change it for next month already. Ironically, I’m thinking of changing it to a Budget page…

Exercise Tracker — 30 Day Self-Love Challenge

Weekly Spread

The last big design change I’ve made in the past 6 months has got to be my Weekly Spread. I would’t say its changed much but it definitely looks a lot neater and more carefully done than it did in January, I’m a lot more proud of it now then I was then!^^

June Weekly Spread — January Weekly Spread

Pixel Year

So I’ve attempted a Pixel year once before and I didn’t really keep up with it too well ^^” I think I managed about 2 months and maybe a week.. This year on the other hand, I’ve completed 5 months!

It’s been a very up and down year for everyone, a lot of horrible things have been going on and I can only hope that the remaining 6 months of this year be promising!^^

Social Media

At the start of the year I decided that I wanted to try and keep track of any increases and decreases on my Social Media followings.

I’m not usually one of those people to be infatuated with social media in any way, but its become quite important for my career and seeing as I do love seeing progress in numbers I thought this simple design would work perfectly.

As you can see, although small I have been getting a few more followers across the board!^^ It may only be small, but its enough for me~

Year Goals

Looking back at the goals I made for this year, I now see that some of them may have been a little too ambitious ^^”
For one, I haven’t been doing nearly enough on Youtube anymore to gain any subscribers so thats unlikely to happen and going to Japan definitely isn’t going to happen any time soon.

The others though are a lot more achievable, I’m only 3 weeks away from completing my TEFL and I’m due to start an OU course at the end of this year too!^^

Before this pandemic started, I was getting close to achieving a level 1 seller on Fiverr too but work really slowed down recently because of it. I still have 6 months though so theres still a chance!^^

The Biggest Changes Over the Past 6 Months

I’ve been getting a little bit stuck on this recently, so much has changed and I just don’t know where to begin!
All of these changes aren’t just because of the corona-virus pandemic, I’ve been working really hard (almost) every day to improve myself and my work^^

Work and Education – What am I doing now?

At the beginning of this year I was just starting my TEFL course and two Mindfulness courses that accompanied it. I’ve very nearly finished them in fact I would have finished it by now but I got a tad distracted and fell behind again ^^” I got a really good deal on an extension with some other really useful short courses which I’ll definitely be looking through soon! There’s some life coaching ones and a course on how to start a business, maybe they’ll help me learn some more useful stuff for my blog^^

Since my TEFL course is coming to its end, I’ve been looking into what else I need to finally become an English Teacher in Japan. Originally I was going to try to get a job with just my TEFL certific ate but after looking into some really good companies that come with a lot of good bonus’, I realised I should really get a Bachelors degree already, so I am. I’ve applied for an OU course and I’m currently sorting out funding for my tuition^^ I’ll be starting my course English Literature and Creative Writing in October this year!

6 months ago I had no intention of going to university (especially with all the current chaos) I guess I forgot that Open University was a thing. I’m surprisingly pretty excited to start it even though I’m very aware it wont be an easy course ^^” I was always good at English so hopefully I wont crash and burn! I’ll be doing my course full time in attempt to finish it in 3 years so I’ll definitely suffer ^^”

(Is anyone else doing an OU course soon? What are you applying for, I’d love to hear about it^^)

Another drastic change has got to be my work focus! At the start I was always focused on working on my music, but I’ve found more enjoyment recently in working on my Bullet Journal and writing blog posts. I’d like to continue to learn and share things, I’d love to help people who are new to the idea of working from home and be able to give advice so with that I seem to have moved my focus to my lifestyle blog. I do still plan to work on some music and maybe release a song every so often, but I’m not sure its what I want as a job right now (maybe I’ll change my mind again one day)

Health and Fitness – How I’ve Improved

By the end of last year I had managed to gain an annoying amount of weight^^” so this year I’ve been trying my best to get back into regular exercise and become a lot healthier! My Bullet Journal has helped a lot with creating a routine and sticking to it each week or month. I haven’t managed to loose a massive amount of weight but I’ve definitely improved my health by a lot recently!^^ I take vitamins everyday as well as have at least one cup of green tea a day, I do a set amount of exercise 5 days a week whilst trying to hit my step goal every day too! I obviously haven’t kept this up even nearly perfectly… I still get the odd day or even a week where I completely lack motivation and can’t push myself to get a single task done. ^^”

I’m confident that I’ve made improvements! I’ve got a lot more strength and a little more endurance than I had in January, not only that but my Resting Heart Rate has gone down!! I used to have a high average on my RHR so I’m really happy to see that theirs definitely improvement there^^

I also can’t remember the last time I got sick, I used to have a pretty harsh cold at least once a month^^” It was awful. But I don’t think I’ve gotten really sick even once this year yet!

Mindfulness and Mental Health – Has it Helped?

I always used to be quite close minded to the idea of Mindfulness, I guess mostly because I didn’t understand it and I didn’t understand it until I did the two Mindfulness courses that I got with my TEFL course. I’m surprised that I found it so interesting, especially since science never was my favourite thing.^^”

I learn’t a lot about the brain and how it functions when it comes to thoughts and emotions, and that in order to think clearly about something and react mindfully, you need to allow your thoughts to pass the amygdala (the security guard of your brain basically) By passing this guard, it allows you to think before reacting. It’s a difficult thing to get a grasp on, I really had to spend a lot of time learning to meditate and breathe properly. I’m still not great at it but now I at least understand how!^^

It’s hard to pinpoint an improvement when it comes to mental health, by using some of the techniques I’ve learnt I’ve definitely learned how to stay calm and think before reacting, It’s also become quite useful in helping myself to focus on a task and actually get work done^^” This is all a major improvement for me compared to 6 months ago, I can handle stressful situations so much better now and I’m finding it a lot easier to relax every so often too^^

I’ve learnt to understand myself better and how to look after myself better, it turns out something as small as making your bed when you get up every morning really does help give yourself a small boost of motivation to then get even more tasks done!^^

There’s always a lot more I wish I could write about but if i write for too long at one time I really start to loose my focus^^”

Aside from the chaos of Covid-19, this year has been somewhat successful so far. I just hope I can say the same in another 6 months!

I hope everyone else’s year has been going well to some extent, tell something good thats happened to you so far! I’d love to hear about it^^

Thanks so much for all of the support I’ve had so far!^^

How to stay Organised and Focused whilst Working from Home!

Jun 18, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

The new Coronavirus has really been causing some chaos recently, but amidst all of that, I’d like to help encourage everyone to have a go at working from home. Obviously there are some who cant, their occupations simple don’t work that way, but there is a vast majority of people who can!
One of the biggest issues I have with working from home has definitely been keeping organised and on top of everything. It’s so easy to get distracted when you have the luxury of your comfy chairs, a fridge only a room away and complete and utter freedom! If you wanted to, you could Snapchat all your friends all day every day but, thats not going to get any work done so today we’re gonna go through some of my top tips to staying organised whilst working from home! ^^

Number 1: Create a Morning Routine

This first tip is definitely one of my favourites. Almost everyone I know underestimates a good morning routine, they are so much more beneficial then you’d think and that’s for more than just work! Firstly, a good morning routine helps with your mental health, you can have a simple routine such as: Get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, get changed and make your bed and after finishing even an easy routine like this, it gives you a great feeling of accomplishment! You’ve started your day well by already ticking off some tasks and now you’ll be a little more motivated to finish off some more, that’s the perfect time to get to work! A morning routine is also a great way to separate your day between work and pleasure, again as many don’t realise, it is so, so important to separate the two. You can’t fully relax and switch off from work, if you’re still surrounded by it and you cant fully focus on work if you’re too distracted by things like your new game! (I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons non stop help) What I like to do is have my short and simple morning routine, once I complete that routine I focus on getting into a ‘work mode’ I’ll set up my desk with everything I need and remove any potential distractions, get myself a glass of water and then start by making a list of what tasks I want to complete that day!
A morning routine is a sure way to boost your motivation and productivity, so give it a try! ^^

Number 2: Set Some Ground Rules

When working for home, you’re almost always going to have others nearby (unless you live alone) In order to be able to work from home, you’re going to need your space. Something that’s difficult to have if you’re stuck at home (This may be a problem for many, myself included – due to the current Covid19 situation) Setting some simple ground rules could make the world of difference! This may be easier for some than others if you happen to be lucky enough to have you’re own room or office space you could simply put a note on your door saying “Please do not disturb” and it should (hopefully) be respected. For those that don’t have a room they can work alone in it may be a little more complicated as you have to comply with those around you a little more. Just as you want them to respect your space, you must respect theirs too. You may need to be prepared to compromise, there are two easy options. Request that you can have a specific room to yourself for an hour or two a few days a week or every day – depending on your workload, if that isn’t something that can be done then you could ask if they could keep noise to a minimum for a couple of hours each day whilst you try to work, either you or they could wear headphones.Once you have figured out where and when you’ll work you can set your ground rules. Simple rules such as: Do not talk to me unless it is important, don’t poke or pester and most importantly don’t invade your space. If you’ve set out a work area on a table the last thing you want is a sibling or someone sitting next to you and distracting you.
Remember to always be polite and considerate when setting ground rules, demanding doesn’t get you anywhere! ^^

Number 3: Schedule Breaks

My next tip is something I believe should be common knowledge but maybe isn’t yet for all.Breaks, breaks are very important when it comes to staying focused and making progress on work. If you neglect to take breaks you may temporarily get ahead on work but since you aren’t giving your brain a chance to recharge it’s very unlikely to be your best work! Working constantly without taking breaks only wares yourself out, you’ll get tired and stressed and end up not wanting to work at all the next day. Doing this really takes a toll on not only your progress but your physical and mental health too! I suggest either setting an alarm to take a 5-minute break every hour or plan to take a half an hour break after a few hours of work
5 or 10 minutes every couple of hours is still better than nothing!

Number 4: Leave Home/ Go Outside

This tip is usually one of my top ones, but due to the current circumstances, it’s a little harder to accomplish.When you work from home, you need to get away from it every so often. It’s important to try and spend a little time away from where you work in order to wind down and have a good break from the workload. Normally I would go for a short walk every day just to take a breather and remove myself from my work environment, but that’s currently not so easy to do. I’m lucky enough to have a back garden, so instead of going for a walk I’ll go outside and wander around the garden with my dog or follow one of my cats around for awhile:3It’s important to go outside for more reasons that just to take a break, I make an effort to go outside for a little bit every day because getting sunlight every day is so good for your mental health! ever noticed that you get grumpy after being inside for so long, that’s because your body is secretly missing all that fresh air and sunlight! During this isolation period it’s extra important to get as much of it as you can, and for those who don’t have a back garden, try opening your curtains and some windows and sit in front of it for a while and take a break to just look out the window! ^^
Sunlight makes more of a difference then you realise! 🙂

Number 5: Keep a Dedicated Office Area

This is a very important tip for those of us who are permanently working for home, for the temporary ones, it’s equally as helpful but not as important. The reason its important somewhat relates back to the keeping work and pleasure separate, but there is also more to it. Having your dedicated workspace means that’s where you work, its the only place you work it’s almost like going out to work to an office, except its at home. It helps with that separation and organisation, you have everything you use to work with all in the one place so when you have completed your morning routine, you go to your workspace. I find having a dedicated workspace super helpful!I’m lucky again to have a desk in my room where I keep all of my work stuff, and it’s also a space that no one else can use because it’s in my room. I know there is going to be a lot that doesn’t have this luxury so of course, again I have other suggestions. ^^ For those who live in a cramped space and can’t have an area dedicated to work, you could arrange to use something like your kitchen table. Keep a box or a drawer that has all you need for work in one place and when you’re ready to work, lay it out on the table. If you live with others, that’s when you go on to try and set ground rules! If working from home is a permanent and daily thing for you, I definitely highly recommend somehow creating a dedicated office/work area, even if it’s small it helps you keep everything organised and it helps you get into a ‘work mode’ if you have that separate space. It also helps you come out of a ‘work mode’ a lot easier as you can simply move away from your workspace to take a break.^^

Number 6: Make a List of Tasks for Each Day

Something that always helps me motivate and organise myself is a good ol’ list. I love lists, they simplify everything!Every day I start off by making a list of tasks that I want to complete that day, sometimes I’ll even add sub-tasks for each main task and after each is completed I cross it off. I find that being able to go through and cross all of my tasks off my list, really helps me end my workday feeling accomplished! If you want to go that step further, at the start of each week create a list of everything that needs to be done that week and separate them to each day! You could stick it on a wall by your desk or by a calendar as a constant reminder
I like to try and complete at least 3 – 5 tasks a day (depending on the size of each task)

Number 7: Focus on One Task at a Time

You may end up getting bored with one task and want to move onto something else for a while and end up jumping between tasks, this really slows progress down and decreases your focus! Pick a task and stick to it all the way through to the end! If you start getting bored and distracted then take a 5-minute break, go for a walk outside or around the house if outside isn’t an option. If you’re still struggling to focus on the one task then try motivating yourself with a reward. Try something like “After I finish this task, I can play Animal Crossing for half an hour” (I know not everyone is playing New Horizons but maybe, just maybe everyone should) Staying focused on the one task at a time will help keep that piece of work at a higher standard, whereas if you keep getting distracted with other tasks you may just end up all over the place and that’s definitely going to slow you down!
Sometimes I like to start with the hardest/longest task first, so after that, it’s smooth sailing~

Number 8: Avoid doing House Work

Sometimes doing housework seems like the best idea when all you want to do is procrastinate from your work, I know I’ve ended up cleaning the whole house just to avoid doing one piece of work in the past. That made it really difficult to really stay on top of everything, I still somewhat struggle with it now but I also make much more of an effort to stay focused on the task at hand and get it all done! Try to set a specific day of the week, every week to do housework. Get it all done in one day so you don’t have any excuse to avoid your work later in the week!
I’m awful for getting distracted, I’m also a professional procrastinator ^^” But I still try my best, it’s important to stay focused!

Number 9: Tidy your Desk at the End of Every Day

So this tip relates to a few things I’ve already said here today, like ‘keeping a dedicated office space’ and ‘avoid doing housework’ Whether you have a dedicated space or if you use your dining room table, I find that clearing it away or just tidying it all up a little at the end of your workday really help you come away from your work environment. It helps you recognise that “today’s work is done, now I can do something I enjoy!” (Like play Animal Crossing…) Tidy away your pens and pencils, don’t leave anything laying out across the desk, no loose paper, no cups or glasses, try to tidy away as much of it as possible! Tidying your workspace at the end of each day also helps you with preparing for work the next day, as you can then set up your desk each morning, which helps you get back into your ‘work mode’ ^^
I actually really enjoy tidying my desk at the end of every day! It really helps me feel like I’ve gone through a whole workday process and tidying my desk makes it feel like I’m ‘leaving the office’ it also makes it easier for me to find all my stuff the next day!^^

Number 10: Exercise / Move around a Lot

Moving around is extremely important. This also obviously relates to the ‘going outside’ tip but Instead of talking about the importance of sunlight, I’m going to talk about the importance of movement.^^Its pretty straight forwards really, if you’re working from home you’re going to end up sitting still a lot and that’s not exactly good for you, physically or mentally. First of all you’ll get a bad back if you sit in the same place and position all day! Stand up every so often:)You need to keep blood pumping around your body in order to be healthy! your legs might get numb if you sit on them for too long, so get up and do some stretches or even just a walk up and down the hallway or even better, the stairs! (if you have any) If you stay sat down all day you’re going to end up constantly tired and finding yourself with a little extra weight!^^”For those who work on computers all day, moving around is even more important, you need to give your eyes a break from screens! (that’s another good reason to schedule your breaks! Give your eyes a break)
I like to do yoga, so I’ll often get up from my desk and do a few stretches and easy yoga positions before going for a walk around the house or outside! ^^

Number 11: Take Advantage of the Perks

Working from home has endless perks, and one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to take full advantage of those perks! You can wear what you want, if you want to get up and make coffee you can just do that. Want to start work a little later than usual? You can, and you can finish early if you really want to as well! (Just make sure you try to complete your tasks for the day) Want to take the day off to hang out with some friends? Or visit some family? You can do just that, no one can stop you, you are your own boss so own it!
I never did well with working in companies and for other people, I very much like to do things my way in my own time so being my own boss is basically one of my life goals!

Number 12: End your Day with a Routine

Last but not least, end your day how you started it, with a routine! I’m not saying use the exact same routine, that wouldn’t make any sense. But do something similar for the same reasons, ending your workday with a routine will help you wind down and remove yourself from your work atmosphere. You can have a short and simple routine, or something a bit more. My routine consists of the following: Tidy desk, do some stretches and walk around a bit, eat dinner (depending on the time I finish for the day), Exercise/Yoga for 20 minutes and then shower. That’s my ‘end of day’ routine! Sometimes I’ll meditate at the end of all that, but I mostly meditate before bed to help clear my mind before sleeping^^
It’s really hard for some to take themselves away from work, myself included. But its really important to try and have time in the day devoted to things you enjoy and not just work, so do try to make sure you don’t overwork yourself! ^^

That’s it! That’s my top tips for working from home^^ I know a lot of people are going to be struggling and having a hard time right now, with more than just being able to get work done from home. Being isolated and locked in at home for a long period of time can be very stressful. Try to stay positive, move around as much as you can, get some sunlight as often as possible, don’t let the current situation defeat you!^^ I’ll be writing a post on ways to stay productive and keep busy whilst stuck at home soon, so keep an eye out for that:)
Thanks so much for stopping by, I wish you all good luck ❤

How I’ve Been Spending my Lock-down

May 24, 2020Apr 7, 2021 / Mero_di / Leave a comment

Hey everyone^^ It’s been a little while since I did a catch up here, so I’ve got a lot to cover!I’m not entirely sure where to start. As much as I’ve been up to a lot of different things, I’m also still in a pretty strict lock-down so not a lot has changed eitherI live in Wales which is currently following a separate lock-down path than the rest of the UK (As frustrating as that is, I also understand why^^”)During this period, I’ve been doing everything I can just to keep motivated and productive! (I have many off days too though)

My Health and Fitness

One of the main things I’ve been focused on recently is my health. I don’t want this lock-down to be the reason I slip up and gain a load of weight again, so I’ve created myself a routine that I’m really trying to stick to^^”

For those who haven’t been following my Bullet Journal Posts, here is a picture of my workout routine for this month. I like to change it up each month so I don’t get bored^^

My goal isn’t just to lose weight either, I’m trying to gain a little more strength and endurance too! I want to be in better shape overall, physically and mentally^^ I’ve even included Meditation and Yoga to my routines now! (I’ll be writing about how Meditation and Yoga can be super beneficial soon too, so look out for that!)

I Completed one of my Courses! ^^

In order to keep productive, I’ve been trying to get as much of my course work done whilst I have a good chance to. When I bought my TEFL course, it came with 2 extra courses for free. Mindfulness for Individuals and Mindfulness for Children. These two extra courses help you learn how to incorporate mindfulness into teaching and how it can make learning easier, less stressful and a lot more fun!^^

I finally completed the Mindfulness for Individuals one last week, I feel like I’m starting to make a lot more progress and I’m no longer half as behind as I have been for the past few months^^”

The Mindfulness for Children course is a little shorter than the Individuals one, so I’m hoping to finish that one next, then I only have the TEFL course left to complete which I’m not too far off completing either!^^ (I only have 1 month left to complete them, so wish me luck!^^”)

I Finally have some Savings! which are about to Disappear…

I think it’s safe to say that before this lock-down began, I was spending maybe a little too much money on going out drinking on the weekends (and sometimes weekdays^^”) I still have a couple of drinks every now and then, but from home now. I’ve actually managed to start some savings which may completely disappear again next month, but for good reason!

Ever since the day it got released I’ve wanted to buy the Animal Crossing Ltd Switch and although it’s going up in price at the minute, I may be able to buy it next month! (I’ll finally be able to stop using my partners switch then too!)

I’m still trying to decide if I completely re-start my New Horizons Island when I get my switch, or if I try and transfer my data over. I can’t decide;-;
(I’m so excited to finally buy this though! It’ll definitely be worth being poor again for a while.)

Stay Productive!

As well as everything else I’ve mentioned so far, I’ve also been trying to pick up some old hobbies that I haven’t indulged in for a while. The first being Art, I tried painting again the other week, turns out I’m still a lot better at using pencils than I’ll ever be with paint ^^” But at least I tried right?

There’s a Japanese workbook that I’d wanted for a long time too, to help me learn more. I finally bought it a couple of weeks ago! It’s the first of a set and this one is focused on Hiragana, which I’m getting pretty good at now^^ The book also turned out to be even better than I expected, it’s got so much in it and it’s so easy to follow and learn from. I even bought a Japanese pen to practice with^^
(What better time to learn a new language than now, when we can’t do a lot else! It’s a great pass time^^)

I’ve also been trying to read a little more, catch up on some Anime and Netflix series and I’m hoping to get a new cosplay soon too! There are always things you can do to pass the time, so make sure you try to stay productive!

Stay Safe ~

I know a lot of people are starting to get fed up with this lock-down, I see a lot of people still breaking the rules every day. Try to remember this will never really end if we don’t learn to follow the rules given to us to stay safe and control the virus

If you keep productive and stay positive then this will all be over with before you know it^^

Thanks for stopping by, I look forwards to sharing more with you all^^ Stay safe ❤