So, About That

Aaaand it's been almost a month since I last posted.
I am just all over the place lately!

I'm thinking I need to sit down and reorganize my life; it seems ever since starting my real job it's been more difficult for me to follow a set schedule. Well, I need to fix that!

So, I've decided: Starting on Sunday, I am going to create a new schedule for myself!
I'm a type of person who likes to have a bit of disarray in my life, but for the most part I need structure. Basically just a basic plan of when I'm going to do the few things I consider important: walking my dog, working on projects, blogging, etc.

So, here we go.
I'm going to use this blog to hold me accountable and maybe that will be the kick in the rear that I need to get back in the swing of things!!

Bonus:

Here's a picture of my adorable puppy, Rory, in his new reindeer antlers! SO CUTE!

Morning Routine

I have something I need to get off my chest:

I'm a morning person.

Whew. Glad I got that out there. 

Some people ask me "how" I do it, and honestly...I don't know. I've always been one to just get up, get out of bed, and get stuff done. If I don't, I feel like the whole day is just going to be a complete wreck.

My morning routine goes something like this:

• Wake up (woah, how innovative), typically at 5 am
  
• Make my bed, start some coffee Or tea, depending on what I'm in the mood for that day.
  
• Exercise. his also varies based on my mood. Sometimes I go through a Zumba video, other times I just wing it, if I have Snickers I'll take him on a walk. It all depends on the day! A few of my friends like to judge me because sometimes I do Blogilates. But you should definitely try it!!
  
• Breakfast time! I almost always eat either a bowl of cereal or a cup of yogurt, with that cup of coffee (or tea) I started earlier. Or, you know, 5 cups of coffee. If you recall from this post, I have a coffee maker right next to my bed. I don't have a problem. I swear. Okay, I might.
  
• While I eat breakfast, I also take the time to read the news and catch up on my favorite blogs. I love to use Feedly for this, because it separates everything into categories and formats it so it's simple to read everything in one place. I have it on my phone, my tablet, and my computer. I definitely recommend it. Sometimes I do this in the chair by my bed, but I also love to take it out onto my balcony and get some fresh air before the rest of the complex is up (and loud. So very loud.)
  
• Now it's time to actually get ready. I shower, brush my teeth, do my hair and makeup, and get dressed. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.
  
• Start the day! Yep, that's the last step. After I'm done with my morning routine, I just start on whatever I happen to have on my to-do list. (Have you used Todoist? It's basically saved my life.)

So I guess that's how I do it; that's how I'm a morning person. I have a routine and I stick to, it I basically just run on auto-pilot until I get dressed. Once you establish a routine that fits your lifestyle, it really isn't that difficult to maintain it. So, if you want (or need) to become a morning person, I definitely recommend establishing a routine for yourself!!

Obviously, I'm not telling you to wake up at 5 like I do; that definitely doesn't work for everyone. Just find something that works for you and stick to it! You'll be amazed what you can do (and how early you can do it) when you really put your mind to it!

May the Fourth be With You!

Happy Star Wars Day everybody!

This should honestly be a national holiday (even though today is a Sunday, so it wouldn't matter...)

I'm stuck inside right now, trying to clean up my apartment. With all of my finals (my final finals!) I have let my apartment become a complete mess. Which, if you've read basically any other post here, you'd know that I am most certainly not okay with it.

I hate messes. But I also hate cleaning. Which is why usually I just tidy up as I go along. But I haven't had enough time! Stupid finals!!

So today, instead of wandering around my apartment complex, enjoying the lovely weather and beautiful flowers in bloom, I'm stuck inside cleaning my apartment and watching QVC.

Which is also bad. Because now I really want this laptop...despite having just bought a new one last July!! 

So this is basically a struggle in every single way. 

I mean, look at how beautiful it is outside!!

I need some motivation, I just haven't found any of it yet!!

Does anyone have any suggestions for motivating myself? Or some quick cleaning tips? 

I would really appreciate it!!!

Life is Hard

I don't think there has ever been a more true statement.

It's not like I'm just realizing this, of course; I've known for quite some time. It's just that some times you let that realization slip into the back of your mind until something brings it to the front again.

Like finals. My last finals.
It's a little terrifying and preparing for them is completely taking over my life.

I'm taking 21 hours this semester (WHY??), so I have finals for 7 classes.
SEVEN.
Thank God they're not all actual exams, but still.
I have papers, presentations, projects, exams, on top of trying to find a big-girl job, working at my internship, and completing activities for Chi Omega and my other organizations.

It's a lot to handle, and it hit me just how much this all has been affecting me when I took the time to look at my room this morning.

It is a MESS. Honestly, it looks like my room exploded.
Which is a big deal, because I HATE MESSES! If everything is not in its place, I almost have a panic attack. And I wish I was kidding.

I have dirty clothes all over the place, bags just piled on the floor, my shoes are strewn across the room, and I have clean towels in my hamper that I haven't even considered folding.

My life has just been so busy and stressful lately that I let my room get this bad, and now it's making me even more stressed and I know I have to take time out of my day to clean this. If I don't, it'll kill me.

But when will I have the time? Everything is due this week and next! I just don't know how I'm going to make enough time to get my room clean enough for me to handle it, but I also know that if I don't I won't be able to focus on anything that I do!!

Does anyone have any suggestions for managing my time for cleaning, working, and doing school work?
Because that would be a GREAT help. And I'd probably love you forever.

Keeping it Together

Being organized was never something that I really felt was important in high school, but as soon as I got to college I realized that I was going to need to get myself together. Literally.

Since then, I've become and organization fiend. If something is not in its place, I scramble to fix it because I have a plethora of worst-case-scenarios running through my head.
"What if someone visits and needs items A and B and I don't know where they are?"
"What if I'm taking care of the family dog and I can't find his leash? "
"What if I'm getting ready for a final project and I can't find any of my deliverables?"

You get the gist of it. It definitely can get worse than that, but those seem to be my most common thoughts.

So I make sure to keep my life together. Everything has a place and everything is in that place. That's the tough part. Saying what belongs where is easy; actually making sure it gets put there every single day is a struggle.

To keep it together, I primarily use 4 things:

1. Chromebook
   My laptop. This Chromebook is barely 11", so it's super easy to carry around everywhere; it even fits in a few of my purses, which is super convenient for me when I don't want to lug around an extra bag just fr my computer. It also stores everything in the Cloud, via Google Drive, so even if I leave it behind or--heaven forbid--lose it, I won't lose any of the work I've done. It operates using Chrome OS, so I have access to all web apps in the Chrome Store, which definitely helps me keep everything on the computer nice and organized. There are planners, task timers, note-takers, and so much more that you can use to stay organized.
   
   
2. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
   I guess at this point, this particular tablet is "out-of-date," but it's basically the love of my life. I can access everything I do on my computer and everything I do on my phone thanks to the cloud, plus a whole bunch of other stuff. I love to read, and since ebooks are much cheaper than hard copies (although, there is nothing like a real book) I keep a ton on here so I am never without a good book. It's also a lot easier to carry around my one, tiny tablet, than to store 3 or 4 books in a bag. I primarily use this for reading news and blogs. My favorite app for doing so is Feedly, which keeps it all together and nice and organized for me. Sometimes I even use this to take notes in a class or meeting.
   
   
3. Planner
   Basically every second of my life is in here. If it's not in here, I'll probably forget. In fact, lately I've been forgetting to transcribe items from my digital calendar to this planner and, shocker, I've forgotten about them. So I definitely need to get back on that, because missing things causes so much stress and I am not about that life.
   
   
4. Mini Binder
   Every thing is in here. I plan my days in here, take notes in here, write down ideas in here, draw quick sketches in here. My life is in this binder. I have it separated for different subjects--classes, my internship, this blog, personal things--so I can easily find what I'm looking for. This binder goes with me everywhere. If you don't have something like this, I definitely suggest you get one. It's adorable and it helps me keep my life together, so I'd say it's basically essential.
   
   

So, there you have it. That's how I'm keeping it together. There are a few flaws that I'm currently working out, but overall, it's a system that works for me and keeps my life as stress-free as possible (which, in the last month of your senior year of college, is not very stress-free, fyi)

Does anyone have any organization tips that they are particularly fond of? I'm always trying to perfect my system, so don't hesitate to let me know!