On leading a more productive life.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Good Sunday morning my dears! :) It's such a beautiful day today, and I sure hope everyone's enjoying this long Easter weekend. Whether or not you're at church or simply spending time lazing out at home, it's a beautiful day here on my side of the world and I'm feeling splendid :) 

I've finally started exercising again, I'm proud to say I accomplished my fitness goals for this week! :) Maybe its the adrenaline or the hormones, but I'd like to thank the exercise for my mood as well. I don't think I've felt this energised and happy in a long while. 

I was inspired to write this post today because being productive is something I lack in my life. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who succumbs to procastination, but procastinating is really something I major in. It's an art form in itself, and requires the least effort to succeed in. Yet this very art form is something that should be rid of in its entirety, although I suppose a very mild case of it won't bring too much harm. My case on the other hand is severe because I'm able to procastinate for weeks on end. Let's use some of my make-up posts that have been saved in drafts for weeks now. *waves frantic hands up in the air*. So, though I may not be the most reliable person to produce tips on leading a more productive life, I thought I'd share some things I've tried in the past and am hoping to inculcate now to put me back on track: 

1) Keep your area neat and tidy.

This may seem like the most mundane yet it is also the most important thing to do. I'm not a very neat person, and when I'm at my worst there's hardly space on the floor to walk around! I'm not proud of this, and the clutter makes me frantic and uneasy. Very often you'll hear people say they need to clear their rooms before attempting work, and this is for the very reason that the clutter around you represents that in your head! I've been keeping my room neat and tidy, and I have found that it has helped me tremendously as it makes me more energetic to do something. It's not easy to keep spaces clean, but with a little effort you'll thank yourself for sure in the long run! 

2) Integrate at least a half hour of exercise each day.

Let's not deny that it is no easy feat to get our butts off the chairs to head out for a run/exercise. Did you know though that exercise doesn't necessarily involve leaving the house and sweating profusely? Besides, there are several videos you could search for on YouTube to work out at home! I personally love Yoga, and my go-to YouTuber is Adriene. She has tons of videos to choose from, and I work out on these videos even after having gone to the gym! Plus, yoga is relaxing and you'll feel so much calmer after :) I also like Cassey and Sean, their videos are all simple to do and hardly require equipment of any sort. Let's not forget apps you can download like the Nike Training App, it's free and is super useful to do at home :)

3) Plan out your day.

To-do lists are definitely one way of keeping yourself on track for the day and week ahead, but I personally prefer writing out a schedule for the day. Use a vision board, or a wall in your room and fill it up with sticky-notes to let yourself know what you plan to do throughout the day. I find that doing this helps me better in organising my time for the day. This way, not only do I have a to-do list, but I know how much time I'm planning to spend on each activity and how much time I'll have to do other things. You'll be surprised at how much you can plan (and not squeeze!) if you write out a detailed plan.

4) Have a routine.

Just like an exercise schedule, it's important to keep a routine. What this means is what you do in the morning when you wake to when you fall asleep at night. Undeniably, being more productive means waking up bright and early in the morning. Set yourself a time to wake each day, and perhaps a different one during the weekends (there's nothing wrong with a little sleep in during the weekends ;)). What do you do each morning when you wake? Prepare yourself some tea? Take a shower? I know I always feel productive when I have a routine. I always start my day with a shower and some tea, and then end it off with a candle before I go to sleep. Having this routine keeps me more in check with my life and I know I have complete control over it. 

5) Constantly fill your mind with positive vibes.

There will be good, but there will also be bad days. During days like these all you want to do is cuddle under the covers and hide yourself from the rest of the world. For some, it takes a day to get over but for others like myself, this may spiral for several days and weeks sometimes. I've found that keeping myself around positive words of affirmations and vibes have been vital in the process of stripping my covers away and getting out of bed. I can't say I'm an expert in this area at this current moment, but it's something I'm still grasping to master. Instagram is definitely a wonderful place to start, follow pages that are filled with bright colours and happy quotes and vibes. They're great to look at to keep yourself going during the darkest times. 

All in all, leading a productive life is something I know we all aspire to do. Even so, sometimes procastinating and taking a day off is important to unwind too. I know some of the tips shared here may be borderline excessive, but I do hope you understand that it's not meant to be followed strictly. Either ways, may you be filled with happy positive vibes, and I hope this post has helped you albeit slightly :)

Do you have any other tips on leading a more productive life? What are your thoughts? Do share, I'd love to know! :)

xx. 

Birthday weekend

Despite the tumult that is my life, I was able to take the weekend off and invest some time being happy. Celebrated my 23rd on the 13th, and it's odd because I feel like a 30 year old in the body of a 23 year old. 

Headed down to the Moonlight Cinema last Saturday to catch Zootopia. We arrived ten minutes before showtime, and the entire area was pretty much filled up. We managed to get a spot at the far corner in the back, and it wasn't too bad at all :) A nice place to go on a date, and I'd recommend it for couples. 

Moonlight Cinema

I know it looks really bright here, but this picture has been exposed. Also, the sky was reddish that night (maybe a sign of the gang fight that broke out in the city that night?) and it wasn't as dark as it usually would have been. This worked in our favour though, because it felt really early even though it was already 11pm.

Fireworks from the Moomba festival

The movie went on a short intermission from the fireworks display from Moomba. It was seriously such an enchanting evening :)

On the day of my birthday, I pretty much had nothing planned. I just wanted to spend the day in lazing around before going out for dinner. My housemate suggested we go cycling and so we did. I'm really glad she dragged me out of the house, it was such a lovely day and such perfect weather to be cycling in.

We rented our bikes from this place at Federation Square and cycled for two hours. Rental was $20 for two hours, and i personally thought it wasn't too bad. This was however my first form of physical exercise over five months, so I was desperately trying hard to keep up with myself. My quads are pretty much all jelly at this point...

In the evening we headed to Veggie Bar for a simple dinner. The food at veggie bar was.... O.M.G. I LOVED IT. I seriously applaud vegetarians who can whip up a solid meal. I mean... mock meat is legit meat. Taste wise, I can't tell the difference sometimes! I love vegetarian meals, they're so filling if served properly and needless to say we had a satisfying dinner. We originally had plans to grab dessert after but we were too stuffed to even think about it. 

HUGE portion of fries. SO WORTH IT.

<3

I don't always express my true feelings to people, but I was sincerely grateful on my birthday. Birthday cards were read with tears streaming down my face, and in that moment I have never been more thankful for the people I've been blessed with. I'm the harshest critic when it comes to my own self, but sometimes I need to know that it's okay to have problems and not be perfect. 

I'm 23 but I'm still very lost. 

23 but still going through life a step at a time.

23 and still an undergraduate.

23 and still learning to accept my flaws.

Even so, I'm 23 but I'm still excited and hopeful for my future and all there is to come for me. I've definitely loved myself a little bit more the past few months, something that hasn't come from the validation of others. 

So... I'm 23. Where to now? 

xx.

My first 10km run!

The 18th of October 2015 was a special day for me because it celebrates the day I ran my very first 10km! Looking back at it today, I can't believe I actually completed the entire 10km without stopping. Just a few months ago it seemed impossible but now that it's done and dusted I feel like I am capable of achieving and accomplishing anything.

Here's a little backstory on how I got myself involved in the first place:

Rin had signed up for the 10km run for the Melbourne Marathon. I was always keen on participating in a 10km but had never been bold enough to sign up for it because I knew that doing so would mean commitment and thus regular training. As it is, I hadn't even completed a 5km properly before so 10km to me was practically swimming before I had even learnt to breathe underwater. To cut the story short, Rin persuaded and managed to get me to sign up for the 10km, and from that day on I knew there was no backing out.

Now my physical fitness was never on 'expert', but I definitely know I'm fit enough to run and carry out strenuous exercises. My physical strength wasn't so much my concern as my mental strength was. In all my life, I'd always run in the gym on the treadmill. Running outside was always a failure because I always gave up before I had reached the end.

Rin on the other hand, was experienced with running long distance. She'd covered a half marathon before and this girl had a healthy lifestyle (she's recently committed herself to powerlifting!!) so she knew what had to be done! Quite frankly, she was the one who opened up my eyes to the world of running and training for the run.

We only started proper training less than a month to the 10km. It's considered last minute training, but for the amount of time we - I - took to train for it, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come!

We started out by running 5km non stop outside and that very first run for me was a killer. I wanted to give up and almost did but my coach (Rin) was tough and strict on me. She told me not to stop and pushed me all the way. I originally thought we were just going to take the 10km leisurely, never did I think we were going to actually train properly for it. She even wrote a detailed plan for me!!

Training Plan

When I saw this training plan the only thing that went through my head was: I must not disappoint her. Whilst it is true that I started out with a different intention, but after seeing how much effort she put into my training plan and how supportive she was in my abilities to complete the entire distance, I didn't want to let her down.

What I learnt though, was that running long distances isn't difficult. In fact, I developed a deeper respect for athletes in general because of the disciplined plan they follow for their respective trainings. In the course of the three weeks that I trained for the 10km, I ate to exercise rather than exercised to eat, and my schedule revolved around my exercise plan. On days that I had to run the long distances outside (I did this with Rin), I used the techniques she taught me to make the journey easier. Progressively, like all things we do, it got easier to cope with as the weeks went by.

It's easier to build yourself physically than it is to do mentally. Challenging my mind was the toughest battle I had to overcome. In fact, the day we planned to run 7.5km outside happened to be the hottest day of the week. To top it off, of all times to run, we chose to run at 11.00am.

I so wanted to give up so many times, and I even tried to sneak my way out of it by faking that I was going to faint. I don't know if Rin could tell, but she made us run under the shade for a while to cool from the Sun before running outside again. I really wanted to give up and to exaggerate it: wanted to die. Even so I persevered and pushed on and at the end of day, managed to complete 7.6km. I felt so proud of myself.

Subsequently, once I knew mentally that I could run 7.5km, running the first 7.5km on the day we were scheduled to run 9km wasn't difficult at all. It was conquering the final 1.5km that was the real challenge. Even so, by this point I knew that I was physically able but still mentally weak. One method I took to battle this was by focusing on my breathing and the manner in which I was running. Channelling my thoughts in this direction helped to take my mind away from how much further I had to run and stopped me from thinking about giving up.

Eventually, the day of the 10km run came and to sum it up, it was the most incredible and amazing experience I'd ever been through. People of all ages, shapes and sizes were there to run in their respective categories. The atmosphere was so supportive and everyone was just there to have fun and to run. I'm proud to say I completed the entire 10km without stopping. I did it. It was truly a moment for me :)

Full Marathon runners

Before the run 

All smiles after the run!!

We did it!!

Huge huge huge shoutout to my gem of a friend/coach Shirin. Without you I would have been nothing.

Let this be a constant reminder to me during the times I want to give up. Giving up will bring me nowhere in the long run.

Next up: Half Marathon.

xx.

Photo Credits: myself & Shirin.

The walls in my head.

Source: Pinterest

Work gives me the opportunity to inspire teenagers and others around me. Likewise, I too am inspired by them. 

I don't want to disclose too much about what I do at work exactly because I don't know what i'm allowed to mention. But I suppose it would be alright for me to say that a part (this is just a small part of it) of what we share include life skills as well as overcoming the voices inside our heads that prevent us from achieving our dreams. 

A particular segment about dreams recently came up one day and it made me reflect about my life and the dreams that I once had. What happened to those dreams? Rather, I realised that I no longer allowed myself to dream. It was as if dreaming of a good future was almost forbidden because I did not think I deserved it. Why do I allow myself to treat me so harshly? 

It all started when my colleague shared a story of his way back when he was in high school. A teacher had asked him to fold a piece of paper into eight equal rectangles. Upon doing so, she then instructed him to tear out 1 full rectangle and half of the rectangle next to it from the piece of paper (the rectangle was to be torn from the outermost corner of the paper). Each rectangle represented ten years. As my colleague was 15 back then, he had torn off 15 of the supposedly 80 years of his life from that piece of paper. His teacher then instructed him to write down what he hoped to achieve within each decade in the respective rectangles. In other words, things like "graduate from University", "get married", etc. He didn't need to be specific with the age, he only had to write it down in the appropriate rectangle. 

This story triggered something within me. Age to me after all has been nothing but a number. The reality though, is that age catches up to you. I don't mean in terms of how you look or how your joints start giving in though. To me, the term annotates the amount of responsibility I will have to take with not only my life but my family. There will come a day where I will eventually end up being the one taking care of my parents even when I'm married, and it's important that I have a stable enough income to provide for them. 

That aside, it made me realise that I've only taken up two out of the eight rectangles in that entire piece of paper. There are still several more rectangles for me to fill up and achieve the dreams that I have always wanted. Why did I confine myself within the walls of my head that told myself it was impossible to achieve greater and better things? 

"Life is not a race but a marathon."

It's not about how fast you get to the end point but the journey you make to get there. The answer was always there but I chose to cloud that with my own beliefs. Without realising it I chose to see that I had already failed to achieve anything great in life. I only saw things going downhill from here.

...what a terrible thought :( 

That said, I've allowed myself to dream again and I know that there are several opportunities for me out there. I have to take everything a step at a time. After all, it always takes time doesn't it? :) I have a dream for what I want to be in the working world once I graduate and start working full time. As it is now, I know that it will take several years before I get there but I am willing to make my way there slowly. God willing, should this be the right path for me, I only pray that it go smoothly. 

With that I would just like to end off by encouraging everyone out there to get rid of the voices around you that bring you down. Get rid of people who are negative voices in your life but most importantly, get rid of your negative voice. You are worth so much more and life has so much more in store waiting for you. Don't cloud yourself with lies. Choose positivity! :) 

With love, xx.

Good thoughts: Be a better you.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Up until a few years ago, I used to be someone filled with hate. It was a scary thing, and looking back I am only thankful that I have since learnt to overcome those feelings of hatred I have held against people. As a teen, I've constantly been told by friends that I have the face of a bitch and that I appear intimidating and am unapproachable. For many years I contested against that statement, arguing that it would take one time to understand and know me better to make a proper judgment on the person I truly am. However, I soon came to realise that first impressions matter and very often, what you see on the cover does to a certain extent reflect the individual's character. Essentially, there was no false claim behind my bitchy exterior. The truth was that I was indeed one.

I was a bitch.

Since I came to that realisation, I made a promise and an effort to change my ways. You see, I realised that the terrible thoughts in my head were reflected in my actions, and these thoughts motivated most of the things that I did. They were often selfish acts, and I would end up using people for personal gains.

But what exactly were these terrible thoughts that I would have? Here were some:

1. Jealousy. How on earth was someone with her personality able to get a boyfriend?
2. Hatred. Word of mouth reached me and I discovered that she hated me. So I wished for eternal vengeance against her. 
3. Someone irks me for reasons they can't control. I then behave like a nasty bitch towards her. The reason that person irks me could be for the simplest thing like an annoying laugh or for being too attention seeking.

These are only a few that I'm able to come up with at the moment. If you're able to relate to some then welcome to the group. My question to you is this. Why hate? Why waste so much energy hating on someone? All that time and effort can be used for other things. 

But here's the thing about hatred and thoughts. It can be managed. And this was how I achieved it. 

1. Before criticising someone, think about yourself. If you're about to critique someone for a terrible attitude, you doing the same thing puts you in the same spot. Besides, gossiping about another person just places within the bitchy zone. 
2. So someone has a bad habit that annoys you. Either a) Make an effort to spend less time around the person. or b) Learn to suck up that trait that annoys you if she's an important friend to you. Also always remember that you have traits of your own that are annoying too. And you have to take my word for this, act on your annoyance at another's trait and you'll find that you'll soon call that trait your own. 
3. Someone lashes out at you for no reason. You get upset and you get mad. Do you hate that person forever? No. Always remember that people are going through different things in life. That person may have been going through a hard time. Sure, you are too. And yes, it still doesn't give them the right to have acted the way they did. That doesn't mean you can't be the bigger person. Take time off to let the anger disappear and approach the person and hold an assertive conversation with him. Always remember to not confront out of anger, you usually say things you don't mean and will regret. 

It's hard to make a change. But the first step is to admit that you are indeed a bitch. After you do that, take a moment to think how truly happy you are. I know that since I've learnt to let go of hatred and bad thoughts, I've definitely felt a lot happier and I'm not just saying this for the sake of doing so. I say it because I've lived through it :)

And hey, it's not going to be an easy process. You can't change everything at once. It has taken me years to change each negative thought. I focus on one negative thing at a time and work on it first. After that then only do I proceed on to another negative thought. Slowly you'll learn to handle it and before you know it, you hardly feel angry all the time. 

Also a true fact: People are a lot friendlier towards me and I am a lot more approachable now than I used to be. It could be perspective, but even so I believe that it's the change in mindset that has helped.

You're going to fail sometimes and you will think bad thoughts. Times like these give yourself a break. You're allowed to feel that way, you are human after all. But it's important to not let it hold for too long. Go back to your routine of self-cleanse the next day. 

After all, 

Image Credits: Pinterest

So go and be a better you :) I know it's possible, and I will be with you till the very end. Don't give up, and don't lose hope. It's possible as long as you believe it to be.

Xx.

p.s. Sorry for the terribly wordy post. This is a new style I'm trying out. I've always wanted to do an advice sort of thing, something along the lines of AgabobAdvice. Let me know what you think? I'm open to comments and constructive critique! :)