Change & The Fear of Being Judged

We are currently going through a really weird time aren't we? I mean, we are in a really unusual situation right now and because of the Covid-19 pandemic a lot of us currently are adjusting to working from home for the first time ever. I have somewhat settled into a routine, but it really has taken me what feels like a lifetime! I still have my moments where I remember everything that is going on and I have a bit of a meltdown, but for the most part I think I am adjusting to remote working. Having all of this time at home has really given me time and perspective. I had my little bit of a struggle with this situation, but I have come to terms with whats going on and I have kind of become a lot more motivated. I really want to use this time wisely and make the most of this time at home. I really want to make the most of my time.

Anyone who knows me off of the internet knows I have never really been one for fitness and exercise, if anything I tend to avoid it as much as I can. For the very first two full weeks of social distancing I stayed inside for a full two weeks. All I did for that time was constant college work and constant sleep, and it wasn't good for my head. So in the past couple of days I've been challenging myself on making long walks/runs a priority, because not only does it give me something to do for an hour during the day but its a nice break from constant work. To my own surprise it's actually become something I have been really enjoying and I really look forward to it everyday and I do really want to be more mindful about how important regular exercise actually is.

I have also really been thinking about the future and what I want to do. I love fashion and I really want to start to turn this blog into a fashion and accessories blog, just to share what my own personal style is and to talk about the things I love. Not being able to see the people I love outside my family has given me time to think about it, and it is something I have wanted to do for years. Life is too short - the past few weeks have proved to us that anything can happen. So why not do something that I want to do?

I've always had the fear of being judged, but I'm not so scared of it anymore.

So maybe it's time for Change.

How to Stop Procrastination While Working from Home

My Top 5 Tips for Working from Home.

The world is currently consumed with endless information about the Coronavirus. It is a time of uncertainty and it's hard to know when exactly things will go back to normal again. I'm currently doing my Masters Degree, and like many others now have to work from home to complete my degree. I have never worked at home before really, and it's safe to say that the struggle is real! I, like many other students, find some sort of strange comfort doing my assignments in the Library. It is something I definitely took for granted along with the ability to go to college and meet my classmates in person to discuss group projects. It has only been four days of self-isolation but as an extrovert, I do feel like I am going slightly crazy without human contact outside of my family.

Over the next few days, I have decided to keep my mind at ease I will be going through some topics which could in turn help someone else. (It also gives my mind something to do that isn't college work!!)

Today I am going to talk about a few things that have been helping me to stop procrastinate and get work done!!

1 - Make a clear workspace at home.

This is more important than I realised. My very first day working at home I just sat in bed with my laptop all day and trust me, it was the worst idea ever! Not only was I distracted by literally everything in my room, but being in bed made me a little bit too relaxed. I fell asleep twice and by the time it came around to bedtime I was wide awake and I was completely restless. So my advice is find yourself any other space! Even if it is just your kitchen table, work from there and keep your sleeping space separate from your workspace.

2 - Get into a Routine

Get yourself get into a proper routine. Plan a time to start work and and a time you want to finish at. Work your usual college/office hours. Tell yourself you will work from 9am to 6pm and after that leave the rest of the work until the next day. If you even want to be more flexible during the day assign your work hours to what times you feel you can get the best quality work done - your 'peak' times. Having some form of routine will help you to stay focused and motivated.

3 - Allow yourself to take a break.

I cannot stress this enough! Working from home for the first two days gave me a really blurry view of what was work and what was a break. I found myself consistently on my laptop for hours and at the end of it my brain just felt like mush. Give yourself breaks, go for a walk (working from home doesn't mean you can't go for a walk!!!), have a break while eating, have a coffee break, etc. Having suitable breaks to clear your head will prevent you from crashing and help you to focus more. Pomodoro is an excellent app I have been using on my laptop, which lets me know when to take a break from work.

4 - Turn off your Phone.

This ones self explanatory! It just takes one notification which can lead to hours of scrolling. Use your phone as a reward for your breaks/end of work day.

5 - Set Smaller/More Realistic Goals.

You are not going to be able to write an entire thesis today. Set yourself 200 words today. Continue this over the next few weeks and eventually it will be completed. Setting realistic expectations will prevent stress and it will stop procrastination as it makes a project less overwhelming.



Thank you for taking the time to read thought my blog post, and I really do hope some of these tips can help someone else out. Working from home is a lot more difficult than people realise, and procrastination is so easy to do! Hopefully once all of this chaos from the Coronavirus passes we can all get back into our normal routines soon!

Reflections of my Undergrad

I'm currently doing my postgraduate degree in Marketing, so coming from an Arts Undergraduate degree I knew there would immediately be a lot of challenges for me. I graduated from my Bachelor of Arts degree in 2019, and I started my Masters course straight away the same year. A lot of people, including my friends and family questioned whether or not this was the right next step - all of my friends decided to take this year out of the school system to take a break and work. This really made me question whether or not I was doing the right thing. Was I wrong? Was I going to burn out? Would a break from college be better for me?

This made me really look back and reflect on my three years as an undergrad. I thought about it a lot, as I really wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing for myself. Even though my three years in college were the best years of my life, I look back and I can remember feeling so anxious and scared all of the time. My first year of college I really didn't make as much of an effort as I would have liked. Moving away from home so young was so much harder than I expected, and making friends was difficult and terrifying. I remember a conversation I had with my friend before our exams started and we both agreed on dropping out of college and not returning for our second year, for absolutely no reason. Settling in a new place took so much time.

I loved studying Sociology, but I always had an underlying feeling in that degree that it wasn't something I wanted to make a career out of, and even if I did want to I had no idea how. Prior to entering the course I was in love with Photography, Video Editing, Graphic Design and other interests that were really creative. In some ways I felt that studying something like Sociology was interesting, but it wasn't the right fit for me.

After a lot of breakdowns with my guidance councillor in college and a lot of research into Masters degrees, I came towards the idea of Marketing. I didn't have any business background before this course which was something that worried me, but the more I learned about it the more excited I got about it. I applied, went forward to an interview to discuss the course and I was later accepted. I am currently in the second semester of the course and I can honestly say it's crazy how sometimes everything that is right for you can just fall into place.

I don't regret my Undergraduate degree as I learned so much from it and I did really enjoy it, but it's so nice doing something that just feels right for me and makes me feel excited to be a creative person again. If anyone out there is reading this and they feel stuck in something, talk to somebody and research what out there could be right for you. Don't settle for anything that doesn't make you happy.